The Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy

14/12/2025

Very interesting

In the late 1960s, American ethologist Dr. John B. Calhoun built what he believed could be the closest thing to a perfect world — not for humans, but for mice.

He called it Universe 25.

Inside this sealed habitat, nothing bad could happen:
• Food? Unlimited.
• Water? Unlimited.
• Shelter? Perfectly clean.
• Temperature? Ideal.
• Predators? None.
• Diseases? Prevented.
• Stress? Eliminated.

A small colony of mice was introduced.

At first, it was paradise.

Population doubled every 55 days.
Families built tight-knit groups.
Social life thrived.
Everything Calhoun predicted about a perfect society came true… for a while.

But at around 600 mice, something strange happened — something no one expected.

The paradise cracked.

The strongest males took the premium nesting spaces, pushing weaker ones into overcrowded corners.
Fights erupted without purpose.
Mothers stopped protecting their young, some even abandoning them.
Males became territorial and aggressive, while others withdrew completely from society.

Then came the most chilling phase.

A generation emerged that Calhoun called “the Beautiful Ones” — mice who isolated themselves, refused to mate, groomed obsessively, and avoided all social interaction.
There was no violence, no interest, no purpose — only detachment.

Even though food and comfort were infinite, the colony began to collapse from the inside.

Mating stopped.
Births dwindled.
Social structure dissolved.
And eventually, the population fell to zero.

The last mouse died surrounded by everything needed to live — except meaning.

Calhoun repeated similar experiments 25 times, and the outcome never changed.

His conclusion echoed far beyond the field of animal behavior:

> “When a society loses purpose, connection, and structure… collapse occurs long before physical needs stop being met.”

✨ Shared to raise awareness about how deeply purpose, community, and emotional connection affect survival — reminding us that abundance alone cannot sustain a society without meaning and empathy.

🔎 Sources (Verified)

• John B. Calhoun, National Institute of Mental Health – Universe 25 Research Papers
• Smithsonian Magazine – Analysis of Calhoun’s Experiments
• Journal of Social History – Behavioral Sink Interpretation
• The Atlantic – Coverage on Population & Behavioral Studies
• American Journal of Sociology – Review of Calhoun’s Findings

27/11/2025

https://www.sich.co.uk/1036/hypnotherapy-for-emetophobia/

For many, hypnotherapy for emetophobia offers a practical way back to ease.

12/11/2025

If you’ve ever wondered why toilet anxiety feels so physical, even when nothing is actually wrong, this video explains why.

Paul Howard — the world’s leading authority on treating toilet anxiety using hypnotherapy, nervous system regulation, and functional neurology — reveals the real reason your body reacts as if danger is present when it isn’t.

You’ll learn:
• What FND (Functional Neurological Disorder) means and how it relates to toilet anxiety
• Why your brain can send powerful false alarm signals to the body
• How these signals create real sensations of urgency and panic
• Why this isn’t “just anxiety” — and definitely not your fault
• What recovery actually involves — retraining the body’s subconscious alarm system

Toilet anxiety isn’t about toilets — it’s about safety, control, and a misfiring survival response.
When you understand that mechanism, everything changes.

🔗 Learn more or book a consultation: https://www.sich.co.uk
⭐ Read verified client reviews: https://www.sich.co.uk/reviews
📩 Subscribe for expert-led, evidence-based help



https://youtu.be/SlmqWvm-ecg

07/11/2025

Many people don’t realise just how physical toilet anxiety can feel — even when nothing is actually wrong.
In this short video, the first of 13, Paul Howard explains the neurological mechanism behind it and why traditional anxiety techniques often miss the mark.

If you find it interesting or know someone who might benefit, please consider watching, giving it a thumbs up, and subscribing to help us share accurate, evidence-based information more widely.

🎥 Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgEI2zttWHM

If you're stuck with toilet anxiety and nothing seems to help, you're not alone and you're not broken.In this video, Paul Howard, the world's leading authori...

31/10/2025

31/10/2025

Happy Halloween from SICH. When toilet anxiety tries a jump scare, ask, is the way I am feeling appropriate for the situation I am in. Then, I know I have all the resources within me to deal with whatever emerges. Boo to fear, yes to fun. We are here when you need us.

26/10/2025

https://www.r4therapy.com/life-transitions/

Life transitions are more than external events, they are internal reorganisations of the self. Old roles fall away and familiar reference points blur.

20/06/2025

Well done Julie, and thank you for your kind words

I recently had 2 sessions of hypnotherapy with Kelly for hospital anxiety (white coat syndrome). I was in a high state of anxiety when i had my 1st session of hypnotherapy, after suddenly having to go to hospital & facing ongoing tests & appointments.i was amazed at the results even after the 1st se...

18/04/2025

Toilet Anxiety is a big part of the therapy I do. Here is my latest rant on the issue.

If there’s one thing that makes my blood boil, it’s reading content from so-called experts who clearly have never worked with this condition.

03/02/2025

https://www.sich.co.uk/13881/millions-say-toilet-anxiety-ruins-my-life/

Toilet Anxiety is a real and often debilitating condition, with sufferers feeling they have no escape, frequently saying, "toilet anxiety ruins my life."

27/11/2024

Patrick Grant has it right. Community Clothing

This is from his email yesterday. If we can afford to buy good quality stuff from as close to home as possible, we should. Buy less, buy better.
Or as he puts it “Blackburn Not Black Friday”.

As we agree with everything he says we will leave it in his words.


"Businesses could and should do good for society. They should make and sell objects of real and lasting value, things that give great pleasure and utility to their owners. They should sustain and create good jobs that people are proud to do. And they should do so in a way which minimises, or if possible eliminates, all waste and pollution, ensuring that they cause no harm to our planet.

Black Friday encourages the opposite of all of this – rampant over consumption of terrible quality tat, poverty jobs, and an ever-growing waste mountain along with terrifying levels of pollution. It is a symptom of everything that is wrong with the way most businesses operate today.

Until around 50 years ago we lived in a world where the things we bought were well made, where the making of these things employed millions of people (a third of working Brits were employed this way), and this work sustained communities across the country, towns and cities like Blackburn, which we call home.

At Community Clothing we believe in a different way of doing things. Our mission is simple: make great quality affordable clothes which last as long as we can possibly make them, and by doing so we support skilled, well-paid work right here in the UK. We never have a sale, not on Black Friday, or Blue Monday, not ever, instead we charge the very best price we can for the things we sell 365 days a year encouraging you to buy what you need, when you need it.

So this Black Friday we encourage you to think carefully about what you want your hard earned money to do – line the pockets of a billionaire trotters up on his yacht in some tropical tax haven, or find its way into the pockets of hardworking skilled folk right here in your own back yard. Think Blackburn*, not Black Friday.

•⁠ ⁠or Bolton, Burnley, Hawick, Leeds, Leicester, London, Manchester or any of the other 31 towns and cities across the UK where we manufacture our clothes.”