Helen Walker Hypnotherapy

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Helen Walker Hypnotherapy

I’m the no nonsense anxiety resolving therapist. I use hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and practical tips

12/12/2025

A few weeks ago, a client asked my view on gratitude journalling.

Gratitude journalling is a practice of regularly (daily or weekly) writing down between 1-10 things that you are grateful for. The purpose is to help the individual feel more positive.

I’d last done some research on this a few years ago and discovered that findings were split; some studies found it to be an amazing way to improve mental health by focussing on the positives, some found it less so – sometimes even detrimental if the individual was in a dark place of black and white thinking and struggled to find things to write because it might highlight that thought that ‘everything is bad’.

Research changes though, so I did some more. Views seemed to have remained the same, but I did find a newer study that felt there was an additional benefit to sharing the things you were grateful for with friends or family, or publicly.

As I’ve said before, I never suggest a technique or activity to clients that I’ve not tried myself, so that’s what I did. I write a personal blog with a Facebook and Instagram page and decided to use those pages to publicly share my (you can see them here: https://www.facebook.com/profile/100064107900696/search/?q=%23thingsthatmakemesmile )

What I found:
✅ For me, it was easy to snap a photo rather than spending time describe things; simple is good
✅ It started to build a ‘this is a lovely thing worth sharing with others’ mindset
✅ Looking back on the previous days photos made me smile again
✅ Some days it was hard to choose just one thing and that was lovely
✅ It felt good when people acknowledged what I posted (I’m aware that’s the Social Media Machines goal, but this felt different to ‘how many likes did it get?’ and more like a shared appreciation.)
BUT:
❌ Some days it was harder to find a thing
❌ When I had a couple of chaotic days with a few unanticipated curveballs I totally forgot I was doing it, and stopped. And then I felt a bit rubbish about that.

So my view on gratitude journalling?
💬 If you do it, make it your own; it doesn’t have to be a notebook that you write in as you go to bed each night – use photos, drawings, send voice notes to a friend, – whatever is your easiest way of doing things.
💬 Ultimately, like most things, it will be a great tool for some and not useful for others

You might want to try it, you might not. Even if you just begin to think about it, you’re starting the process of training your mind to look for your day to day positives. And that can never be a bad thing, can it?

10/12/2025

The Garden Shed Clear-Out

He'd been putting it off for three years, but the shed had reached critical mass. You couldn't actually get to anything useful without first moving seventeen things you'd forgotten you owned. It was time.

The first hour was pure archaeology. Tins of paint from rooms they'd redecorated years ago. A broken lawnmower he'd meant to fix. Three sets of rusty secateurs when one good pair would do. Tools he'd bought for specific projects and never used again.
His partner poked her head in. 'Finding treasure?.

'Finding evidence of optimistic past selves, he replied, holding up a complete tile-cutting kit. 'Remember when I was going to re-tile the bathroom myself?'

She laughed. 'You hired someone after watching one YouTube video.'

'Best decision I ever made.' He added the tile cutter to the donation pile.

By afternoon, the shed was half empty and twice as useful. Everything that remained was something he actually used, actually needed, actually remembered owning. He could find his good spade, reach the ladder, locate the exact screwdriver for the job.

Sometimes less really is more—not as a lifestyle slogan, but as a practical reality. When we clear out what we're not using, what remains becomes accessible.

And isn't it interesting how much lighter a space feels when it contains only what serves you now?

~~~Are you ready to clear out what's taking up space without earning its keep?~~~

08/12/2025

Forgot someone's name immediately after being introduced?

Your mind was busy processing about 50 other pieces of information about them instead.

Perfectly normal brain prioritisation at work.

05/12/2025

Why do we sometimes wake up just before our alarm goes?

Your body has an internal clock that can estimate time surprisingly well. When you consistently wake at the same time, your brain starts preparing your body for consciousness about 30 minutes before, gradually reducing sleep hormones.

03/12/2025

It’s dark in the mornings when Percy and I run up to the woods for our morning plod, so he wears a light on his harness, and I wear a head torch.

Last week I totally forgot my head torch and didn’t realise until the streetlights ran out about 1km in. I thought about going back, getting the light or changing the route we’d planned, or just giving up on the plod entirely and walking on the street lit roads instead.

But I decided to trust – that by taking it slowly and carefully I could pick my way through the path in the woods.

After all, I knew it wouldn’t stay dark the whole time. In fact, it would start getting light before long, and then I wouldn’t even need the torch. It was only a relatively short time that things would be tricky for.

It was just a case of remembering, trusting and looking after myself a bit more than usual until things got better. And they would.

And they did.

And your conscious mind might instinctively understand the message in this story for you or it might not, and that is ok too, because your unconscious mind has already taken what you need to understand and is working to integrate that in the way that is best for you.

Your mind is such a clever place.

01/12/2025

Stuck in traffic?

Your unconscious mind is getting a lovely break from decision-making.

Sometimes the best ideas arrive when we're not trying to have them.

28/11/2025

Ever wonder why bad news seems to stick more than good news?

Your brain has a built-in negativity bias from evolutionary days when noticing threats was crucial for survival.

It takes about five positive experiences to outweigh one negative one in terms of psychological impact.

26/11/2025

The trapeze artist made it look effortless—soaring through the air, catching the bar at exactly the right moment, trusting her partner would be there. The crowd held its breath with each release and gasped with relief at each catch.

What they didn't see was the safety net. Always there, always ready, never needed but absolutely essential. The artist knew it was there, could feel its presence even when flying twenty feet above it. That knowledge changed everything—it meant she could commit fully to each move, push boundaries, try something new.

Her daughter asked after the show, "Mum, why do you still use the net? You never fall."

She smiled. "I don't fall because I have the net.

It's not about expecting to fail—it's about knowing I'm safe enough to really try.

Watch the performers without nets. See how careful they are? How limited? The net doesn't catch failure—it enables possibility."

Later that season, she taught her daughter a new trick. With the net below, the girl tried, adjusted, tried again, gradually finding her rhythm. Within weeks, she was flying.

Sometimes we think safety and growth are opposites, but they're actually partners.

Having support doesn't mean you're weak—it means you're wise enough to create conditions where real change becomes possible.

~~~What becomes possible when you feel truly supported?.~~~

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Brighton

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https://helen-walker.com/

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