Resources

The Dark Night of the Soul – Navigating Personal Crisis & Transformation

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What Is the Dark Night of the Soul?

The “Dark Night of the Soul” describes a profound period of inner crisis when life loses its previous meaning. Originating from the writings of the 16th-century mystic St. John of the Cross, it has become a universal term for spiritual transformation.

Today psychology increasingly recognizes this process as a transformational threshold. Researchers in transpersonal psychology, trauma integration, and neuroscience of consciousness note that what we call a “dark night” often mirrors the brain’s process of reorganizing after deep stress, loss, or spiritual awakening.

This stage isn’t about failure or weakness, it’s a restructuring of identity at the deepest level.

The Psychology of a Dark Night

Recent findings in psychology and neuroscience highlight a few important aspects:

  1. Identity Dissolution; fMRI studies show that during crises of meaning, activity in the brain’s default mode network (the part tied to self-narrative and ego) shifts. This can feel disorienting, but it creates the conditions for a new sense of self.
  2. Existential Depression vs. Spiritual Awakening; Clinicians in 2025 differentiate between major depressive episodes and “existential depression.” The latter is less about chemical imbalance and more about the collapse of old meaning structures. Properly supported, existential depression often leads to greater resilience and post-traumatic growth.
  3. Neuroplasticity Under Pressure; Periods of inner collapse are often accompanied by heightened brain plasticity. This means the brain is unusually receptive to creating new beliefs, habits, and perspectives, if guided with awareness.
  4. Attachment and Spiritual Crisis; Research shows that those with secure relational support navigate dark nights of the soul with more ease. With nurturing connections (friends, therapists, mentors) acts as a buffer, allowing transformation rather than breakdown.

Signs You’re in the Dark Night of the Soul

  • A hollow or feeling of loss, even when external life is “fine”
  • A collapse of old spiritual beliefs or loss of faith in life, work or relationships
  • Heightened sensitivity to meaninglessness or existential questions
  • Emotional intensity, despair, grief, or emptiness, without clear triggers
  • Feeling lonely or isolated from others, even loved ones within relationships
  • A longing for something deeper, though you can’t name it

How to Navigate the Dark Night – Psychology Meets Spirituality

1. Allow the Death of the Old Self

Psychology calls this ego dissolution. Spirituality calls it surrender. Both agree: the more you fight the unraveling, the longer the suffering. Journaling about “what is ending in me” can help bring unconscious patterns to light.

2. Anchor the Nervous System

Your nervous system is processing intense change. Practices like slow breathing, vagus nerve stimulation, somatic movement, and time in nature regulate the body so the mind can reorient safely.

3. Practice Meaning-Making

According to meaning-centered therapies, healing arises when we start creating new meaning. Ask: What values still feel alive? What new truths want to emerge through me?

4. Work with Safe Guides

Therapists trained in existential or transpersonal psychology can help you differentiate between destructive despair and transformative crisis. Spiritual therapists and mentors or peer communities can offer comforting support and reminders that you are not alone.

5. Stay Open to the Mystery

Many holistic therapists now acknowledge the role of spiritual emergence, a crisis that precedes awakening. Holding both science and soul together allows us to see the dark night not as breakdown, but as the initiation of a higher consciousness.

The Gift on the Other Side

Those who emerge from the Dark Night often describe:

  • A quieter, more authentic sense of self
  • Less dependence on others for external validation
  • A deeper sense of unity with life and nature
  • Greater compassion for others’ suffering
  • A new clarity of purpose

What you are going through is not punishment, it is preparation. Like the caterpillar dissolving into formlessness, your soul is reorganising into a higher expression of self.


If you’re in this phase, know that you are not “broken.” Psychology sees your brain and identity restructuring. Spirituality sees your soul birthing a higher state. Both perspectives agree: this is a new passage, not a dead end.

Breaking the Addiction to Social Media

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Social media isn’t just a tool, it’s a sophisticated system designed to capture and hold your attention. AI-driven feeds, personalised content, and instant gratification loops make scrolling addictive. Understanding the psychological mechanisms behind this addiction is key to regaining control.

Why Social Media Hooks Your Brain

1. Dopamine Loops

  • Every like, comment, or notification triggers dopamine hit, the brain’s reward chemical.
  • Your brain starts associating social media with instant pleasure, creating a feedback loop.

2. Variable Rewards

  • Social media uses a principle called variable ratio reinforcement, the same principle used in gambling.
  • You never know what post or notification will appear next, which keeps your brain engaged and craving more.

3. Social Comparison

  • Seeing curated highlights of other people’s lives can trigger envy, anxiety, feelings of failure and low self-esteem.
  • Psychologically, this activates a “status-seeking” mechanism your brain constantly checks if you measure up.

4. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)

  • Social media feeds your brain’s threat detection system: missing out is perceived as a social “loss.”
  • This creates anxiety and compulsive checking behaviour.

5. Habit Formation

  • Checking your phone repeatedly becomes automatic.
  • Neurologically, cues (boredom, notifications) → routine (scrolling) → reward (dopamine) forms a strong habit loop.

Psychology-Based Strategies to Break the Habit

1. Awareness and Mindfulness

  • Recognize your triggers: boredom, stress, loneliness.
  • Mindfulness meditation strengthens your prefrontal cortex, improving self control and reducing impulsive scrolling.

2. Cognitive Reframing

  • Challenge automatic thoughts: “I need to check this now” → “Does this add value or joy?”
  • This reduces compulsive responses by activating rational thinking over impulse.

3. Habit Replacement

  • Habits are hard to break, but easy to replace.
  • Replace social media with behaviors that satisfy the same psychological needs:
    • Connection: call a friend or join a community
    • Reward: read a chapter of a book, journal, or learn a skill
    • Entertainment: watch short educational videos instead of scrolling aimlessly

4. Environmental Design

  • Psychology shows that cues trigger habits. Remove cues:
    • Move apps off your home screen
    • Turn off notifications, especially at work
    • Keep your phone out of reach during meals or work

5. Deliberate Dopamine Regulation

  • Avoid over reliance on instant rewards.
  • Activities like exercise, music, or creative hobbies release dopamine naturally and sustainably.

6. Social Accountability

  • Share your digital detox goals with others.
  • Psychological research shows that accountability increases adherence and reduces relapse risk.

Psychology Based Social Media Detox Checklist

✅ Identify triggers: emotional states, time, or environment
✅ Practice mindfulness daily: 5–10 minutes to increase awareness
✅ Set daily usage limits and stick to them
✅ Replace scrolling with meaningful, rewarding habits
✅ Remove cues: mute notifications, declutter feeds
✅ Track mood, focus, and energy levels weekly
✅ Use cognitive reframing: “Does this bring me value?”
✅ Share goals for social accountability
✅ Schedule digital fasting windows
✅ Engage in real-life connections and dopamine-positive activities

Social media addiction is not a moral failing, it’s a predictable outcome of psychological principles designed to engage your brain. By understanding these mechanisms, you can regain control, reduce anxiety, and reclaim your attention. A mindful approach to digital life isn’t optional, it’s essential for mental well-being.

Moving Beyond the Unworthiness Epidemic

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The Weight of Unworthiness:

Many people carry a quiet burden that is rarely spoken about: the sense of being unworthy.
It doesn’t always appear in obvious ways. Sometimes it’s the hesitation to speak up in a meeting. Sometimes it’s the self-doubt that whispers, “Who am I to try this?” Other times it’s the inability to fully receive love, recognition, or success, because deep down there’s a lingering belief: “I don’t deserve it.”

Unworthiness is not who you are. It is a story learned and repeated, often from early experiences, societal conditioning, or comparisons that made you believe you were somehow less. Over time, these inner narratives can shape your choices, your confidence, and even the opportunities you allow yourself to pursue.

But here’s the truth: worthiness is not something you earn, it is your birthright.

Overcoming the Mindset of Unworthiness

1. Awareness is the doorway.
Begin by noticing the inner dialogue. What do you say to yourself in moments of challenge or success? Awareness doesn’t judge — it simply shines a light on patterns that may have been running unconsciously.

2. Question the origin of the story.
Ask yourself: Where did I first learn this belief? Who told me I wasn’t enough? Often, the roots of unworthiness are planted long before we had the wisdom to question them. Recognising they are not inherently ours helps release their grip.

3. Replace criticism with compassion.
Self worth grows when we choose to speak to ourselves as we would a dear friend. Instead of harsh self judgment, introduce affirmations of truth: “I am deserving of love, joy, and success simply because I exist.”

4. Practice embodiment.
Worthiness isn’t only a thought, its a felt experience. Breathwork, meditation, journaling, or grounding exercises can help rewire the nervous system, allowing the body to feel safe enough to embrace new beliefs about self-worth.

5. Collect evidence of your value.
Notice your wins, both big and small. Keep a record of the moments where you showed strength, kindness, or growth. This practice anchors proof that you are capable, resilient, and worthy right now, not in some distant future.

At its heart, the journey from unworthiness to worthiness is a return to truth.
When you begin to see yourself as inherently valuable, not because of achievement, appearance, or approval, but because of who you are, life begins to shift. Relationships feel more authentic, opportunities flow more freely, and most importantly, you cultivate an inner freedom that no external validation can give.

You are not broken. You are not lacking. You are worthy, and always have been.

Rewriting Your Inner Story: A path to healing.

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Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you try, you keep looping back into the same stress, symptoms, or emotions? It can feel frustrating, like your mind and body are working against you. But here’s the beautiful truth: those patterns aren’t permanent. They can be softened, reshaped, and rewritten.

Your brain is far more flexible than you may realize. It’s constantly learning, adjusting, and adapting. That means you’re never stuck you always have the ability to create new pathways that support healing, peace, and strength.

What Does It Really Mean to Change Old Patterns?

Life leaves its mark on us. Big shocking moments in life such as joy or pain get stored in our brain and body, like we have taken a camera snapshot of that moment and we recall it over and over. Sometimes, these stressful momories or snap shots keep lingering and keep repeating, even when they’re no longer helpful to us. They might show up as anxiety, fatigue, overwhelm, or physical symptoms that don’t seem to shift.

Working with your brain’s natural adaptability is like giving yourself permission to create a fresh new script or snap shot. Instead of reacting automatically to old snap shot or triggers, you begin choosing new responses that feel lighter, calmer, and more supportive of the life you want.

Who Can This Help?

Because this process taps into something we all share-the brain’s ability to adapt-it can benefit almost anyone. It’s especially powerful for:

  • Young people who feel weighed down by anxiety, focus challenges, or stress at school.
  • Adults in transition moving through career changes, relationship shifts, or life crossroads.
  • Those living with chronic symptoms such as fatigue, pain, or autoimmune conditions.
  • Busy, overwhelmed individuals who feel caught in cycles of stress, worry, or emotional heaviness.

No matter where you’re starting from, this approach helps you move out of survival mode and into a place where healing feels possible.

How Does It Work in Everyday Life?

Imagine your brain like a path through the forest. The more often you walk down a trail, the clearer it becomes. If that trail is built on stress or old wounds, it can feel like you’re always being pulled back there.

But here’s the hopeful part: you can start walking a new trail. At first, it feels unfamiliar. But with practice through gentle techniques like breathwork, guided focus, movement, or simple awareness, you strengthen that new path. Over time, it becomes the one your brain naturally chooses, while the old trail slowly fades.

Your Built-In Superpower

The most inspiring discovery is this: your brain never stops learning. It’s designed to change, even as an adult. That means you can:

  • Soften stress responses that once felt automatic.
  • Reclaim energy, clarity, and confidence.
  • Release the weight of past experiences and move forward lighter.
  • Cultivate emotional balance and a stronger sense of safety within yourself.

Healing isn’t about fixing what’s “wrong” with you, it’s about remembering your wholeness, and showing your brain new ways to support it. The past may have shaped you, but it doesn’t have to define you. Every moment is a chance to begin again, to carve a new path toward peace and resilience.

Change that Lasts.

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5 Steps to Creating Deep, Lasting Change

  1. Become the Observer of Your Inner World. 

Most people live on autopilot, reacting to life through our deeply embedded habits, our unconscious emotional patterns, and belief systems inherited from our childhood or culture. The first step to change is to become consciously aware of these patterns without judgment.

This means noticing:

  • The thoughts that loop repeatedly in your mind.
  • The emotional states you default to-like worry, frustration, or self-doubt.
  • The behaviours you engage in even when they don’t align with your deeper desires.

Observation creates a pause between stimulus and response. In that pause lies our power to choose differently. Journaling, mindfulness, or simply checking in with yourself throughout the day can begin to uncover what’s driving us beneath the surface.

Awareness doesn’t change things instantly-but it gives you the power to stop being a slave to your past conditioning.

  1. Design a Clear Internal Blueprint.

The brain and body don’t differentiate between real and vividly imagined experiences. When we envision a goal or desired future state with clarity and emotion, we begin to train your system to live in that future before it physically arrives.

To design this blueprint:

  • Visualize daily, imagine yourself living your desired life.
  • Engage all your senses, see it, feel it, hear it.
  • Anchor it in emotion, how would this version of you feel?

Doing this sends new signals through our nervous system, shifting our hormonal and energetic state, and begins altering the way our genes express themselves (a principle from epigenetics). Over time, this changes our baseline state from survival and repetition to creativity and expansion.

Your imagined future becomes the template your body and mind start to follow.

  1. Rewire the Subconscious Patterns.

Up to 95% of your daily behaviour is governed by subconscious programming, habits formed from repetition, emotional experiences, and environmental cues. We might consciously want change, but if our subconscious is still running outdated scripts, we’ll sabotage progress.

To shift this:

  • Use repetition with intention, affirmations, mantras, or focused thought while in a relaxed state (e.g., right after waking or before sleep).
  • Engage in meditation or guided practices that bring subconscious material to light.
  • Rehearse new emotions-gratitude, joy, confidence, so they become familiar.

The subconscious mind learns through feeling and repetition, not logic. This is why deep change often requires consistent inner work, not just mental insight.

Reprogramming the subconscious is like updating the software of your life-it takes patience, but transforms everything.

  1. Act as the Future You right Now.

The fastest way to embody change is to stop waiting for external conditions to give us permission. Begin acting, speaking, moving, and choosing from the identity we’re becoming-not the one we want to leave behind.

Ask yourself:

  • What would the future version of me do in this moment?
  • What would they say yes to, or no to?
  • How would they handle challenge, opportunity, or rest?

This isn’t about faking it, it’s about training your nervous system to normalize new experiences. When your thoughts, emotions, and actions align, you create coherence and coherence builds momentum.

Identity isn’t found. It’s built through consistent, aligned behaviour.

  1. Stay Consistent in a Supportive Environment.

Change is not a one-time decision it’s a process that thrives in consistency and community. Our environment plays a powerful role in either reinforcing the old you or nurturing the new one.

Support your transformation by:

  • Creating daily rituals that nourish your new self (morning routine, breathwork, journaling, nature time).
  • Surrounding yourself with people, media, and spaces that reflect your values and vision.
  • Removing or reducing triggers that pull you back into old patterns.

Our biology is adaptive it’s always listening. When we surround it with elevated emotional states like joy, gratitude, and purpose, and back them with repetition, we literally recondition our cells, brain, and energetic field. Sustained change is a lifestyle, not a quick fix. The more you live it, the more natural it becomes.

Why Meditate?

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10 reasons to meditate. 

  1. It rewires the Brain for Transformation.
    • Meditation strengthens our new neural pathways, helping to break free from any limiting habits and beliefs, it can reprogram the mind for success in any area of your life.
  2. Shift from Survival to Creation Mode.
    • Chronic stress keeps our body in fight-or-flight mode, limiting our creativity and problem-solving ability.
    • Meditation shifts our nervous system into a balanced state, allowing for intentional living and greater personal growth.
  3. Harness the Power of the Subconscious Mind.
    • Most daily thoughts and behaviors are driven by our past subconscious programming.
    • Meditation provides us access to a deeper mental state where past limiting beliefs can be rewritten, this results in aligning our subconscious patterns with conscious goals.
  4. Activate Epigenetic Healing & Strengthen Immunity.
    • Current studies show that meditation can influence our gene expression, reducing inflammation, enhancing cellular repair, and promoting longevity.
    • A calm, centered state supports a strong immune system and potentially longer life.
  5. Create Heart-Brain Coherence for Greater Well-Being.
    • Meditation synchronizes our heart and brain, leading to improved emotional regulation, deeper intuition, and a heightened sense of clarity.
    • This state of heart and mind coherence enhances resilience and strengthens our connections with others.
  6. Tap Into the Field of Infinite Possibilities.
    • By shifting into expanded awareness, meditation opens the door to new possibilities.
    • Our intentions combined with elevated emotions can help create a vibrational match for our desired outcomes, leading to measurable change.
  7. Reduce Stress and Balance Hormones.
    • Meditation lowers our stress hormones like cortisol while increasing serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin-key chemicals that contribute to emotional stability, mental clarity, and overall well-being.
  8. Awaken the Body’s Natural Healing Mechanisms.
    • Meditation activates the body’s innate ability to heal, supporting everything from DNA repair to increased energy levels.
    • A state of deep relaxation enhances regeneration and restores balance at the cellular level.
  9. Access Higher States of Consciousness.
    • Shifting brainwave patterns from high-alert beta states into relaxed alpha, theta, and gamma states unlocks creativity, intuition, and expanded awareness.
    • These deeper states can foster insight, inspiration, and a greater connection to our true potential.
  10.  Live a Purpose Driven and Heart-Centred Life.
    • By doing this it cultivates a mindset of gratitude, presence, and intentionality. It helps break free from reactive patterns and aligns daily actions with a higher purpose, leading to a more fulfilling and meaningful life.

Meditation, Mindfulness & Self-Awareness

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 ‘Regular relaxation or meditation of any kind improves health, stress release, efficiency, intuition, creativity, longevity & performance.’– Craig Townsend

You can benefit in many areas of your life through mindfulness & meditation. It relaxes & calms the nervous system, by reducing stress, anxiety, high blood pressure & depression. Meditation assists in decision making, it enhances positive thought patterns, it boosts the body’s immune and energy system.

 ‘When you become aware of silence, immediately there is a state of inner alertness. You are present, you have stepped out of years of collective human conditioning.’ – Eckhart Tolle

Regular meditation & mindfulness promotes inner balance and harmony in one’s life. It’s one of the simplest and quickest solution to reducing stress in your life. Regular daily practice will bring profound changes. Meditation brings about a greater sense of self-awareness, understanding and peace.

Leiza offers private one to one and small group sessions on the process of developing mindfulness and meditation.

‘Silence is the great teacher, and to learn its lessons you must pay attention to it. There is no substitute for creative inspiration, knowledge, and stability that comes from knowing how to contact your core of inner silence.’– Dr. Deepak Chopra

By Anastasia Stephens – SMH

It’s a piece of advice yogis have given for thousands of years: take a deep breath and relax. Watch the tension melt from your muscles and all your niggling worries vanish. Somehow, we all know that relaxation is good for us.

Now the hard science has caught up: a comprehensive scientific study showing that deep relaxation changes our bodies on a genetic level has just been published. What researchers at Harvard Medical School discovered is that, in long-term practitioners of relaxation methods such as yoga and meditation, far more” disease fighting genes” were active, compared to those who practised no form of relaxation.

They found genes that protect from disorders such as pain, infertility, high blood pressure and even rheumatoid arthritis were switched on. The changes, say the researchers, were induced by what they call” the relaxation effect”, a phenomenon that could be just as powerful as any medical drug but without the side effects. ”We found a range of disease-fighting genes were active in the relaxation practitioners that were not active in the control group,” Dr Herbert Benson, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, who led the research, says. The good news for the control group with the less-healthy genes is that the research didn’t stop there.

The experiment, which showed just how responsive genes are to behaviour, mood and environment, revealed that genes can switch on, just as easily as they switch off. ” Harvard researchers asked the control group to start practising relaxation methods every day,” says Jake Toby, hypnotherapist at London’s BodyMind Medicine Centre, who teaches clients how to induce the relaxation effect. ” After two months, their bodies began to change: the genes that help fight inflammation, kill diseased cells and protect the body from cancer all began to switch on.”

More encouraging still, the benefits of the relaxation effect were found to increase with regular practice: the more people practised relaxation methods such as meditation or deep breathing, the greater their chances of remaining free of arthritis and joint pain with stronger immunity, healthier hormone levels and lower blood pressure. Benson believes the research is pivotal because it shows how a person’s state of mind affects the body on a physical and genetic level. It might also explain why relaxation induced by meditation or repetitive mantras is considered to be a powerful remedy in traditions such as Ayurveda in India or Tibetan medicine.

But just how can relaxation have such wide-ranging and powerful effects? Research has described the negative effects of stress on the body. Linked to the release of the stress-hormones adrenalin and cortisol, stress raises the heart rate and blood pressure, weakens immunity and lowers fertility. By contrast, the state of relaxation is linked to higher levels of feel-good chemicals such as serotonin and to the growth hormone which repairs cells and tissue. Indeed, studies show that relaxation has virtually the opposite effect, lowering heart rate, boosting immunity and enabling the body to thrive.

” On a biological level, stress is linked to fight-flight and danger,” Dr Jane Flemming, a London GP, says. ” In survival mode, heart rate rises, and blood pressure shoots up. Meanwhile muscles, preparing for danger, contract and tighten. And non-essential functions such as immunity and digestion go by the wayside.” Relaxation, on the other hand, is a state of rest, enjoyment and physical renewal. Free of danger, muscles can relax, and food can be digested. The heart can slow, and blood circulation flows freely to the body’s tissues, feeding it with nutrients and oxygen. This restful state is good for fertility, as the body can conserve the resources it needs to generate new life.

While relaxation techniques can be very different, their biological effects are essentially similar. ”When you relax, the parasympathetic nervous system switches on. That is linked to better digestion, memory and immunity, among other things,” Toby says. ” As long as you relax deeply, you’ll reap the rewards.” But, he warns, deep relaxation isn’t the sort of switching off you do relaxing with a cup of tea or lounging on the sofa.

”What you’re looking for is a state of deep relaxation where tension is released from the body on a physical level and your mind completely switches off,” he says. ”The effect won’t be achieved by lounging round in an everyday way, nor can you force yourself to relax. You can only really achieve it by learning a specific technique such as self-hypnosis, guided imagery or meditation.”

The relaxation effect, however, may not be as pronounced on everyone. ”Some people are more susceptible to relaxation methods than others,” says Joan Borysenko, director of a relaxation program for outpatients at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston. ”Through relaxation, we find some people experience a little improvement, others a lot. And there are a few whose lives turn around totally.”

7 Health Benefits of Deep Relaxation, Meditation & Mindfulness

The next time you tune out and switch off and let yourself melt, remind yourself of all the good work the relaxation effect is doing on your body. These are just some of the scientifically proven benefits …

  1. INCREASED IMMUNITY

Relaxation appears to boost immunity in recovering cancer patients. A study at the Ohio State University found that progressive muscular relaxation, when practised daily, reduced the risk of breast cancer recurrence. In another study at Ohio State, a month of relaxation exercises boosted natural killer cells in the elderly, giving them a greater resistance to tumours and to viruses.

  1. EMOTIONAL BALANCE

Emotional balance means to be free of all the neurotic behaviour that results from the existence of a tortured and traumatized ego. This is very hard to achieve fully, but meditation certainly is the way to cure such neurosis and unhealthy emotional states. As one’s consciousness is cleansed of emotionally soaked memories, not only does great freedom abound, but also great balance. As one’s responses then are not coloured by the burdens one carries, but are instead true, direct and appropriate.

  1. INCREASED FERTILITY

A study at the University of Western Australia found that women are more likely to conceive during periods when they are relaxed rather than stressed. A study at Trakya University, in Turkey, also found that stress reduces sperm count and motility, suggesting relaxation may also boost male fertility.

  1. RELIEVES IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME

When patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome began practising a relaxation meditation twice daily, their symptoms of bloating, diarrhoea and constipation improved significantly. The meditation was so effective the researchers at the State University of New York recommended it as an effective treatment.

  1. LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE

A study at Harvard Medical School found that meditation lowered blood pressure by making the body less responsive to stress hormones, in a similar way to blood pressure-lowering medication. Meanwhile a British Medical Journal report found that patients trained how to relax had significantly lower blood pressure.

  1. ANTI-INFLAMATORY

Stress leads to inflammation, a state linked to heart disease, arthritis, asthma and skin conditions such as psoriasis, say researchers at Emory University in the US. Relaxation can help prevent and treat such symptoms by switching off the stress response. In this way, one study at McGill University in Canada found that meditation clinically improved the symptoms of psoriasis.

  1. CALMNESS

The simple difference between those who meditate and those who do not, is that for a meditative mind the thought occurs but is witnessed, while for an ordinary mind, the thought occurs and is the boss. So in both minds, an upsetting thought can occur, but for those who meditate it is just another thought, which is seen as such and is allowed to blossom and die, while in the ordinary mind the thought instigates a storm which rages on and on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why celebrities turn to Hypnosis

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“Mind Over Matter: How Celebrities Harnessed Hypnosis to Overcome Challenges”

Hypnosis often carries a mystique, but it’s increasingly recognized as a powerful tool for personal transformation. Whether faced with anxiety, addiction, physical pain, or performance pressure, a surprising number of celebrities have turned to hypnotherapy to overcome obstacles and unlock their potential. Here’s a look at some of their stories and what motivated them.

Celebrity Hypnosis Journeys

Jennifer Aniston

    • Challenge: Severe fear of flying
    • How hypnosis helped: She replaced comforting superstitions with hypnotherapy techniques, allowing her to manage flight anxiety noticeably better

Keira Knightley

    • Challenge: Anxiety and PTSD following intense early-career scrutiny
    • How hypnosis helped: Used hypnotherapy as a coping tool to manage stress and mental health during a period of emotional breakdown

Kyren Wilson (Snooker Champion)

    • Challenge: Career crisis and stress leading up to 2024 World Championship
    • How hypnosis helped: With just two weeks before the tournament, solution-focused hypnotherapy helped him visualize success, calm anxiety, improve his sleep, and ultimately win the title

Historical & Widely Reported Examples

Adele

    • Challenge: Smoking cessation and stage fright
    • How hypnosis helped: Found hypnotherapy instrumental in quitting smoking and regaining confidence for live performances

Matt Damon

    • Challenge: Smoking addiction
    • How hypnosis helped: Publicly stated that using hypnosis to quit smoking was “the best decision of my life”

Ellen DeGeneres, Ben Affleck, Charlize Theron, Drew Barrymore, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman

    • Challenge: Smoking
    • How hypnosis helped: All credited hypnotherapy with successfully helping them quit smoking

Julia Roberts

    • Challenge: Stuttering
    • How hypnosis helped: She overcame speech impediments that could have hindered her acting career

Orlando Bloom, Lily Allen, Geri Halliwell, Sophie Dahl, Sarah Ferguson

    • Challenge: Weight issues, addictive cravings (e.g., chocolate)
    • How hypnosis helped: Used hypnotherapy for weight management and habit-breaking from early life through their careers

Debra Messing

    • Challenge: Fear of being underwater
    • How hypnosis helped: Overcame her phobia to confidently perform in a film role requiring underwater scenes

Jessica Alba & Kate Middleton (Princess of Wales)

    • Challenge: Pain, stress, or nausea during childbirth
    • How hypnosis helped: Both applied Hypno-Birthing techniques to manage labour, reducing medication reliance and increasing comfort

Princess Diana

    • Challenge: Public speaking anxiety and low confidence
    • How hypnosis helped: Hypnotherapy was used as a tool to bolster her confidence in public appearances

Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, David Beckham, Steve Hooker, Mary Lou Retton, Felix Baumgartner, Jim Thorpe, U.S. Olympic shooters

    • Challenge: Athletic performance, focus, and pain
    • How hypnosis helped: Utilized hypnosis and visualization to sharpen focus, manage pain, and achieve peak performance across sports—from golf and gymnastics to pole vaulting and extreme feats like skydiving

Why Hypnosis?

From these stories, we see several recurring themes:

  • Anxiety & Performance Stress: Jessica Aniston, Adele, Kyren Wilson
  • Addiction & Habit Breaking: Matt Damon, Ellen DeGeneres, Orlando Bloom
  • Physical & Emotional Pain: Debra Messing, childbirth experiences.
  • Mental Focus & Stamina for Peak Performance: Tiger Woods, Beckham, Sports stars
  • Public Speaking & Confidence: Princess Diana, Keira Knightley

These real-world examples illustrate that hypnotherapy is far from fringe—it’s a versatile, impactful tool used by many high-achievers to manage fears, addictions, performance pressure, and more.

Disclaimer