Struggling with Impostor Syndrome?

STRUGGLING WITH IMPOSTER SYNDROME?

According to ScienceBC.com, "Impostor Syndrome" makes people work too hard in order to make up for their perceived inadequacy, at the expense of self-care and a healthy work-life balance. Their need for perfection makes them micromanage everything, while also feeling shame for taking so much time to complete the task.

Imposter Syndrome is the result of our childhood IMPRINTING. Childhood influencers can cause a child to take on beliefs like: "I have to be perfect." "My good isn't good enough." "I am not that smart." "I must overgive to feel worthy or to feel justified in asking for money."

These are paramount to be cleared at the subconscious level! A sign this is true for you is that you are aware of the self-defeating thoughts but have not been able to change them (DM me to ask how hypnosis can help.)

If are struggling, affirm:

"I draw to me the clients that can benefit from the skills & experience I have NOW."

It will help you reprogram your thoughts. You will attract a different clientele 1 year from now, 5 years from now and so on...:)

Each of you have unique and powerful gifts to give this world. It's not just what you DO or what you KNOW!

It's WHO YOU ARE... Your care and authentic desire to help is a true gift to a client. It can be more valuable than a seasoned professional who is burnt out and lacking heart in delivering their services.

Much encouragement to each of you!

When the Future is Uncertain, That is Our Time to Co-Create

Many of you are feeling shut in, disconnected, anxious and fearful. Watch this video to give you some ideas on what you can do during this time of self-distancing during Covid-19. My love to each of you watching!

7 Ways to Have Calm During Covid-19

As the founder of the Charleston Hypnosis Center & the American Hypnosis & Coaching Academy, I can say that one of my specialties is helping people manage or overcome stress.  Moreover, in the past decade, the number of clients seeking solutions beyond traditional counseling and medications for deep seated anxiety, depression, and trauma related problems has increasingly grown.

I have been personally challenged to put my professional strategies to the test as I have navigated through loss of a best friend to brain cancer, divorce, children going off to college, and now the Covid-19 pandemic.

For myself, I created a mental arsenal of techniques I could practice, one or more steps I would take every single day for staying on top of my stress.  Because I knew that if I didn’t, it would take its toll on my health, my relationships, my attitude and my success.

Before I Offer My Suggestions…Notice How I Won’t Say Practice Meditation? –

WHY? I am laughing as I write this because one very famous personal development author recommended this to people to start doing during the Covid Crisis.  My first reaction was a big hearty laugh!   Personally, as difficult as the practice is for most people, I was thinking that if you haven’t been practicing quieting your mind regularly, you could be setting yourself up for failure if you try to meditate NOW.  I recently took some Krav Maga self-defense classes.  One of the philosophies is to practice self-defense moves repeatedly so when the real danger comes, your self-defense measures are automatic and second nature. 

If you can meditate already, ABSOLUTELY BE MEDITATING!  If you can’t, practice positive visualization and appreciation instead (See #6 & #7 below). It has the same basic physiological benefits as silent meditation like calming respiration, heart rate and increasing circulation.

Here are 7 Ways to Have Calm Under Stress of Covid-19

1)      Shift from a State of Fear to a Healthy Sense of Caution – This means take action.  Self-distance.  Prepare.  Do whatever you can do to stay safe and keep others safe.  Then, say to yourself, “I did the best that I can do to stay safe and healthy.  Now, I have to let it go of worrying about the aspects I can’t control.  Worrying and staying in fear over the aspects of this pandemic that you cannot control are just creating more stress hormones in your body which can impact sleep, digestion, focus, mood and healthy immunity. 

2)     Speak Gratitude for Your Health – This retrains your mind to focus on the good in your life instead of focusing on your worst fears. Say out loud affirmations like the following, “I am thankful for my health.  I am thankful for my body.  I am thankful for healthy immunity.  I am thankful for being healthy right now.”  Now is the perfect time to focus on appreciation of ALL that you have going that is good in your life including your health.

3)     Acknowledge What You Love About Your Home – Too often we take the basics for granted like our health and our home until something like Covid-19 happens. When we acknowledge what we love, we are focusing on the positive. Do you love your sofa or your bed? Your pillow?!  When you are sitting or lying in them, say out loud, “I love this sofa!  I love my bed!” Do you have flowers growing this spring?  Say, “I love these azaleas, they’re so pretty!” or “These roses are so beautiful!” This goes beyond gratitude.  The mind is programmed to focus on what we concentrate on and what we concentrate on grows in our awareness. 

4)     Embrace Your Emotions – There are no BAD emotions.   It takes a lot of energy and work to suppress stressful emotions.  Cry if you feel like crying.  It’s okay to be angry, just don’t hit anyone or break anything (that’s what I used to tell my kids).  If you feel anxious, remember the symptoms of anxiety are always preceded by an anxious story.  Ask yourself, “How’s that story working for me?”  Then, tell a different one.

5)     Minimize Exposure to the News and Social Media – lf you find yourself more anxious and stressed after listening to the news or reading, go on a news and social media diet. Once or twice a day updates READING the news and scrolling on social media will greatly lower your stress. This is especially true for EMPATHS or Highly Sensitive People. 

6)     Spend Time Focusing on Desired Outcomes – It is very difficult to tell yourself during times like this NOT to worry.  Not to project unwanted scenarios.  The subconscious mind is wired to keep you prepared for the worst and in, simplistic terms, to avoid pain.  Use your downtime to imagine and journal about the highest and best outcome for yourself and your family members through all of this. 

7)     Make Finding the Silver Lining Your Superpower – In the Hypnosis and NLP world, this is called reframing.  Your brain keys off how you think of something NOT on what’s real.  For your own inner calm and for your children, make it a game, then a strength and then your SUPERPOWER to seek the positive in every situation.  Become relentless about telling a positive story about what is happening.

Finally, I am grateful for each of you that have taken the time to read this far.  Let’s all throw up our hands and say a collective gratitude prayer, “Thank Goodness for Toilet Paper!”

Can Hypnosis Help You Get Over Someone?

Is Fear of Flying Grounding Your Chances of Success?

For many people, fear of flying is a problem, especially around the holidays. Some know the reason for their fears yet, others share that the fear seemed to come on over night even after years of flying without anxiety.

Over time, a fear of flying can restrict your career, social life and happiness. Work projects and family events may make flying necessary.

Even though 40 percent of passengers report fear of being involved in a plane crash, According to a 2015 report in The Economist, your chance of dying in one is roughly one in 5.4 million!  By comparison, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the individual American driver’s odds of dying as a result of an injury sustained in an automobile crash (which include pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists involved in car crashes) come out to about 1 in 77 — making it one of the highest-probability causes of death tracked by the CDC.

By contrast, heart disease, the leading cause of death, kills 1 in 4 people, alcohol and drugs kill 1 in 34. 

Unfortunately, rational statistics seldom make a difference for phobias. From a fear of public speaking to flying, our phobias are rarely rational.

Can You Conquer a Fear of Flying?

While it may seem impossible, you can enjoy a calm flight. I have helped many people recover from their flying phobias through hypnotherapy.

“Rebecca, I would like to thank you for everything. With as bad as I was not wanting to fly, with your Hypnosis I had no fear at all. Just like you said. It made it that I could have a wonderful time traveling and not the fear to hold me back. I would recommend you to anyone. Thank you for giving me that back. Plus Italy is awesome. Thanks again.

— — Robert Leonard, Project Superintendent, Mississippi

Sedatives may help but for many it is still extremely stressful during the days and hours leading up to taking the meds and getting on the flight.  Furthermore, medication is masking the fear NOT resolving it.

Like any phobia, a fear of flying is rooted in your subconscious. You may have had a traumatic experience or watched a plane crash. Some of my clients discover that their fear of flying is rooted in a non-related incident that somehow gets connected to flying, for example, like a terrifying experience riding rollercoasters as a child.  Most of the time my clients had no conscious awareness of the root cause of their fears and phobias but with hypnosis, they are able to quickly identify the root cause.

Whatever the cause, even if it is irrational, your subconscious mind has created the fear trying to protect you. It associates flying with danger. Thus, the fear is created to keep you away from flying.

How I Overcame My Fear of Flying

Personally, I used hypnosis to overcome a paralyzing fear of flying.  My fear was triggered by one of the most prominent events in airline history.  I was scheduled to be on American Airlines Flight #77 that crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11/2001.

American Airlines Flight 77 was a scheduled American Airlines domestic transcontinental passenger flight from Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California.  I would have been seven months pregnant with my son and traveling with one year old daughter.

Like many other people have reported after the 09/11 incident, I had a strong intuition that told me to not only change my flight but change the date AND the airport from which I was flying. 

On the day of the tragedy, I believe I went into some kind of shock as the full realization came to me that I was scheduled to be on one of the downed planes.  I was terrified to fly.  When I did fly, I was paranoid about the passengers on the plane.  I would break out into a sweat.  My heart would race and I felt claustrophobic. 

Using some of my own hypnosis techniques on myself, in less than a month, I was flying comfortably again.  This is typically a three step process that I have used for years to help thousands of clients suffering from all types of fears and phobias.

Hypnosis Helps Overcome Fear of Flying

Hypnosis is a highly effective way to feel comfortable while flying. To conquer your fear, you must address it. Hypnosis helps you to identify and clear what triggers that fear in your subconscious. Hypnosis helps to re-message the mind so that you are no longer afraid. As a result, you can escape from the panic and fear associated with it.

Most of my clients are flying comfortably in one to two sessions! If you would like to get help overcoming a fear of phobia, reach out. Virtual sessions work perfectly for this problem. I can help you from the comfort of your own home or office.

Don't Let Fear of Failure Hold You Back!

CEO of Spanx, Sara Blakely, Shares Her Thoughts on Failure.

So many of my coaching clients discuss their fear of failure. Some are immobilized to take desired action from fear. Others from perfectionism. When I watched Sara’s video for the first time, I was inspired that she grew up with such a positive mindset around failure. Mindset drives our behaviors, our reponses, everything! Watch and get inspired!