Mel Abbott Empower Therapies

15/10/2025

Day 2 of The Switch has just finished - we had a WONDERFUL DAY!

One girl with cognitive function and fatigue issues was THRILLED that she stopped playing computer games because she was bored; not because she was exhausted or had symptoms. 2.5 hours of gaming! YAHOO!

Another who is bedbound with pain said she felt "elated" after Day 1 and she got out of bed and went to the library to return half of the many books she had out because she knows she'll be up and about more soon and won't have as much time for reading. Today, she chose to get dressed for the course instead of stay in pyjamas and she had some really great realisations through her Deep Switch.

A guy with Chrons had such a big shift! Yesterday, he had rushes to the toilet about 5 times before coming to the course. Today, just a nice normal bathroom start to the day.

Another did a Switch for achilles pain and then was able to do the rest of her walk in comfort.

Another often has disrupted nights with pain and vertigo and frequent waking. Last night, she slept right through the night and woke feeling well rested and with no vertigo.

A guy with OCD only did his rituals every 20 minutes instead of every few minutes, and he was able to do a morning shower and getting ready routine in 20 minutes instead of being stuck in his room all day. HUGE change!

A guy with concussion opened his blinds for the first time and was OK with the light levels. He also had dinner with his family for the first time in ages, and he was able to use the main room light at night instead of just a dim side light.

A girl with PTSD felt more accepting of reality, less of a need to control things, less perfectionism and more able to be flexible and change plans. Overall, she felt calmer, lighter and more confident.

And another person with fatigue has woken up 3 hours earlier each morning and gone to bed an hour later each night but still had far more energy than they usually would!

So they are all doing GREAT! They really embraced the Deep Switch and we could see the shifts in their bodies as they released trauma - they were breathing more naturally and fully, they were smiling more, they said they felt lighter and more free. They said it was amazing to see what they could release.

They are onto it!

14/10/2025

Day 1 of The Switch has just finished - what a GREAT day!

This group are all so on board! One said that just preparing for the course has already led to so much improvement to her CFS. She even managed a 1.5 hour walk this week.

Another came to me 12 years ago for CFS and had a wonderful recovery and has been great for years. She then had a stroke 2 years ago, so she is back now to work on her cognitive function post-stroke. She's very inspiring for the rest of the group when she said at the start "anyone who is here for CFS - you won't have it much longer! This works!"

Most of them did their Switches today on anxiety about doing Switch in front of the group and they went from 1-3/10 to 7-9/10 confidence. We could see their posture and facial expressions and breathing change before our eyes.

Two did Switch for trusting their cognitive function and they had really good shifts too. One said "I don't need to see myself as an experiment to research. I can just put my body into a nice calm state so that it does its own cognitive healing for me".

Two people did Switch for trusting that they can release trauma - they both reported feeling so much lighter and more free in their bodies.

Another did Switch for turning off OCD thoughts - he said he felt much calmer and more present afterwards.

And another did Switch for chronic abdominal pain that means she is bedbound. She stood up to do The Switch and was so enthusiastic and positive throughout. Afterwards, her comfort levels were still at 4/10, but she doesnt' normally stand up, so to have not flared up into worse pain through movement is already an achievement. So I got her to repeat the Switch lying in bed and this time, her comfort levels surged up to a 9/10!

So I have huge optimism about all of these people! They are going to ace this journey!

13/10/2025

Another Switch course kicks off today! I'm really excited to get started with this group and give you updates along the way. Here's a few of the conditions we'll be working with in this group:
🔹 Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
🔹 Hashimoto's
🔹 Crohn's
🔹 Chronic pain
🔹 OCD
🔹 Dysautonomia
🔹 Anxiety
🔹 Post-concussion Syndrome
🔹 Long-COVID

Let me know if you've got any questions along the way and stay tuned for an update after each day finishes 🌻

12/10/2025

The Switch Webinar Series had their first group call today!

Only two of the group attended the call, so hopefully we'll meet more of them next week, but these two are ROCKING it!

One did LP with me 12 years ago for chronic pain and has felt marvellous for years! She had an injury in January and has felt a bit of old trauma coming up, so she decided to do The Switch Webinar Series to learn some new skills and process this injury. She already feels hopeful and light and positive, and was even able to catch a fish in the weekend and reel it in without pain!

The other is a newbie to Empower Therapies. She has had decades of post-viral fatigue syndromes with long periods of time in bed, though lately, she has improved a LOT and is now about 50% better. Since starting SWS two weeks ago, she has continued to improve even more. She said she got a big shock when she realised how much she has got into energy conservation patterns and limits around activities that has reinforced illness for her. Since starting SWS, she has gone away with a friend for a weekend, helped her Dad move house and connect with people more often. She has more energy and feels more upbeat. Her fave concept from SWS so far is "learning to calm my nervous system is my secret super power" and "I need to normalise my life. I've found I can do way more than I thought I could".

So they are both off to a great start! I'll follow up the other two as well, and I look forward to hearing where they are at next week.

The next SWS course starts on 19 November.

Specialising in chronic illness recovery. Over 80% success rates. Treating the underlying cause to allow natural healing. Find out more. Free 45 minute webinar

12/10/2025

An in-person team meeting on Friday over a nice lunch 🌞

It's been wonderful working with Jess so far - she is a brilliant admin and also brings so many great marketing skills to the business. We did some extra training on a few tasks that came up this month which hadn't been in her initial orientation training, and then started planning ahead on where we want to develop in future. Then out to a nice lunch and some good social time ;0))

11/10/2025

Happy Sunday! A reminder to shift your perspective once in a while and take in a new view on things 🙃

10/10/2025

Friendly reminder, you're still YOU 🙌

09/10/2025

I just had the most wonderful phonecall that has made my eyes prickly with happy tears!

It was a client who did The Switch a year ago, having suffered from concussion for 10 years to the point where he was unable to work or go hunting and life had got very small.

Today, he said "Thanks so much! I just had to call you to tell you how grateful I am to you. I owe you my life! You don’t understand what a difference you have made! I could take on the world. I’m back to being myself. You’re so infectious with your positivity.

I’m back at work in a demanding job and loving it! I sometimes work 10 hours a day and I love every minute of it. And I go hunting again - amazing!

Your help has been beyond belief. I couldn’t have believed I could get this well! It’s hard to understand when you have a brain injury how unwell you are. Then to now get better, I can see just bad it was. I tell everyone about you. What you offer is just incredible! I can't even find words to thank you enough!"

What a lovely lift to my day!

If concussion is ruining your life (like it used to ruin mine), here are some more testimonial stories from concussion clients of mine to inspire you!

Specialising in chronic illness recovery. Over 80% success rates. Treating the underlying cause to allow natural healing. Find out more. Free 45 minute webinar

09/10/2025

THREE MONTH FOLLOW-UP!

Half the group are away overseas living their best lives and couldn't join us at the call - how cool that they are all feeling so good!

But I enjoyed seeing a girl who used to suffer from chronic pain, chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety and digestive issues - literally ALL TOP 5 of the main issues I see people for - she is FLYING! She's so happy and confident, all her energy is back, relatives thought she was her sister because she was so totally different to how she used to be (gloomy and tired, in her words). She's picking up extra work shifts to earn more money so she can go travelling soon!

Another joined us from overseas. She did the course for emotional regulation, managing autism and also for weight loss. She said she has far more emotional regulation now, she uses Switch when she ever needs it, she's been eating a lot less and has had to take her jeans in and she's having a marvellous time exploring Europe.

And another with insomnia, anxiety, PTSD, IBS and endo is also feeling way better! So much better, in fact, that she's started applying for jobs! And she goes to the gym three times a week!

Another messaged me from India to say that she did a few wobbles at the airport, she used her Switch and was calm and stable again and got on that plane! She used to have a lot of trouble with mobility - it was hard to even walk a few steps - and now she's travelling around India and Europe!

So they are doing GREAT!

Specialising in chronic illness recovery. Over 80% success rates. Treating the underlying cause to allow natural healing. Find out more. Free 45 minute webinar

09/10/2025

I’m having a big blitz this week to finally finish the Calmness Webinar Series!

I’ve spent hours editing the interview with an HR professional on managing workplace stress, plus the two-week follow-up call with the four group participants. Yesterday, I was deep in fine-tuning mode — listening intently for even the tiniest buzz, click, or timing issue in the meditation tracks and getting the music transitions perfect.

I decided to completely re-record one of the four meditations because I wasn’t happy with it. With road noise during the day, I planned to record at 11pm when it’s usually quiet. I started right on the dot of 11... it’s a 16-minute track... and then, at 11:08, the police helicopter started circling overhead — and stayed for an hour! 😩 You know that awful “donut” pattern — a few minutes of deafening noise, then quiet, then back again? So I had to wait until midnight to record the last 8 minutes. Very late night = one tired Mel today!

But with builders on-site for the next three days, I had to get it done.

Next up: setting up the support email sequence and getting the webinar hosting sorted — hopefully today and tomorrow.

Meanwhile, my film guy is also hard at work finishing off the latest round of edits. We completely re-filmed the free 45-minute webinar a few weeks ago, and the new version is so much better! Fingers crossed he’ll have his edits done this week too, and then we’ll be so close to launch.

This project has been two years in the making because I only want to release it when I truly believe it’s exceptional.
Here’s a little sneak preview of what’s coming later this month…

We are in the final stages of production right now and are sharing this 3-minute sneak preview into what a fantastic webinar series this is going to be!

09/10/2025

ONE MONTH FOLLOW-UP!

All three of this group are doing GREAT! One guy has gone from housebound with chronic fatigue to being able to go out walking all round his neighbourhood, do supermarket shopping, do 2-3 weights sessions per week and be able to walk up and down his parent's stairs, which was something that he was wondering if he would ever be able to do, even though he's in his 20s. He's so impressed with his progress that he's thinking of getting back into being a Personal Trainer early next year!

Another has fully resolved her concussion symptoms. She said she feels totally healthy now, she knwos she's all better. She doesn't have any issues with headache and brain fog now. She can turn tiny niggles off with a Switch. She's also been more assertive, speaking her truth more and generally feeling more empowered.

And another said he's thrilled with the improvements to his anxiety and depression. He is feeling calm and peaceful most of the time now, and he's happy day to day. He's noticed that he socialises more because he's happier. His back pain is gone. He's now excited about planning an overseas trip.

So I'm stoked for all of them!

08/10/2025

WEBINAR HIGHLIGHT
Before our brand new webinars are released (soon!) which focus on calming anxiety, we thought we'd share a little about our current webinars that are available on the website all about your first steps toward recovery (just in case you've missed them!)

🔹 First Steps to Recovery 🔹
This free webinar offers hope through personal recovery stories and explains the five main illness traps that contribute to chronic illness. You'll learn about the stress response's role in ongoing health issues, get your questions answered in a Q&A, and receive a practical action plan to begin your recovery journey. The session includes a free information pack about the illness traps and a special discount on the "Next Steps to Recovery" webinar package.

🔹 Next Steps to Recovery 🔹
This comprehensive two-hour webinar teaches practical techniques to calm your stress response, rewire neural pathways for wellness, and address anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem while boosting energy levels. The package includes two award-winning GP conference presentations, a full-colour course handout, a guided NLP audio track for recovery, and four weeks of supportive follow-up emails with additional techniques. Participants also receive a $100 discount on the full Switch program for continued support.

Want to know more about these? Check out the link below, or send us a DM!
https://empowertherapies.co.nz/pages/webinar