Why detoxing your head this summer may be the best detox you’ve ever done!

It’s that time of year again already. Summer is finally here and I for one am very excited.

The sun is starting to come out to play (albeit intermittent here in the UK), the pollen counts are rising, flip flops are being dug out of the shoe cupboard, shorts dusted down from winter storage and bathing suits beckon as we start to gear up to the holiday season.

It’s usually at this time of year that we’re bombarded by the latest diet fads and slimming aids, promising to shed those pounds, nip your waist even deliver a six pack.  As it nears the time for donning bikini’s or swimming shorts, that familiar feeling starts to niggle away inside our heads asking questions like, ‘how many pies did I comfort eat over winter?’, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten all six selection boxes at Christmas?’.  We feel down to our waist, yep just ever so slightly hanging over the trousers I wore comfortably last year.  Suddenly our brains notice every bronzed promoted slim body on TV kindly promoting the holiday companies.  Then we get the familiar and commonly experienced physiological reaction to the thoughts we’re entertaining.  We start to feel hot, and sweat at the mere thought of putting more of our flesh on display, our tummies turn over, nausea stirs as we panic about how big our muffin tops or moobs have become under the comfort of winters knitwear.

And then we hit the detox/diet.

We flush our bodies with the lemony zesty energy that only summer promises, to rid us of our diet toxins and kick start the diet. We make sure only virtuous salad leaves, wholegrains and pure water filtered by angels passes our lips.  We up our exercise, taking to the outdoors, challenging our physical abilities.  And for some of us who stay committed to the program, we shed those pounds, don those flip flops and shimmy around in our bathing suits with glee.  However, for many of us, the reality is more like a hamster wheel, we lose interest, get bored, feel distracted, start again, fail, get bored, start another one, commit slightly more, see results, celebrate, shout hallelujah, hit the binge in celebration, start again…. And on it goes.

What if…… the secret to success was in detoxing your mind and not your body?  (or rather detoxing your mind so you body doesn’t have to work so hard?).

Imagine, if there were a one off 30 minute session that promises to detox your mind (painlessly and effortlessly) which would cleanse you of all unhelpful thoughts standing in the way of you and your most amazing version of you?

Well I’m here to tell you that there is such a 30 minute therapy which promises just this.  Soon it’s going to be all you hear about. It won’t be detoxing your body you see in the adverts, it will be detoxing your mind.

Going back to the dieting analogy, most diets fail for people because their heads (and their thoughts) get in the way of success.  We don’t fail because the diet doesn’t work.  Scientists know diets will work, they’ve been researched by chemistry and biology experts to understand the biological responses of X=Y. The reason I believe most diets don’t tend to work is due to something much more hard wired in the brain; our beliefs, our values, our view of ourselves.  And all this is shaped by our experience of the world.

Lets look at another example of mind toxins.  Another common thing that happens in the Summer is weddings.  I love a good wedding.  How many times though do you hear stories of fathers, best men, bridesmaids, friends etc sweating for months ahead of the wedding….. the DREADED PUBLIC SPEECH.  Fear of public speaking is a very common fear for most of us.  Our brains leap ahead to a fantasised outcome of failure, looking to the worst case in order to prepare us but in actual fact, all that does is create the physical response which goes with fear or dread (as you’ve experienced it in your life).  Pink warm rush of blood to the face, sweaty palms, a voice box making its way out of the top of your head, feet that appear to be levitating above the ground, possibly even passing out in some extreme cases.  Your body thinks its working to protect you, activating the flight or fight mechanism but in actual fact, that programming isn’t working in this situation to help you, it’s actually getting in the way.

So what is this magic mind detox I talk of and how does it work?

Havening (or ADT therapy – Amygdala Depotentiation Technique) has been ten years in the making and developed by Dr Ron Ruden M.D (a medical doctor and neuroscientist).  The approach works simply to uncouple the ‘unhelpful’ physical response attached to a thought.  For example, taking away the feeling of fear when thinking about presenting to others, removing the overwhelming concept of failure with this years diet.

The individual is coached to think about the ‘event’ or ‘belief’ which is creating a physical reaction and to go into that physical response (knowing that you’re only asked to go there for a second and completely supported throughout).  The best decoupling works if the participant can get the feeling near a 10 out of 10 (10 being the worst possible it could be).  The individual then follows a series of activities from the comfort of their chair, that the therapist demonstrates including touch, counting, speaking even humming in some variations.  The bodies receptors or neurons are thus activated in a way that interrupts or un-conditions the physical response.  The therapy itself takes only 30 minutes (sometimes less) and can be done on Skype or face to face.  It really is the most simply method I have come across for this kind of work.

Most people receiving the Havening technique, report a peculiar sense of not being able to ‘find’ that unhelpful physical response after the session has taken place.  It’s like magic!  Afterwards, they’re able to think about ‘their belief/event’, but without all the negative feelings they previously experienced.  Much more helpful I think you would agree.

So next time you’re thinking about your summer body detox, remember to consider your mind detox too. In fact, why not just detox your mind now of anything you deem to be unhelpful or standing in the way of you achieving your dreams whether they be public speaking or bikini wearing.

Please note that mind detoxing does not negate the need to eat healthily, and exercise your mind and body to achieve full wellbeing.

To find out more about Havening or talk through whether it could work for you, call me on 07786 250175 or email jennifer@simplyjp.com .  The 30 minute sessions cost £75.  Only one session is required. I have not yet heard of anyone for whom it wasn’t successful, but I do offer a free follow up to anyone who feels they need it.

For more traumatic experiences, I recommend a half-day session where Havening is one of several tools used to re-order the brains perception of those events which in turn provides the individual with control, peace, serenity and other more helpful feelings regarding those experiences.  A half-day session costs £200 and again comes with free follow up sessions if required.