The demands of life – whether it be pressures at school or as an adult in work – can be exacting and seriously dent one’s self-esteem and confidence in how to cope with situations we face on a daily basis.
Part of this can be that children often lack the confidence to speak up for themselves and some say the modern school system does not always allow debate and the norm is to keep quiet in class.
But a charity, Big Change, is trying to promote the ability in young people to be more articulate and confident in speaking up for themselves. One of the charity’s founders, Princess Beatrice told the BBC that the idea of learning such life skills is important for anyone growing up, regardless of their background. And everyone has had their own inner struggle with trying to communicate.
Big Change supports young people with skills outside a traditional academic curriculum and its co-founders include Richard Branson’s daughter Holly.
The princess told children at School 21 in Newham that she was dyslexic and had found that ‘exams were terrifying’, despite the support of her teachers.
Princess Beatrice said it had only been when she was in secondary school and could take part in events such as public speaking that she felt able to do well.
She said projects such as that at School 21 were about developing a type of education that was ‘not just about learning for a test, it is learning for your life’.
But a lack of self confidence, says the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH), can often be a result of negative experiences during childhood or teenage years and, is some instances, stemming from a difficult event during adult years.
However, a few sessions with a clinical hypnotherapist can help turn such negative feelings in to a positive outlook with happier results for the person lacking in self confidence. The therapist might try to pinpoint the initial sensitising event of the confidence problem and will then use hypnotherapy for confidence-building to change negative thought processes.
It is important to reduce anxiety – often caused by low self-esteem – as this causes the body to produce high levels of cortisol. Cortisol, according to the Mayo Clinic, is the primary stress hormone which increases sugars (glucose) in the bloodstream and increases the brain’s use of glucose to produce more substances that repair tissues.
But cortisol also curbs functions that would be non-essential or detrimental in a stressful situation. It alters immune system responses and suppresses the digestive system, the reproductive system and growth processes. This complex natural alarm system also communicates with regions of your brain that control mood, motivation and fear.
So, says the NCH, prolonged exposure to cortisol and other stress related hormones can cause memory problems and an increase in blood pressure too, which is not good. But by putting a client into a trance-like state and using the full potential of the sub-conscious mind, a hypnotherapist can improve confidence to self belief to build a more positive self image.
“Hypnotherapy unlocks the potential to help a person break free of negative thought patterns, and to react more positively and more confidently to situations that previously affected self confidence,” says the NCH.
The NCH has over 2000 highly trained and qualified therapists on its register of UK therapists who can support you or your child in the pursuit of gaining confidence. Contact one today and embrace the life changes.
Photo by Andhika Soreng on Unsplash