The New Year can be a wonderful time for some people. They see it as packed with promise and potential: a springboard to exploration and experience. 

Others view the start of a New Year as the turning of a page, a moment to take stock and review their life choices, and try to change things they’re not entirely happy with. 

Millions of people make all sorts of pledges and promises to themselves at the start of January, but keeping those resolutions can be easier said than done. 

Despite lots of good intentions, a big burst of energy and – in many cases – a splurge of cash, all too soon they slip back into their old routines and habits. 

Allow me to take this moment to tell you a secret: making lasting, positive change is possible. As a fully qualified Solution Focused Clinical Hypnotherapist and Psychotherapist, I can help you achieve it. 

Why do we make New Year’s resolutions? 

It’s a good question. The answer varies from person to person, but many people see a new year as a chance to hit the reset button on their lives. 

That could mean anything from trying to end a bad habit, such as stopping smoking, or introducing a break in our routine, like Dry January. 

The New Year’s resolutions may be different, but the motivations behind them are very similar. People are looking to make a change or changes that will improve their physical and/or mental health. 

It can be driven by an idea called self-efficacy: the act of setting and achieving a life goal enables us to feel a greater sense of control. 

Why is keeping them sometimes hard?

The answer, as is so often the case, lies within our conscious mind. The simple act of setting a goal and achieving it makes us feel great. That’s because our brain releases the powerful neuro-hormone dopamine. 

Dopamine regulates our emotional responses and also helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centres.

Unfortunately, this feeling isn’t always enough to fuel our shiny new behavioural change in the long term, and eventually our motivation dwindles.

Ironically, the criticism we direct at ourselves for breaking a resolution doesn’t prompt us to dig a little deeper and keep going. For some, it mushrooms into self-doubt, prompting them to question why they are even trying to change in the first place. 

This negative spiral often prevents people from keeping their New Year resolutions. Before long it’s March, and what’s the point of picking them up again so late in the year..?

Why willpower alone isn’t always enough… 

Willpower is the ability to resist things we really want, but that may not be all that good for us. It takes great strength of mind to say no to something that you want with almost every fibre of your being. 

Exercising our willpower is a constant struggle between what we see around us and our ability to make rational decisions. 

Psychological research suggests that, like a muscle, we need to use our willpower to keep it in good condition. However, we can also push too far, and end up with willpower exhaustion, which can lead to cognitive fatigue. 

Simply put: we run out of self control and slip back into habits that do not serve us.

…hypnotherapy can help 

I’m here to say there is a tool that can help you make lasting, positive change that will enable you to achieve every goal you set for yourself. 

Hypnotherapy has enabled many people to achieve their New Year’s resolutions by helping them focus on what they want to achieve or the problems they want to overcome. 

It has been successful in helping with a wide variety of conditions, including stopping smoking or vaping, weight management, emotional eating, and anger management. 

Let’s explore further to find out how it works. 

A flexible, functional solution

Solution Focused hypnotherapy is a blend of modern psychotherapy methods with hypnosis.  

As a practitioner, I focus on finding solutions rather than the problems themselves, aiming to bring about fast, and potentially life-altering positive change.

Hypnotherapy works to break the negative behaviours and thought patterns underpinning something you do. 

That could be anything from boredom, in the case of excess eating, wanting to be part of a social group or feelings of anxiety for a smoker. 

During my hypnotherapy sessions, I guide clients into a relaxed state that allows their mind to focus on the thoughts or suggestions I give to them that will ensure the positive change required takes place. 

You never lose control while in the trance state (the experience is different for everyone, but think of it like daydreaming), and to leave it, you simply open your eyes.   

Thanks to hypnotherapy, it has never been easier to keep your New Year’s resolutions. 

What to expect from my hypnotherapy service 

My Solution Focused approach works quickly, depending on your needs. 

Working phobias take three sessions, while broader issues such as anxiety, stress and depression, require more time, from five to 12 sessions

No matter how many sessions you need, during each one we will agree on your aims, before I use hypnosis and positive suggestions to embed them within your subconscious mind. 

Over a short time, your subconscious mind will strive to achieve those goals, enabling you to make positive changes in your daily life and keep all your New Year’s resolutions. 

Bolster your resolve with hypnotherapy 

As a hypnotherapist, I have helped lots of people from all walks of life achieve things they never thought were possible using willpower alone. 

Among them was a patient who had repeatedly tried to stop smoking. They said it was tricky to explain what changed or how, but I helped them break whatever kept drawing them back to cigarettes. 

“I was tired of gearing myself up to quit again and again, I’m happy to finally be past it now.”

Let’s get your New Year off to a flying start 

Are you ready to make this new year the one in which you keep all your resolutions? Great! I would love to help you achieve that goal. 

If you are based in and around Cambridge, I hold hypnotherapist sessions two days a week at two clinics. 

On Thursdays, I’m at Salus Wellness Clinics in Cambridge Place, while on Fridays you can find me at Coach House Health Care in Trumpington. 

Contact me

To book your free Zoom-based initial consultation, you can choose a date and time to suit you here. 
Alternatively, you can email me at sevarin@lifeflowhypnotherapy.co.uk or fill in this contact form, and I’ll reply as soon as possible.