What is it that makes us stand out from the crowd; that separates the good from the great; that gives us the edge?
As a full-time City mum, I’ve regularly found myself wondering how the superhumans do it. You know the ones: toned and personal-trained to within an inch of their lives; surviving on a diet of wheatgrass and granola; studying their fifth language; parenting four immaculately turned-out children; blowing the lights out at work on a regular basis; and generally on a fast track to corporate stardom.
Meanwhile, I’m here just about holding down my City job but rarely feeling in control, merrily losing my shit over organising my toddler’s birthday party as my waistline grows weekly thanks to perpetual carb loading and comfort eating. I’m forever telling myself I barely have time to use face scrub, never mind the time or inclination to stick to a Clean 9 programme or get my sizeable arse down the gym (despite there being one in my office). Stressed and depressed – I’d go as far as saying occasionally desperate – rock bottom has often felt a bit too close for comfort.
A recent initiative in the office to raise awareness of colleague wellbeing led me to a session on mindfulness, NLP and hypnosis. Friends had spoken positively of these in the past but like many in the naturally cynical financial services industry, I had dismissed them as something for the less-than-sharp-witted and certainly not one to be raving about on the trading floor. The idea that a blue-chip bank would be openly promoting such things to its employees was a bit surreal, but it did pique my interest.
A few days later I found myself at the former Patent Office, just off Chancery Lane. It was 7pm, after a 12-hour spell in the office. I wandered down a staircase through a rabbit warren of narrow corridors, wondering if I was lost – and if I’d lost my mind. On reaching the consultation room I met Aaron Surtees, Clinical Hypnotherapist and Director of City Hypnosis.
After introductions, we spent time discussing the reason for my visit and it felt quite a relief to ’fess up to my bad habits, niggles and inadequacies. As a self-confessed basket case, I wondered where he’d start, but very quickly Surtees honed in on the self-imposed limitations and boundaries I appeared to be setting myself. While focusing on making time for – and taking care of – everyone else, I was failing to do those very things for myself, he explained.
I wasn’t convinced anyone would be able to ‘put me under’ after a bad run-in with Hypnodog during freshers’ week at university. But with an open mind, relaxing in a reclining leather armchair in a darkened room lulled by a cool calm voice, and the bubbling of a water-filter funnelled through headphones, I seemed to slip into some kind of time vortex – one which made 40 minutes feel more like four.
The time spent in treatment really felt like just that – a treat. While I have only taken three sessions over the course a few weeks (two-to-three sessions is the norm for most people/conditions), spending this time on myself did more good than two weeks’ leave. While many of those who have had hypnosis can see visible and tangible improvement – Surtees and his team tackle everything from weight-loss and stopping smoking to public speaking and fertility – I am sadly not physically any lighter, but I sure as hell am mentally. And weirdly, that time vortex I fell into seems to have inverted – getting work done in four minutes, which might have previously taken 40.
I may not be superhuman but I’m definitely getting my edge back.
City Hypnosis, 25 Southampton Buildings, WC2A 1AL. Open seven days a week Mon-Fri 9am-9pm and Sat-Sun 10am-5pm. Prices from £165. For more information see cityhypnosis.com
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