Developed from courses taught at the following medical schools under the Tomorrow’s Doctors Programme

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HypnoSOS Episode 41 – Dealing With Exhaustion

Sit or lie down… it really doesn’t matter which… and allow your eyes to rest comfortably closed… Take a moment… to just… stretch your body a little… and allow your muscles to settle into a comfortable position… a neutral position where you can just start… to relax… Now focus in on your breath… be aware of your chest as it rises and falls… be aware… as you breathe in… and out… and as you focus on this process… it can start to slow down… no need for you to do anything at all… as this part… of the processes that occur happens unconsciously… just as when you sleep… all of these processes continue without thought… but just for a moment think about your breath… as you take it in and… let that breath go… You may find that there are moments when you sigh… or perhaps yawn… you may choose to allow these moments to open your mouth… just slightly, and allow the muscles of your jaw to relax too… These muscles are important… because we often hold a lot of our tension there…. so just for these moments concentrate on the muscles of your jaw… and the surrounding muscles of your neck and face… and even your tongue… and just let those muscles relax… as you breathe out… just letting go… of any tightness there… just let it go … The interesting thing is, you may notice each time you swallow… those muscles relax a little more… and as you continue to hear the sound of my voice… those muscles can and will relax appropriately, so you can forget about them now… no longer any need to concentrate on them, because naturally and easily these muscles will start to relax… all the way through relax… relax… and naturally and easily this warmth and relaxation will spread from this area through every part of you progressively… spreading outward… like the ripples on a pond… spreading outward… and helping you to relax… all the way through relax… and you will find that you will reach a point in time when you can forget about my voice… and the words that are said… and just let the sound flow… within and around you, as easily and naturally as your breath… and you can and you will go deeper… and deeper… into this experience… you’ll go as deep as feels comfortable and natural… always remembering that you… have… control…

And… within these moments if you wish to take more control of the process, you can… you will… you can do this in your own way or by simply, silently, mentally, counting down from 10 to 1… timing your out breath with each descending number, you can and you will carry yourself to a level of relaxation that is needed by you right now… a level at which you feel safe and comfortable… a level at which you can gain maximum benefit from these moments… maximum benefit… taking from it what you need… for in a few moments in time… in a few moments in time, you can just allow your thoughts to create three separate balls of light… in front of your eyes… you can imagine this in any way that feels right for you but each ball of light represents something different… the first… emotions… the second… your body… the third, your thoughts… and within each of these balls of light… there will be aspects… that are… unnecessary and unwanted… so pick whichever of these balls of light… the physical, emotional or psychological… whichever one is most significant to you right now… and allow yourself to step into that light… to experience fully one aspect of yourself… and know that from within this space you can control it… you can let go of anything in this space that is not working for you… and however you do this… whether you allow your unconscious mind, the part of you that is awake even when you are asleep, to do the work or whether you consciously become aware of altering this environment, and letting things go… it’s entirely up to you… remember, you have control…

Now… step into the next one… whichever you wish… and do the same thing… and I want you to know that each time you do it, it gets easier… to own that space and to remove anything that is not working for you… however you do it… you have control… and now moving into the third and final space… and recognise that this is the easiest of all, because you’re already in a pattern, in a habit of taking control… of letting go of that which has no space… and owning that space for yourself… and when you are ready to step out of that final space and those three areas are no longer outside of you… but the useful, helpful and appropriate parts are now safely within you… and anything that bothered, distressed, disturbed… you have allowed yourself to step away from it… and as a result of this process, you will feel stronger… more calm… much more in control… you will feel better… better and more optimistic too than you have felt in a long, long while… in a long while… you will sleep more deeply and more well… and because of this, you will no longer take on board the negatives in the way you would have in the past… and as a result of all of this, you feel more energised… the exhaustion, whether physical or mental or psychological, is fading… your strengths, your capabilities, your abilities, you’re remembering them… you’re coming back… to full strength… you’re coming back to life… and you can start to look forward… look forward with some optimism because you are beginning to plan and because of this looking forward… you feel already… better… more in control… more optimistic too than you have felt in a long, long while… more energised… more ready to take control…

And in a few moments in time… in a few moments in time you will hear me count from 1 to 10 and at the count of 8 your eyes will naturally and easily open… and at the count of 10 you will be fully wide awake… all normal, healthy, appropriate sensations and responses will be back and you will feel more enthusiastic, you will feel more energetic, you will feel more capable and optimistic than you have felt in a while… so ready… 1… 2… 3… more aware… 4… 5… 6… more alert, more aware… 7… 8… 9… and 10… fully wide awake… refreshed and relaxed.

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