Did you know that April is stress awareness month? Stress is a major source of mortality and morbidity in the average Western population. We can transplant hearts and grow vital human tissue in a lab, yet people are still dying of stress-related illnesses. It feels like the world has gone mad. We wanted to share some easy ways of dealing with stress. We'd love to hear about your favourite stress-busters in the comments too! So, without further ado, here we go. 1. Listen to music or watch a movie. These are 2 easy ways to distract yourself, and they're often free too. You Tube is my go-to source of music. Sure there are ads, but I'm ok with that. Spotify is another good source of free music. 2. Eat well and take exercise. This is another good stress-buster and does not need to … [Read more...] about April is stress awareness month
Mental health and mental illness
Free stress-relieving and relaxation audio
Hi everyone, we've added a free gift to our store. We've been doing some free relaxation sessions for our local community (more on that later), so we've recorded some of the relaxation exercises for them. We figured, we may as well let you have it too. There's 3 or 4 exercises on there, with a total length of around 45 minutes. Enjoy! https://hypnoticuniverse.org/shop/free-stress-relieving-relaxation-audio-tracks/ More: Contact us if you'd like to give us feedback | find out more about the benefits of relaxation … [Read more...] about Free stress-relieving and relaxation audio
Mindful Monday: slow your thoughts
In today's Mindful Monday we're looking at a simple task you can do to slow your thoughts. This task can make it easier to process your thoughts in the longer term, but avoid processing your thoughts during this actual task. Step 1 Set a 20 minute timer for this task. Start by noticing your thoughts, including the speed of them. At first, you might find it difficult to notice them, but you will be able to with some practice. Don't pass judgement on them...just notice that they're there. Step 2 Notice the speed of your thoughts. You will likely find that they're moving quite fast. Again, don't pass any judgement on them. Step 3 Now, imagine those thoughts as little balls bouncing around, bouncing off the walls and each other. Notice how fast they're moving and how chaotic it … [Read more...] about Mindful Monday: slow your thoughts
6 ways to feel happier, when you really feel sad
Hear me out on this one, because I have lived with depression for a long time. For me, medication wasn't really that effective, so I really had to max out on many other things - things which I could change. In the 2 years or so that I was at my lowest point, I discovered a few things about how to make myself feel happy, when I felt really sad inside. I'd like to share some of those with you today. You will have heard of some of these no doubt, but my hope is that you find something a little different, which you haven't tried before. Doing these things have helped me eliminate 75% of my depression medication. 1. Ask yourself this question... If you're feeling sad, you will need to be very intentional by purposely doing activites to brighten up your day. It isn't easy, but practice … [Read more...] about 6 ways to feel happier, when you really feel sad
***READY TO GO***Mindful Monday: starting the day ‘right’
In today's Mindful Monday we're looking at a simple task you can do at the beginning of your day. This task can help lower stress by redirecting thoughts away from your worries about the day. This task may also be carried out in the bath, or as you wash at your sink. Step 1 Step into your shower, bath, or plunge your hands into the water in your sink. Immediately notice the sensation of the water on your skin. You might notice that it feels very warm at first, but then notice that after a few seconds, the water feels cooler on your skin. Notice the surface underneath your feet, or back of your legs, as they rest in the bath. What else can you notice? Step 2 Some people find it easier to close their eyes at this point, as it can make it easier to focus on your other senses. … [Read more...] about ***READY TO GO***Mindful Monday: starting the day ‘right’
Relaxation Class
Just a quick thank you to everyone who turned up to our free relaxation class this evening. It's the first time we've been hosted by a school and I'm so pleased that we were able to partner-up to help our local community. If you're interested in joining our free relaxation classes, please contact us with your name, e-mail address and location. This will put you onto our communication list for future events. … [Read more...] about Relaxation Class
Mindful Mondays at Hypnotic Universe
Today, we're kicking off a new self-help programme, Mindful Mondays. This week we're providing some background and next week, we'll start looking at some exercises. What is it? Mindfulness is about living fully in the moment. Noticing things like your breathing, your stomach gurgling, your feet hitting the ground as you walk. These are all sensation-based things which take is out of the hectic thought patterns that bother us in daily life. It takes practice It seems easy to be mindful, on the surface at least. However, succeeding in this task is much more difficult. Practice is required, but it is a skill in which most of us can achieve a level of success. If you think mindfulness isn't working, I encourage you to completely immerse yourself in it, and persist. A recognised form of … [Read more...] about Mindful Mondays at Hypnotic Universe
4 Mental Wellness Activities To Fit Into Your Daily Routine
Living a fulfilled life involves looking after our mental wellbeing. Although this can look different for everyone, there are some common themes, which we can all follow in this endeavour. 1. Take some time to be in the moment Being in the now also known as mindfulness can help with stress, anxiety and depression. Many people have heard of mindfulness, but fewer actually know enough about it to actually practice it, and fewer yet practice it regularly enough to benefit from it. So, where can you start? The first step is to find some mindfulness activities that work for you. Some will find that focusing on different parts of the body at a time works for them, whilst others will find that focusing on their breath works for them. There really isn’t a right or wrong way, so long as … [Read more...] about 4 Mental Wellness Activities To Fit Into Your Daily Routine
How to improve self-esteem
Today we're looking at 5 key ways in which you can improve your self-esteem. 1. Accept yourself Self-acceptance is: The act of accepting yourself and all your personality traits exactly as they are. You accept them no matter whether they are positive or negative. This includes your physical and mental attributes. - Waters 2021 Waters also explains that beyond self-esteem, self-acceptance leads to many benefits, such as: Control of emotions Forgiveness Improvement in self-confidence Helping you be yourself If only we accepted ourselves the way that we openly accept others. I always find it interesting that we often set such high standards for ourselves, compared to others. Don't do it; you owe it to yourself to be kind to yourself. 2. Value yourself If you have good … [Read more...] about How to improve self-esteem
What trauma may look like
Today we're looking at 8 ways in which trauma may present itself. I first came across people dealing with trauma back in the early 90's whilst working at a psychiatric hospital in England. Of course back then, trauma wasn't really something which was understood by the average m'man on the street'. However, fast forward 30+ years later and I don't really have to define it for many of us to grasp what it means. If we haven't endured at least one traumatic experience in our lives, I willing to bet that you know somebody who has. I feel I should start by saying that only a small percentage of people who experience trauma will develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). So that said, what exactly is trauma? Or more to the point PTSD? Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is … [Read more...] about What trauma may look like
