Tom Carter Hypnotherapy

09/08/2025

www.hypnotherapy-norwich.co.uk/blog/your-brain-the-worlds-greatest-pattern-making-machine

Discover how your brain’s love for patterns shapes habits, fuels learning, and can be rewired for lasting positive change.

07/08/2025

Healing doesn’t happen all at once.
It unfolds in stages — often subtle, sometimes cyclical — as we move from surviving to living.

Swipe through to explore a journey many of us walk after trauma:

👉 I couldn’t (the event)
👉 I can’t (the belief)
👉 Can I? (the opening)
👉 I can (the shift)
👉 I will (the decision)
👉 I am (the action)
👉 I have (the transformation)

Each stage is valid.
Each step forward matters.
Your story is not stuck — it’s unfolding.

10/07/2025

“The grass is greener where you water it.”

It’s tempting to believe there’s always something better out there — a different relationship, job, lifestyle — that would somehow be easier, happier, more fulfilling. But that’s often an illusion built on emotionally-driven thinking and comparisons stripped of reality.

Chasing the idea of “greener grass” without acknowledging the effort it takes to grow your own can be corrosive to your emotional wellbeing. The truth? It takes time, patience, and consistent care to build a life worth living — wherever you are. Don’t underestimate the power of showing up, putting in the work, and nurturing what you’ve already got.

Stop idealising the escape. Start investing in the reality.

09/07/2025

What if your panic wasn't a problem… but protection in disguise?

In this video, we explore panic attacks as a form of life-saving energy—not something broken in you, but a powerful response from a part of your body that's always working to keep you safe.

Often, we feel the urge to act—run, speak up, move—but the situation around us doesn't “allow” it. Social expectations, pressure to stay calm, or fear of being judged leads us to suppress that energy. And that is where the panic escalates.

This isn’t about weakness. It’s about conflict.

Between your biology and your social conditioning.

Between survival and suppression.

Understanding panic through this compassionate lens is the first step toward healing and regulation—not by fighting the body, but by listening to it. 🧠❤️

🎥 Watch now to learn how this energy can be met with kindness, not fear.

07/07/2025

Discover how hypnotherapy can give athletes a mental edge—enhancing focus, overcoming performance anxiety, and reinforcing confidence through visualisation and subconscious conditioning.

Perfect whether you're aiming to smash personal bests or boost your team's game-day mindset.
www.hypnotherapy-norwich.co.uk/blog/unlocking-peak-performance-how-hypnotherapy-boosts-sporting-success

Boost sports performance with hypnotherapy—build confidence, manage stress, and unlock your full potential through the power of the mind.

27/06/2025

Ever catch yourself saying things in your head you'd never say to someone else? 😔 That’s negative self-talk — and it has a powerful impact on our emotional state.What many don’t realise is that these self-critical thoughts aren’t facts — they’re learned patterns. We're not born with them. They’re absorbed, repeated, and reinforced over time.And when we’re emotional — upset, stressed, or overwhelmed — we become more suggestible. Our minds are open, and what we tell ourselves sinks in deeper. That’s why we must be careful with the messages we feed our unconscious mind.Awareness is the first step to healing. 💭🌱

19/06/2025

A little reminder: the version of you that you think you are lives only in your mind. Let go of the performance—authenticity starts when you stop trying to curate who you should be. 🧠✨

07/06/2025

RIP Paul Alexander. An awe inspiring example of The Human Spirit to survive under the most astonishing circumstances.

Paul Alexander, lovingly known as "Polio Paul" or "the man in the iron lung," has passed away, closing a remarkable chapter in medical and human history. Stricken with polio in 1952 at just six years old, Paul was left almost completely paralyzed. Kept alive by an iron lung—a massive, mechanical respirator—he relied on the device not just to survive, but to thrive for more than seventy years. What was meant to be a short-term solution became a permanent part of his life, and through it all, Paul endured with extraordinary grace.

Far from surrendering to his condition, Paul went on to accomplish what many thought impossible. He earned a law degree, built a career, published his memoir, and maintained a sharp wit and vibrant mind. Through interviews, public speaking, and writing, he inspired thousands by showing that limitations of the body need not define the boundaries of the soul. His strength, humor, and unwavering independence became a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

Paul's passing March 2024 marks the end of an era and leaves behind more than just memories—it leaves a legacy. As one of the last individuals in the world to live full-time in an iron lung, he became a living link to a time before the polio vaccine changed history. Yet his life was not about what he endured, but how he lived. Paul Alexander showed us all what it means to persevere with dignity, and in doing so, became a symbol of courage and hope for generations to come.

06/06/2025

What is stress, really? And why do we often ignore it until we’re overwhelmed?

The word “stress” only entered medical vocabulary in the 1930s, thanks to Hans Selye. Before then, people spoke of “strain,” “nervous exhaustion,” or just being “worn out.” Selye defined stress as the body’s non-specific response to any demand for change—something we now know is managed by our autonomic nervous system.

🧠 A little stress is useful. It sharpens focus and boosts performance. This is called eustress—the healthy kind that gets you through a deadline or big event.

🚨 But too much stress can harm us. When pressure is constant or overwhelming, it keeps our nervous system in a fight-or-flight state. This can lead to anxiety, poor sleep, burnout, and even physical illness.

💥 Trauma makes us more vulnerable. Past trauma can “wire” our nervous system to be hypersensitive to stressors. It can also lead to poor boundaries, people-pleasing, and a reduced ability to respond assertively—making it harder to manage everyday stress and more likely to push us into overwhelm.

👀 Here’s the catch: We often don’t realise we’re overstressed until we’ve reached burnout.

✅ The key is early awareness. Tune into your body: shallow breathing, irritability, tension, forgetfulness—these are all signs to slow down. Build healthy boundaries, move your body, breathe, and seek help when needed.

04/06/2025

https://www.hypnotherapy-norwich.co.uk/blog/understanding-stress-from-hans-selyes-discovery-to-daily-life-management

Discover the origins of stress, its impact on the nervous system, and how to manage it effectively. Learn how trauma influences stress responses and why early awareness matters. Support available with Tom Carter Hypnotherapy in Norwich

14/02/2025

The Love We Seek & The Bonds We Fear 💔💞

On this Valentine’s Day, a day that celebrates love and connection, it’s worth reflecting on how deeply wired we are for relationships. The human experience is relational—everything we encounter is through our connection to it (or them). Love, in all its forms, is at the core of our existence. 💫

But for many, love is not just a source of joy—it’s also a source of fear. Attachment wounds create a cruel paradox: the instinctive longing for connection paired with a deep fear of trust. Early experiences shape our ability to depend on others, and when trust is fractured, relationships become a cycle of push and pull—seeking closeness, then withdrawing to avoid rejection. Over time, this pattern turns from behavior into identity: “I’m bad at relationships” or “I’m just too needy.”

But as John Bowlby, the father of Attachment Theory, reminds us:

✨ “We are only as needy as our unmet needs.” ✨

Healing begins when those unmet needs are acknowledged and addressed. When that happens, love and attachment can shift—becoming more stable, secure, and fulfilling. So today, whether you’re celebrating love with someone else or nurturing love within yourself, remember: you are worthy of connection. ❤️

07/02/2025

Ever felt like your heart is racing, your chest is tight, and your thoughts are spiraling? That’s a panic attack—your body’s fight-or-flight response in overdrive. But who or what is doing the attacking? It is ourselves, or rather our ego mind, trying to suppress and keep hidden what the body is attempting to do in the interests of our safety. But don’t worry, you can regain control, by doing the opposite to what most people do, which is trying to squash the survival energy back in the body. Here I speak briefly about what’s happening in your brain and body during a panic attack and share the counter-intuitive key to returning yourself to calm. So, when you feel the fear response emerging in the body, ask for more of the energy your body is trying to generate (to keep you safe), and feel the fear subside.