Heather Fountain Hypnotherapy Clinical Hypnotherapist

03/01/2026

How One Small Step Changes the Brain and Why Repetition Changes Behaviour

Many people believe change should feel dramatic.
In reality, lasting change in the brain begins quietly ,with one small step.

When we take a new action, think a new thought, or respond differently to a familiar situation, we are not instantly creating a whole new brain structure. What we are doing is activating neurons in a new pattern. This is where real change begins.

The brain works through networks of neurons that communicate via electrical signals and chemical messengers. When a new experience occurs, certain neurons fire together sometimes for the first time in that particular combination. This signals to the brain: this matters.

This initial activation is like planting a seed.

On its own, one new step doesn’t change everything.
But it tells the brain a new story.

Each time that step is repeated, the same neurons are activated again. With repetition, the connections between them called synapses begin to strengthen. Communication becomes faster, smoother, and more efficient.

Neuroscience captures this beautifully in a simple principle:

“Neurons that fire together, wire together.”

As these connections strengthen, a neural pathway forms.
The brain begins to recognise the behaviour as familiar, and eventually as safe.

This is how behaviour changes.

Why old patterns feel so strong

Old habits feel powerful not because they are “right,” but because they are well-worn.
They have been practised repeatedly over time, making them quick, automatic, and energy-efficient for the brain.

This is why insight alone doesn’t create change.

You can understand something logically, yet still react in the same way emotionally or behaviourally. The old neural pathway is simply stronger.

Change doesn’t come from fighting old pathways it comes from building new ones.

The role of regulation and safety

The brain is far more willing to form new pathways when the nervous system feels safe.

Therapeutic work, hypnotherapy, and somatic approaches support change by:
• Reducing threat responses
• Improving emotional regulation
• Engaging imagination, emotion, and body awareness

When the nervous system is calm and regulated, the brain becomes more flexible.
This flexibility is known as neuroplasticity ,the brain’s ability to adapt and reorganise itself.

Regulation doesn’t just support healing.
It creates the conditions for rewiring.

A simple metaphor

Think of the brain as a piano.
The mind is the music being played.

The same piano can produce chaos, stillness, or healing melodies.
It depends on how it is played and how often.

With repetition, the music changes.
And eventually, the brain begins to listen.

Heather Fountain Hypnotherapy

Supporting change through gentle, neuro-based, mind-body approaches.

03/01/2026

Your brain keeps you alive.
Your mind helps you understand why you’re here.

Healing begins when the two start speaking the same language.

Think of it this way:
Your brain is the piano.
Your mind is the music.

The same piano can sound chaotic, gentle, or deeply healing—
depending on how it’s played.

With care, awareness, and support, the music can change.

And so can you .

Heather Fountain Hypnotherapy

29/12/2025

Have you ever seen how animals react when the night suddenly explodes with noise 🎆🐾

For many pets and wild animals, fireworks are not beautiful or exciting, they are confusing, frightening, and overwhelming. Loud bangs, bright flashes, and vibrations can send them into panic, causing stress, injuries, or worse ❤️‍🩹

Some people choose to celebrate quietly, not to take away joy, but to protect those who cannot understand what’s happening. For animals, calm voices, familiar spaces, and silence can be the greatest gift 🐶✨

Moments like this remind us that compassion sometimes means changing small habits to spare others from fear 💫
Kindness is often quiet

27/12/2025

Migraines and unprocessed trauma

There’s a significant and well-documented link between migraines and unprocessed trauma, though it often goes unnoticed because the symptoms appear physical while the roots may be emotional or neurological.

1. Trauma and the Nervous System

When trauma is unresolved, the nervous system can remain in a heightened state of vigilance (fight, flight, or freeze). This dysregulation leads to:
• Overactivation of the amygdala (threat detection).
• Underregulation by the prefrontal cortex (rational calming).
• Tension in the autonomic nervous system, which affects blood vessels, pain pathways, and inflammatory responses—factors directly linked to migraines.

2. Somatic Memory and Pain Pathways
Unprocessed trauma is often stored in the body as somatic memory. Migraines can act as a somatic expression of unhealed experiences. Common mechanisms include:
• Tightening of neck/shoulder muscles (protective body memory).
• Dysregulated pain circuits in the brain (neuroplastic changes caused by chronic stress).
• Migraine attacks acting as the body’s “release valve” for trapped emotional energy.

3. Stress, Triggers, and Flashbacks

People with trauma histories often have:
• Lower thresholds for stress—everyday pressures feel heavier.
• Heightened sensory sensitivity—to light, sound, and smells (all common migraine triggers).
• Migraines triggered by trauma reminders (subconscious flashbacks activating the same neural pathways).

4. Research Connection
• Studies show people with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have significantly higher rates of migraines and chronic headaches.
• PTSD and complex trauma are associated with both the frequency and severity of migraines.
• Emotional suppression (not processing trauma) correlates with higher migraine occurrence.

5. Healing Perspective

Migraines in trauma survivors are best approached as both neurological and psychological:
• Hypnotherapy & psychotherapy: help process stored trauma and calm the nervous system.
• Somatic practices: grounding, breathwork, movement to release embodied tension.
• Neuroplasticity work: retraining pain pathways to reduce sensitivity.
• Lifestyle support: hydration, balanced sleep, reducing overstimulation.

In short: Migraines can be seen as the body’s way of carrying unresolved trauma. Addressing the trauma,through safe processing, nervous system regulation, and integrative therapies—can reduce both the frequency and severity of migraine episodes.

23/12/2025

A really book, recommended to parents.

This is a book no parent ever hopes to need. One that even the author is probably sorry to have written. Because needing this book means you're living in a particular kind of heartbreak that doesn't get discussed at family gatherings or celebrated in graduation speeches. It means the child you loved into existence, the one you stayed up nights worrying over, the one you sacrificed for in a thousand small and large ways, has become someone whose life choices you can't understand, can't support, and can't seem to influence no matter how much love you pour into the trying.

Maybe they're struggling with addiction and refuse help. Maybe they've chosen a partner who hurts them and won't hear your concern. Maybe they've walked away from opportunities you worked years to provide. Maybe they've cut you out entirely and you lie awake wondering what you did to deserve the silence.

Or maybe it's something quieter but no less painful: they're just living a life that looks nothing like the one you dreamed for them, and you're grieving a future you thought you were all building together. And the loneliness of this is crushing because you can't talk about it without feeling judged, without people assuming you failed somehow, without facing the whispered question you ask yourself every single day: where did I go wrong?

Jane Adams' "When Our Grown Kids Disappoint Us" exists for this quiet devastation. She's a sociologist who narrates her own audiobook, and you can hear in her voice that she knows this territory intimately. This isn't a book about fixing your adult children or getting them back on track. It's about sitting with you in the grief of watching someone you love make choices that terrify you, and learning the excruciating difference between loving them and saving them.

"When Our Grown Kids Disappoint Us" sits with you in a pain that's often invisible to others but crushing to carry. Adams doesn't offer false hope or easy fixes. She offers companionship in the hardest parts of parenting, the parts that come after all the baby books end.

This is for parents carrying shame about their adult child's choices, for those exhausted from years of crisis management, for anyone learning that unconditional love doesn't require unconditional involvement. You're not giving up on them. You're just finally giving yourself permission to believe that loving them and having your own life aren't mutually exclusive, even when it feels impossible to hold both at once.

AUDIOBOOK: https://amzn.to/3NaWAvs

22/12/2025

10/12/2025

WELCOME TO HEATHER WISDOM
A space for calm, clarity, inspiration, and gentle guidance in a busy world.

If you’re looking for short daily insights, grounding messages, mindful reflections, and moments that help you pause and reconnect, this is where you’ll find them. Find me on WhatsApp under Heather Wisdom.

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBq1fiC6ZvjzhaciL2O

10/12/2025

Denmark is moving away from the “cry it out” sleep training method, largely due to pressure from over 700 psychologists who signed an open letter citing harm to infant emotional development, leading the Danish board to reconsider its guidance, emphasizing responsive care and secure attachment as healthier alternatives.

Studies find consistently ignoring a crying baby can negatively impact their brain development, increase stress hormones like cortisol and can even affect their future emotional health.

Babies communicate their needs by crying, and ignoring these cries can lead to prolonged periods of stress, causing a rise in cortisol levels. Elevated cortisol levels can negatively impact brain development, brain structure and a baby’s ability to regulate stress even later in life.

Consistent responsiveness to a baby’s cries helps them develop a sense of security and trust in their caregivers. This can lead to a more secure attachment, which is crucial for emotional well-being, healthy social relationships and brain development.

Babies are not trying to manipulate their parents when they cry, they are communicating their needs and attempting to establish a connection. Responding to these cries is critical for building a strong bond and promoting healthy development.

10/12/2025

Social Anxiety During the Festive Season, How to cope.

The festive season is meant to feel joyful, yet for many people it brings increased social pressure, busier environments, and emotional fatigue.
If you feel more anxious at this time of year, you are not alone and you are not “too sensitive.”

Your nervous system is simply signalling overload, not weakness.

Why Social Anxiety Spikes at This Time of Year

• More social gatherings → fear of judgement, pressure to perform, overstimulation
• Family dynamics → old wounds, comparison, and expectations resurface, remembering loved ones who are no longer with us
• End-of-year exhaustion → a tired brain is more reactive and less resilient
• Financial + emotional pressure → “I should…”, “I must…”
• Change in routine → harder to stay regulated without structure

All of these activate the amygdala, increase rumination, and make simple interactions feel daunting.

If this is you, breathe.

Choose presence over performance.

Set gentle boundaries.

Step outside when you need space.

You are allowed to protect your peace this season.

You don’t have to be everything for everyone, you only need to be you. e

08/12/2025

Have you ever tried to fix an ongoing lack of energy by getting more sleep — only to do so and still feel exhausted?

04/12/2025

Why People Gossip (and What It Really Means)

Gossip is a very human behavior. It’s less about cruelty and more about our brains trying to connect, process, and regulate emotions. Here’s what’s really happening when people gossip:

- **To feel connected:** Gossip acts like social glue, creating shared experiences and belonging.
- **To make sense of uncertainty:** Talking about others helps people process confusion and seek reassurance.
- **To relieve stress:** Gossip can be an emotional release valve, though not always in healthy ways.
- **To boost self-esteem:** It offers a temporary lift when someone feels insecure.
- **To gain social power: ** Gossip can control narratives and form alliances.
- **Habit or environment: ** Some groups normalize gossip, making it routine.
- **To avoid looking inward: ** It’s easier to talk about others than face one’s own discomfort.
- **Because the brain loves stories:** Gossip provides stimulation, novelty, and emotional engagement.

Not all gossip is harmful:
Positive gossip** celebrates and uplifts.
Neutral gossip** shares harmless updates.
Negative gossip** criticizes or undermines.

When gossip is about you:
It usually reflects the other person’s insecurity, projection, or need to bond at your expense. Gossip says far more about them than it does about you.

The Deeper Truth
People gossip because they are human. But emotional maturity means learning to connect without tearing others down. When you understand gossip’s roots, you can rise above it — choosing peace, resilience, and healthier ways to bond.

20/11/2025

Reclaiming Sleep
Your mind and body haven’t forgotten how to rest, they’ve just been overwhelmed.

When stress, grief, anxiety or burnout push the nervous system into “alert mode,” sleep becomes elusive. But with gentle neuroplasticity, somatic calming, and guided hypnotherapy, the brain can relearn safety, softness, and deep rest.

Your sleep can return.
Your nervous system can settle.
Your mind can exhale again.

If you’ve been struggling to switch off, you’re not alone and there are ways to reclaim the peace your body is craving.