Breastfeeding Equality for a Healthier World

The decision to breastfeed is one that is very intimate and personal. While the practice has both physical and psychological benefits for both mothers and babies[1], there are factors that can stand in the way of a mother's ability to breastfeed exclusively.

Breastfeeding is the best source of food for infants, as the milk mothers produce contains nutrients and antibodies that help babies grow up healthy and strong. It's also the more economical choice, as the cost of formula feeding and bottles can be prohibitive to many low-income families. However, those same families are faced with the reality of jobs that may not offer paid leave for new mothers, or breaks when it's necessary to pump.

These practical differences, which are heavily influenced by socioeconomic factors, are referred to as breastfeeding inequality. As these statistics show, a lack of resources, education, and support can fundamentally disable a mother from being able to exclusively breastfeed her little one.

Here in the United States, the starkly varied breastfeeding rates between wealthy and disadvantaged areas is hard to ignore. With 93% of moms in California breastfeeding their babies compared to 57% in Louisiana, it's clear that the correlation between poverty and breastfeeding inequality is no coincidence.

It's a cause that's important to the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, an organization that acts in support and protection of nursing. Their World Breastfeeding Week campaign, which ties into the United Nations' goals for achieving sustainability, is focused on the promotion of breastfeeding as a contributor to sustainable eating practices.

Key to the UN's sustainability plan is the elimination of socioeconomic disparities, including those that may keep mothers from breastfeeding. Factors like poverty, hunger, poor health, gender inequality, and a lack of quality schools and employment are all relative to the issue of breastfeeding inequality.

It's also crucial that the conversation around the choice to breast or bottle feed shifts tone from one of shame to one in support of the right to breastfeed. Rather than point fingers, the most productive act is one that shares awareness of this important issue and works toward a world where all mothers have the opportunity to breastfeed if they choose

Neve Spicer
Founder & Director
WeTheParents.org

Relief From Panic Attacks...

Panic Attacks:

I vividly remember my first panic attack. I was driving to Vegas with my best friend, and we were somewhere between hell and high water when it happened- the unexplainable shaky, clammy hands, the sweating, the choking feeling- after five minutes I felt like I wanted to jump out of the window. I thought I was having a heart attack. The feeling seemed to come out of no where! Then, suddenly, the uncomfortable feelings stopped. “What on earth was that?”, I wondered, using perhaps saltier language.

Panic attacks. They’re miserable. And they’re also one of the biggest reasons people seek my help as a hypnotherapist. Panic attacks (and anxiety in a more general sense) can leave you feeling scared of when and where they’ll happen again; they can be terribly embarrassing if they occur in public; and they can lead to self-limiting behaviors, like avoiding driving on freeways, going to certain social events, or staying away from places or situations for fear that a panic attack will happen there again. 

What exactly are panic attacks? The symptoms are clear enough: Heart palpitations, sweating, a shortness of breath/a choking sensation, chest tightness, nausea, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, the chills, etc. They usually last anywhere from 5-20 minutes, although most people who have had a panic attack can tell you those minutes feel like hours. Panic attacks, by definition, are a collection of physical symptoms that trigger the panic response in us (that is, the fight/flight mechanism). For example: A feeling of shortness of breath and a rapid heartbeat leads to a sense of panic, and the sense of panic leads to a feeling of a shortness of breath and a rapid heartbeat and on and on, creating a vicious cycle. It’s important to remember, however, that the physical symptoms come first, then the panic follows, and not the other way around.

You may be asking, “What triggers the fight/flight response if you’re not in a situation that causes anxiety in the first place?” Because, strangely enough, fight/flight is often triggered by things other than a threatening/anxiety provoking situation, such as a sudden drop in blood sugar, over-exertion, low grade stress accumulated over time, or hyper-vigilance about bodily occurrences, all of which result in an increase of adrenaline, leading to the fight/flight response. 

Hypnotherapy can not only help prevent future panic attacks, it’s one of the most effective and safe treatments available. During hypnosis, your mind is particularly open and receptive to positive change, such as suggestions for increased calm and relaxation, feelings of being in control of oneself, and reminders to breathe slowly, deeply, and rhythmically. Post-hypnotic suggestions (suggestions given during hypnosis that will be acted out during the waking state) will trigger a more helpful response should a panic attack happen again. Overall, hypnosis acclimates your body and mind to feelings of calm and serenity, reducing the frequency and duration of future panic attacks. 

If you struggle with panic attacks, you DON’T have to live with it anymore. You can feel free, confident, and in control again! I used hypnotherapy to help with my panic attacks, and I can excitedly say I haven’t had one in three years. 

If you’d like help making panic attacks a thing of the past, or getting over other challenges you’re dealing with, please visit my website atwww.westsidehypnosisassociates.com or email me at simone@westsidehypnosisassociates.com. We can get through this together. 

Love and Light,

Simone 

Simone Gordon, C.Ht.

Amidst the Stress, Worry, Uncertainty, and Loss

Bloom Where You’re Planted: How You Can Flourish During Thorny Times

Covid-19. Systemic injustice. Cities set ablaze across the country. And these are just the topics of the past couple weeks. It goes without saying that 2020 has, as of yet, been an exceedingly difficult year for humanity. Watching the disturbing news last night, of viruses and looters creating chaos across the country, I was reminded of something one of my good friends told me recently: “Bloom where you’re planted.” A light bulb turned on- “she’s right”, I thought. As trying and anxiety-provoking as this year has been, we CAN still flourish. It is, after all, the most challenging times that make us strong, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. And when we are strong inside we have the ability to give more to our family, friends, and community.

Amidst the stress, worry, uncertainty, and loss, we have a powerful resource at our disposal- the unconscious mind. As we’ve delved into in past blogs, your unconscious mind is the reservoir of your intuition, imagination, emotions, and beliefs, and it speaks to you in your quietest moments. Daydreaming, night dreaming, meditation, hypnosis, and moments of stillness, mindful reflection give you access to this wise part of your being. 

Now is the perfect time to get in touch with the most powerful part of your mind, because you can trust in the wisdom, knowledge, and positive intentions of your unconscious. Your unconscious is the space between your thoughts, the moment right before you make a decision, and the gentle voice within you pointing you in a certain direction.

You can think of your unconscious mind as your higher self, your inner wisdom, your connection to source energy, as these are many names for the same thing. If you’re feeling understandably stressed or anxious at this time, please consider taking a few moments to meditate, be mindful, get hypnotized, or simply acknowledge your inner stillness. If you do this, you’ll get in touch with the part of you that is calm, wise, and kind; the part of you that tells you all will eventually be okay. And it will. 

Love and Light,

Simone 

Simone Gordon, C.Ht.

How Hypnotherapy Helps Decrease Anxiety

Anxiety is extremely prevalent in today’s society, affecting everyone from all ages and walks of life. What exactly is anxiety? It’s a sense of impending physical or psychological danger, resulting from the narrative we tell ourselves. It’s cousin, fear, is the result of a known, specific threat, whereas anxiety is a general uneasiness about something we worry may happen. This narrative (what I call the "life script"- more on that in a future post!) is largely unconscious and formed very early in life. There are three major types of anxiety: free floating (anxiety that is sporadic and not related to a particular topic); anticipatory (anxiety about something specific that may or may not happen in the future); and static (anxiety that's always there and is linked to a specific cause).

How does hypnotherapy help one overcome anxiety? Experiencing hypnosis in and of itself, even once, reduces anxiety. Hypnosis has this effect because, by entering trance, one's mind and body automatically become acclimated to a state of calm, comfort, and relaxation. Specific techniques used to treat anxiety in hypnotherapy include altering one's unconscious life script, in which we change the unconscious story we’re telling themselves to a story that is more positive and desirable; visualization, in which, during the trance state, the client sees themselves as calm, relaxed, (or whatever desired feeling they want) in great detail. The subconscious mind doesn't know the difference between imagination and reality, therefore in hypnotherapy we use that to our advantage; desensitization, which is a conditioning process where we replace anxiety with a different, healthier response; and finally, dream therapy, a process in which anxiety is released through dream symbology (also more on this in an upcoming blog post!). These are only a few techniques out of many we as hypnotherapists use to treat the often paralyzing issue of anxiety. 

I've had a lot of success in utilizing the healing power of hypnosis to help my clients feel calmer, more relaxed, happier, and more in control of their lives. With anxiety reaching a fever pitch in our progressively stressed out world, it's time we allow ourselves the opportunity to feel truly happy and comfortable. Luckily, hypnotherapy is the perfect tool for that. For more information, please visit www.westsidehypnosisassociates.com. 

Simone Gordon, C.Ht.

Hypnotherapy And The Immune System

With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the topic of how one can boost their immune system is more talked about than ever before. While I’m not a medical doctor (the idea of 14+ years of schooling wasn’t particularly appealing to me), what I can do is offer a perspective that may be new to some people: hypnotherapy as an aid to the immune system. 

The mind/body connection has been studied for years, and there is a lot of evidence that supports the idea that a healthy mind facilitates a healthy body, and vice versa! This idea is intuitive in its very nature- a calm, relaxed state is more likely to result in physical health than a stressed, anxious, tense state. A good example of the mind/body connection at work is when you’re feeling anxious or fearful. These unpleasant emotions can increase blood pressure, increase respiration, cause nausea, headaches, and other unwelcome physical sensations. Migraine headaches are another example: migraines are associated with increased anxiety levels (no surprise there to any fellow migraine sufferers!) On the other, positive hand, physical relaxation and a peaceful state of mind can help reduce certain types of headaches and stomach ailments. 

Hypnotherapy is a highly effective form of treatment that has shown much potential for aiding certain physical conditions, in conjunction of course with a licensed physician’s recommendation. For example, a 2018 study showed that hypnotic techniques reduced fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). In addition, a 2001 study indicated that self-hypnosis has the potential to strengthen immune function, and a 2006 study found that hypnotherapy can ease physical pain and accelerate healing. Many other studies exist supporting this general premise. 

Hypnotherapy can be a powerful tool to increase physical well-being because it directly accesses the unconscious mind, the portion of the mind containing one’s positive and negative associations, automatic processes, habits, and the like. A skilled hypnotherapist can utilize many different techniques to promote physical well-being. A couple of examples of these techniques include guided visualization and age regression/hypnoanalysis, a hypnotic technique that can potentially pinpoint the origin of a physical issue and alleviate the cause. 

With the uncertainty and chaos of today’s world, adjunctive techniques that promote emotional and physical well-being can benefit us all. For more information, please visit www.westsidehypnosisassociates.com. 

Sending you love and light,

Simone

Simone Gordon, C.Ht.