Louise Squires Hypnotherapist

13/03/2026

If “just calm down” has never helped you… you’re not failing at relaxation.

That spike you feel when you try to relax is the law of reversed effect in action.

Here’s what’s happening in your brain 👇
When you try to calm down, your mind starts monitoring:
“Am I relaxed yet?” “Is it working?” “Why do I still feel tense?”

That self-checking flips your system into control mode — and your nervous system interprets that as:
“If we’re monitoring this hard, something must be wrong.”

So the body does the opposite of what you want:
➡️ more tension
➡️ more symptoms
➡️ more frustration

It’s the same reason “try to sleep” keeps you awake.

In hypnotherapy, we don’t force calm.
We remove the struggle, soften the internal checking, and help your system learn safety again — so calm becomes automatic.

13/03/2026

One thing I often see in my hypnotherapy work is how much the mind quietly carries.

Not just big life events, but all the small everyday pressures that build up over time.

Conversations.
Responsibilities.
Stress.
Overthinking.

Even when you seem to be coping well, your mind can still be holding a lot underneath.

Hypnotherapy gives the mind space to switch off, release that build up, and reset.

I’ve been working on something new that will help people do this more regularly. I’ll share more soon….. it’s very exciting 🙌

In the meantime I’m curious…
Do you ever feel like your mind could do with a reset?

11/03/2026

That’s more common than you think. A lot of people come to me saying, “Therapy didn’t work for me before” and what they usually mean is, they tried really hard, they showed up, they talked, they understood things… but their body still stayed on high alert.

10/03/2026

Remember the dress that broke the internet in 2015?

Some people swore it was blue and black.
Others were absolutely convinced it was white and gold.

Same photo.
Two completely different realities.

And scientists later discovered something interesting…

Your brain wasn’t actually seeing the colour of the dress.

It was guessing the lighting conditions in the photo and correcting the colours automatically.

In other words —
your brain wasn’t recording reality…

It was interpreting it.

Now something similar is doing the rounds again online.

Some people look at this picture and immediately see forks sitting on a towel.

Others are convinced it’s something completely different.

And just like the dress… once your brain locks onto an interpretation, it can be surprisingly hard to see anything else.

Which is a fascinating reminder of something I talk about a lot in hypnotherapy:

The brain isn’t simply responding to reality.

It’s responding to the story it believes about reality.

And when that story changes…
our experience of the world can change too.

So now I’m curious…

What do you see first? 👇

09/03/2026

Social anxiety can look like overthinking everything you said, rehearsing conversations in your head, worrying you’ll be judged, or feeling tense and awkward the moment you walk into a room.

It can also show up physically. A racing heart, shaky hands, a tight chest, a dry mouth, feeling flushed, feeling like you want to escape. And when your body is doing all that, it’s really hard to “think your way out of it”.

That’s because social anxiety is often a nervous system response, not a confidence issue.

In my hypnotherapy sessions, I help you understand what your mind is trying to protect you from, and what situations your brain has labelled as “unsafe”. For a lot of people it’s the fear of judgement, embarrassment, saying the wrong thing, or being perceived.

Then we work at the subconscious level, where that automatic response lives.

Hypnotherapy helps me calm the fight or flight reaction, soften the inner critic, and shift the patterns that keep you scanning for danger in social situations. We also build a steadier sense of safety and self trust, so you can show up without feeling like you have to perform or get everything right.

This is a gentle approach, and it’s always at your pace.

If social anxiety has been holding you back from doing things you’d actually like to enjoy, contact me to book a free initial consultation and we’ll talk it through.

06/03/2026

If your brain is always scanning, planning, replaying, it’s often a safety habit. Helpful once, exhausting now.

In hypnotherapy I help your mind learn that it can pause, so rest actually feels restful.

Follow for more tips.

04/03/2026

Emotional eating is rarely about willpower.

It’s usually about comfort, soothing, switching off, or trying to fill a gap after a stressful day. Food becomes the quickest way to change how you feel in the moment, especially if you’re exhausted, overwhelmed, lonely, bored, or running on empty.

And then comes the part that feels rubbish
The guilt. The self criticism. The “why did I do that again?” loop.

In my hypnotherapy sessions, I focus on what’s happening underneath the eating. We look at the emotional trigger, what the food is doing for you, and what your mind has learned to expect in those moments.

Because if your subconscious links food with relief, it will keep pushing you towards it, even when you genuinely want to stop.

Hypnotherapy helps me work with that pattern at the root. We calm the nervous system, reduce the urge, and create new ways for your mind to feel safe, soothed, and settled without needing food to do the job.

We also work on changing the inner dialogue, so you’re not trying to create change while being harsh with yourself. Feeling supported and understood matters.

If emotional eating is something you’re ready to tackle gently, contact me to book a free initial consultation and we’ll chat about what’s going on.

03/03/2026

Some people come to me because their blood pressure is fine at home, but spikes at the doctors. The build up to the appointment creates anxiety, the cuff comes out, the body tenses, adrenaline kicks in, and then the higher reading makes them worry even more.

With this client, I helped rebuild a sense of control at appointments so the brain stopped treating the reading like an emergency.
We built a calm anchor they could use in the waiting room, practised steady breathing and body softening, and changed the meaning of the cuff and the reading so it stopped triggering the alarm response.

The result is appointments feel calmer, readings are more stable, and there is less fear of being checked. If your blood pressure spikes at appointments, message me to book a free initial consultation.

27/02/2026

Because anxiety isn’t always about what’s happening today. Your nervous system can be reacting to stress that built up over time, old patterns, or just running on empty. I help you calm the inside alarm so “fine” can actually feel fine.

Follow for more tips.

25/02/2026

Do you Google a tiny symptom and convince yourself something is seriously wrong?

Your brain isn’t trying to scare you — it’s trying to protect you.

Here’s what’s really happening 👇

When cortisol is high, your nervous system becomes hyper-aware of bodily sensations.
A normal twinge becomes a warning sign.
Your brain starts scanning for danger and can’t find a clear answer, so it fills in the gaps with worst-case scenarios.

This is called a misinterpretation loop between the threat system and the part of the brain that notices internal sensations.
It’s not you being dramatic — it’s your brain’s safety software working overtime.

That’s why reassurance doesn’t stick.
It’s why you check, Google, and spiral.
Your brain thinks it’s saving your life — but really, it’s exhausting you.

✨ How hypnotherapy helps:
In sessions, we calm the hyper-vigilant system, retrain the brain to interpret sensations accurately, and help you rebuild trust in your body.
The constant scanning stops.
The panic reduces.
Your brain shifts from:
“What if something is wrong?”
to
“I’m safe, and I know my body.”

If you’re ready for that shift — I offer a free initial consultation through this page.

23/02/2026

Great example of how hypnotherapy can be used to help stop smoking for good. I absolutely love working with smokers

https://www.asiaone.com/entertainment/jerry-oconnell-says-smoking-habit-kicked-1000-hypnosis-session?fbclid=IwZnRzaAQJrmNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeP3JQzaXV6MW7pn5Iu7P3XyeIM4pg6uWQkT756VRkVHaMm8jAXtLj14GeRg8_aem_pWGvsEHxVmBPOPsbphnrLA

Jerry O'Connell got hypnotised to quit smoking.The 52-year-old actor has not touched a cigarette for "14 years" after he spent "$800" on seeing a hypnotist in 2012.Appearing on a recent episode of the Work in Progress podcast, Jerry told 43-year-old host Sophia Bush: "I struggled with ni****ne for d...