Hello..... is anybody out there?

I was sitting in bed this morning trying to learn Chinese when I thought about this blog. That may seem like an odd connection, but sometimes when your mind is concentrating on one thing it can suddenly flip to another...

So there I was, learning the days of the week, when this old Secret Housewife blog popped into my head.Its been a long time since I was over here. I had almost forgotten about it, but not quite. And I thought to myself, "Am I going to give up that dear old site?"

This blog has been with me since my boys were 8 and 6 years old. I started writing it when I was alone on New Year's Eve, feeling sorry for myself - a housewife with not many interests and little confidence. Now my boys are 18 and 16 and my life has changed exponentially...

I feel like a butterfly who has spread their wings and flown into a warm, sunny day.

As I write this blog I am a fully qualified Cognitive Hypnotherapist with my own business. I have worked hard to get where I am and, to be honest, I don't think that I could ever have guessed that I would be here if you had asked me about my future on that New Year's Eve 10 years ago.

Isn't it funny how life can take you in so many different directions and no matter what happens to you there seems to always be something one can take from the ups and downs? 

If you have followed my little blog over the years then you will have read about my thoughts on whether I should go back to study for my Degree at the OU.....and then the subsequent years which saw me eventually graduate. You will have read about Post Natal Depression and about my father's death. You will have read about my dream to run the London Marathon and my elation when I crossed the finishing line. You will have read about being nominated for awards and about my anger over injustice....a bit of a hotch potch really....but its been my little hotch potch.

As time has gone by I have learnt that learning never ends... that trying new things, throwing oneself into life wholeheartedly brings huge rewards... not monetary rewards, but the reward of growth and joy. Don't get me wrong...I don't spend my days singing "The Hills are Alive..." as I frolic over fields. Some days are hard and I doubt myself often...but I am so fortunate to be where I am now....at the start of a new adventure as a Cognitive Hypnotherapist. My dream is to be able to keep doing this, to grow and learn to be the best therapist I can be, and to help as many people as I can.

I may well come back here from time to time to update the old site on what I am up to...but for now, thank you for following me.

Studying Cognitive Hypnotherapy at The Quest Institute.

I have just clicked the send button on my computer and sent through the first part of my HPD to be marked. This is the Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma. I am now half way through my ten month long course and absolutely loving it!! The paperwork for the HPD is not due in until the 4th September, but I really wanted to get ahead of the game so have worked hard to get it done - 10 short answer questions (300 words each max) and an essay (1300 words max). When I first opened the paper I did gulp rather, but I stayed calm and worked on one or two questions a day. Fingers crossed that I have done ok...

Its always a bit daunting when you send work like that off to be marked. I always wonder... "Did I put my name on? Did I do all the questions? Did I delete it all as I sent it??" It is, however, a weight off my mind to have it completed. And I did check that I'd put my name on it!!

There are 3 further parts to be completed over the next 6 months, including more essays and a case study. I shall just take them one at a time as they arrive. I trust in my training absolutely.

My training is taking place at The Quest Institute in London and I could not be happier with my choice. I had found the institute online in my search for a place to train and although I looked at lots of schools, I kept coming back to this one. I am so glad that I did. The professionalism, organisation and all round wonderfulness of the place is more than I could ever have hoped for. In the last 5 months I have learnt so much and met the most amazing group of people.

I shall write more about my course in the months to come, but for now I can safely tell you that Cognitive Hypnotherapy, as taught by Trevor Silvester, is superb. I love finding out about the workings of the mind and spend my weekends there learning, laughing and loving every moment. I have discovered things about myself that I had never realised and I am sharing the time with a group of people who are so supportive, so honest and have such positive ethics. I am extremely fortunate.

Check Out That View!!

This time last week I was well into my first day, studying Cognitive Hypnotherapy. The university where the course is based has beautiful grounds and gardens so I couldn't resist taking photos of the flower beds!! If you look at my Instagram account for the summer time I do tend to become a tad obsessed with flowers in all their glory and I think that perhaps that time is drawing near again.Anyway.... my choice for this week's Check Out That View, hosted by the lovely Emma is the photo below. As you can see it shows one of the university flower beds looking rather glorious. I hope you like it and if you do then maybe you can click on the button below and visit some other Check Out That View participants... or maybe take part yourself!!

Retraining to Become a Cognitive Hypnotherapist.

I have worked in my current job for over 11 years. I love working as a Teaching Assistant, but since I completed my Degree in 2013 I have had my eye out for my next step. I knew that it would present itself to me. I just had to be patient. I was looking for something that would stretch my mind, be rewarding and at the same time be about giving back, helping other people. I wanted to find something that would inspire me. The solution came, as these things tend to do, out of the blue. Cognitive Hypnotherapy is my future and it found me by taking away my fear.

I had been more and more fearful of a certain situation and had decided to visit a friend of mine who is in practice as a Hypnotherapist. In one session she changed my life, or at least she enabled me to change my life. My fear was gone, no longer debilitating and I felt inspired to study hypnotherapy myself. How wonderful, to be able to help people live life as they want to live it, without fear.

I started to research courses and discovered that in the UK there is no one governing body for hypnotherapists. It is still seen as outside of the mainstream. However, I was drawn again and again to one place - an institute that is proud of its cutting edge approach to Cognitive Hypnotherapy. When I have completed my course I will share with you more, but for now I am going to keep that titbit of information private! I hope you don't mind! It will give me a reason to write again about my course, because if it continues the way it has started I am going to be raving about it!

I had my first study weekend last week and I don't think I have ever felt so positive,so inspired or excited. The weekend was fantastic from start to finish - the organisation and communication, the support given by our trainers and assistants. I learnt so much in two days. By Saturday night my mind felt like it was about explode. But in a good way. If there is a good way for your head to explode!! I went home excited and full of enthusiasm. The second day was, if anything, even better, and this time my mind felt relaxed and open. We were taught theory and then two techniques which we practised. And I can tell you .... they work like magic. Magic!

So now I have to wait a month before our next study weekend. This month is going to be spent reading and practising the techniques I have learnt. My youngest son has so far avoided my attempts at relaxation therapy or anchoring, but my eldest son has proved a brilliant subject! I have started close to home, but am gradually branching out to friends and neighbours in the quest to hone my hypnotherapy skills!

It is a little bit like being a magician. To watch someone go from being awake, nervous and unsettled to being relaxed totally and then back out the other side, awake and alert yet refreshed and calm, is truly wonderful. I have so much to learn, but the learning is awe inspiring. To be able, at the age of 51, to retrain in something which I can continue for the rest of my life, is just brilliant.

Training to become a Cognitive Hypnotherapist.

I am excited. Some time ago I wrote about my thoughts on training as a Hypnotherapist and since then I have moved forward with my plans. I have researched Training Schools and thought long and hard about whether I should or could retrain.

I have come to the conclusion that this really is the next step for me in my life. If you have been reading my blog for any time then you will know that I am one for a plan. I like to focus on something for which I am full of enthusiasm. In the past I decided to walk the Moon Walk, a marathon length overnight power walk to raise funds for Breast Cancer. I did it 4 times. Then I concentrated on running and completed many 10ks, 5ks and Half Marathons before, in 2008, completing the London Marathon. Then I changed my focus to my unfinished Degree and spent 3 years studying to gain a B.A Hons. I graduated in 2013.

This is not my way of saying "Look at me! I'm fab!" Its a way of showing you that when I set my mind on something I believe in - I do it. Since finishing my Degree I have wondered what to do next. I considered training to be a teacher, but decided that I was only thinking of this because I felt I ought to - not because I was desperately keen to do it.

Hypnotherapy is the future for me. It seems to be the answer to many of my desires and ambitions. I have found a school that I like and I am going to go for it.

picture courtesy of nicolamenage.co.uk

It has been difficult to find the right place to train as, in the UK, there is not one single regulatory body to whom one can go and find out the best way to train. Hypnotherapy is outside the mainstream of traditional care and as such there are a plethora of places - from online courses with no practical sessions to post graduate certificate courses with scientific papers to write. It is very hard to find a course that will definitely result in one being a reputable and professional therapist.

I have, however, been drawn to a particular school in London which seems to offer thorough training with a solid support system and proven track record. It offers a 10 month course with a mixture of home study and coming together with other students once a month over a weekend with an experienced trainer. There is a combination of theoretical study and practical work. After qualification one is supervised for a year and there is an excellent support network. They strive for excellence.

At the weekend I went along to the college for a meeting and I was impressed by the professionalism of the people I met. I was able to sit in on a training session and they answered all my questions. There was no hard sell - far from it. They seemed confident and dedicated.

So my decision is now - can I afford it? Is it the right thing for me? What can I lose if I do it? What can I gain?

It seems to me to be an exciting new path to take. It appears to be a career in which I can help other people overcome problems and fears, a career that I can run alongside my current job, a career that I can practise for the rest of my life, which will give me satisfaction and reward both intellectually and financially. For example, working for 3 hours a week as a hypnotherapist will give me the same salary as 17 hours as a Teaching Assistant. The financial side of it is pretty low down on my list of needs, but to be able to do something that helps other people, at times that suit me and in a way that gives me a sense of fulfillment whilst earning enough money to keep me afloat, is very tempting.

I want to be the best Hypnotherapist I can be. I want to be able to change people's lives in the way that my Hypnotherapist changed mine. It may be that with my experience in school I can eventually specialise in helping children and teenagers overcome problems that they face.To be able to help other people be free from their fears would be an incredible thing, a privilege.

picture courtesy of gabriellamoericke.co.uk

My first step is to sign up for the course, take the plunge. I am so excited!!!