Parry Hypnotherapy

Parry Hypnotherapy Solution focused hypnotherapy allows you to increase your well being in a short space of time. If yo

If we feel stuck in a tense negative state the encouraging news is that the body is surprisingly receptive to small, del...
01/05/2026

If we feel stuck in a tense negative state the encouraging news is that the body is surprisingly receptive to small, deliberate signals of safety.

😴Something as simple as slowing your breathing, making the exhale longer than the inhale, nudges the nervous system toward a calmer state.

🕺Gentle movement helps discharge built-up tension.

⏸Pausing to notice ordinary details, the weight of a chair, the sound of distant traffic, the reassuring absence of predators, subtly inform the brain that it may stand down from high alert.

With practice these small adjustments accumulate, and the body remembers what “not in danger” feels like. The fight-or-flight response is still there but only ready to be deployed only when needed.

With kindness
Angharad

One of the more telling signs that we are stuck in flight-flight is a persistent sense of urgency about things that are ...
29/04/2026

One of the more telling signs that we are stuck in flight-flight is a persistent sense of urgency about things that are not, on inspection, especially urgent. You may find yourself rushing through tasks, eating quickly, or feeling faintly irritated by minor inconveniences, such as a slow-loading webpage or a person walking at what can only be described as a reasonable pace.

Physically, it can show up as tight shoulders, shallow breathing, or a heart that seems to be auditioning for a more dramatic role than necessary. The body, in essence, is idling at high speed, expecting something to go wrong at any moment.

Don't worry, it is all about being human, and we can learn to calm that panicked part of our brain surprisingly quickly.

With kindness,
Angharad

We may know all about the fight and flight state, but still find ourselves behaving as if being pursued by a large and d...
27/04/2026

We may know all about the fight and flight state, but still find ourselves behaving as if being pursued by a large and determined predator. In reality we may be sitting perfectly still, perhaps holding a cup of tea and contemplating emails. This fight-or-flight system is designed for short bursts of survival, not for lingering indefinitely over admin.

Many of us wander about in a low-grade version of this state without even realising it. We assume that the constant tension(things to do, plan, respond to, fix) is simply what adulthood feels like. We rationalise the overthinking and it becomes our normal never allowing the brain to fully relax.

If you find your brain rarely switches off it can be reassuring to know that we can learn to let things go a bit and enjoy life more with a little understanding of the brain and some simple practice.

With kindness
Angharad
mind

PTSD - Enter the curiously named rewind technique, which sounds like something you might do with an old cassette tape bu...
24/04/2026

PTSD - Enter the curiously named rewind technique, which sounds like something you might do with an old cassette tape but is, in fact, a structured psychological method designed to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories.

The idea is to revisit the memory in a controlled, detached way then mentally “rewind” it. This process appears to reduce the emotional intensity attached to the memory, allowing the brain to refile it with the appropriate label: “unpleasant, but over.”

What makes this approach particularly appealing is that it doesn’t require a person to talk about the event/s or relive every distressing detail in a raw and overwhelming fashion. Instead, it creates a sense of distance and control, which is precisely what trauma tends to disrupt.

Of course, like most things involving the brain this is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Effective help for PTSD often includes a combination of approaches: therapy, social support, good sleep, and occasionally the quiet heroics of simply getting through the day. But rewind is a highly effective tool to begin with.

With kindness,
Angharad

Traumatic events become problematic because of how the brain encodes some trauma. During highly stressful events, the am...
22/04/2026

Traumatic events become problematic because of how the brain encodes some trauma. During highly stressful events, the amygdala—the brain’s alarm system—becomes dramatically overenthusiastic, while the hippocampus, which is responsible for placing memories in context (“this happened then, not now”), is somewhat sidelined.

The memory is stored in a fragmented, sensory-heavy way, which explains why PTSD often involves vivid flashes, physical sensations, and emotional surges rather than calm, narrative recollection. In short, the brain remembers the danger but misplaces the timestamp.

There is a rewind technique which allows the brain to process it and put it in the right place. I'll take a quick look at that on Friday. But feel free to contact me if you have questions.

With kindness
Angharad

More on PTSD this week as it is something that so many people suffer with. When traumatic events interfere with the pres...
20/04/2026

More on PTSD this week as it is something that so many people suffer with. When traumatic events interfere with the present and who would not live in a state of anxiety?

It is one of the more inconvenient features of our brains that they refuse to file certain memories away in a tidy, archival manner, as one might with tax receipts or instruction manuals for appliances already thrown out. Instead traumatic memories are kept in a sort of neurological “urgent” tray—brightly lit, easily accessible, and entirely unwilling to fade with time.

The result is that a past event, sometimes years old, can arrive in the present moment with all the subtlety of a marching band in a library, complete with sights, sounds, and a deeply unhelpful sense that it is happening all over again.

It can be overwhelming and scary, but we are learning all the time and there is effective help. More on this during the week.

With kindness,
Angharad

When we feel that nothing is going right we notice everything that confirms this position. And get caught in that loop, ...
17/04/2026

When we feel that nothing is going right we notice everything that confirms this position. And get caught in that loop, by deliberately noticing what is working—your morning coffee, a functioning pair of socks, the fact that gravity continues to behave itself—you redirect attention toward stability rather than threat.

It is not gratitude, which of course is wonderful it is noticing the small good things. Over time, this builds a habit of scanning for positives, which doesn’t eliminate problems but does prevent them from monopolising the stage of life.

WIth kindness
Angharad

When caught in a negative loop a simple yet effective technique is to ask better questions. Instead of:“Why is everythin...
15/04/2026

When caught in a negative loop a simple yet effective technique is to ask better questions. Instead of:

“Why is everything going wrong?” which the brain will answer with alarming enthusiasm, you might try: “

What is one thing I can improve today?”

This has the effect of shrinking the problem from “everything” is dreadful (huge and overwhelming), to “one thing” is a bit better (manageable and finishable). The brain, relieved, sets to work like a diligent pupil rather than a panicked conspiracy theorist.

With kindness,
Angharad

It is a mildly miraculous fact that we can spend an entire afternoon inventing imaginary problems and then feel exhauste...
13/04/2026

It is a mildly miraculous fact that we can spend an entire afternoon inventing imaginary problems and then feel exhausted from solving none of them.

The brain runs on chemical messengers which respond to what we do and what we think. When we focus on problems without solutions, our brain obligingly produces stress signals, as if preparing you to outrun a tiger that is not, in fact, in the room.

When we shifter thinking toward solutions—even small, slightly unimpressive ones— we begin to release chemicals associated with reward and motivation. In other words, our brain is less concerned with whether we've fixed our life and but is rather more impressed that you’ve made a start.

With kindness,
Angharad

This week I have been introducing the recticualr activating system (RAS), the filter through which we understand the wor...
10/04/2026

This week I have been introducing the recticualr activating system (RAS), the filter through which we understand the world. Understanding a little about some brain functions is rather reassuring.

Knowing about this filter (RAS) suggests that change doesn’t always require grand upheaval or heroic effort, sometimes it’s a matter of adjusting the lens through which we view our experience. The RAS, is ever obliging and will busily present us with more of whatever you’ve told it matters.

If we consistently tell ourselves that we're bad at something, the RAS will dutifully collect supporting evidence. This is why both solution-focused therapy and hypnotherapy place such emphasis on constructive language and intentional thought patterns—they’re effectively retraining your internal search engine.

Instead of being terrified our brain becomes an ally in noticing progress, amplifying strengths, and quietly steering you toward a version of life that feels, quite wonderfully, a little easier.

With kindness
Angharad

Our brain's system for filtering information and therefore understanding the world is (RAS - recaticualar activating sys...
08/04/2026

Our brain's system for filtering information and therefore understanding the world is (RAS - recaticualar activating system) responds particularly well to clarity and repetition.

Vague aspirations like “I’d like things to be better” tend to drift past unnoticed. But specific, vivid suggestions—“I notice moments of calm in my day when I am getting the family ready in the morning” or “I feel more confident when speaking up”—give the RAS something concrete to latch onto. It’s a bit like giving it a shopping list instead of telling it to “get something nice.”

Over time, this filtering system begins to highlight evidence that supports these suggestions. Small wins, fleeting moments of success, and subtle shifts in behaviour start to stand out. Where previously they might have been dismissed or overlooked, they now take centre stage, creating a growing sense that change is not only possible, but already underway.

WIth kindness,
Angharad

Have you ever bought a car and suddenly noticed the same model or colour everywhere? Obviously a large chunk of the popu...
06/04/2026

Have you ever bought a car and suddenly noticed the same model or colour everywhere? Obviously a large chunk of the population has not had the same car purchasing ideas as you. It shows us how what we notice is highly selective and it is all down to the brain’s quiet concierge: the reticular activating system, or RAS.

It’s a small but industrious network in the brainstem that decides what gets your attention and what gets politely ignored. This is rather important, because what you notice tends to become what you believe is happening. If your mental filter is tuned to problems, you’ll find them with the enthusiasm of a truffle dog. If it’s tuned to solutions, something rather more helpful begins to occur.

With kindness,
Angharad

Address

The 5 Bells, Llanelli Church, Gilwern
Abergavenny
NP70HG

Telephone

+441873831427

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Parry Hypnotherapy posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Parry Hypnotherapy:

Shortcuts

Share

Category