Does Gastric Band Hypnosis Really Work?

This is a question that I have been asked and contemplated on several occasions. After much consideration and research the short answer is MAYBE.

Well, that doesn't do me any good I hear you cry!

What does MAYBE mean? Let's consider this.

Gastric Band Hypnosis is supposed to 'convince clients that they have undergone actual gastric band surgery' without side effects, risk or trauma of actual surgery. Hmmm. This is the point at which I became skeptical.

If it is true (which it is) that the unconscious (or automatic) part of our mind can imagine having surgery which is just as effective as having an actual gastric band fitted but for whatever reason (which doesn't seem clear by my research) the risks or side effects are not the same, although by argument they could be, just as well, imagined isn't it possible?
Also what about people who fail to get positive results even though they've gone through the real gastric band surgery? They liquidize chocolate bars or drink melted ice cream... because they never dealt with their emotional connection with food. They went for what it promised. QUICK FIX where as you wouldn't be able to eat as much as you did therefore you will lose weight.

I am very suspicious of any quick fix type of therapy that doesn't address the underlying reasons for the problem and has the client take ZERO RESPONSIBILITY for the way they are.

I did as much as to go and be a guinea pig of this process and booked myself with a hypnotherapist which specializes in this approach and charges in excess of £400 over four sessions for this. It was important to me to understand this process fully, although I am not terribly overweight although I want to improve my shape and my fitness... After a short interview the therapist did a progressive relaxation technique which I went along with. The purpose of this session was to get me relaxed and ready for suggestion. I was guided through a visualisation process where I imagined a consultation with doctors and friendly exchanges with nurses to schedule my key hole surgery for a future date. The next session I was guided to visualise a hospital room where I would wait until it was time for my surgery and after a brief discussion with an imaginary anaesthesiologist, I was wheeled in the surgical theatre and dressed for the procedure. It was all very straightforward and of course went perfectly and I 'awoke' from my imaginary anesthetized state, I was guided to drift into the future to see myself after the surgery and reaping all the benefits. Sure, I would have some discomfort, but that would soon pass.

Is this what your imaginary doctor / nurse will look like? --->

I found the process a bit too straightforward and auto-suggestion - like he was reading from a script. It was almost like listening to Radio 4 drama programme... using direct, matter of fact suggestion about how it would look, feel and be for me.

I wondered if the therapist noticed at particular points during the session that I had a 'raised eyebrow' moment as I was, for lack of a better word, shocked at how contaminated this script was with the way he thought it looked, felt and would be for ME. After all, my imaginary hospital is probably a lot different than his... and when it was suggested (or I was told) that it was like his hospital, well, I consciously rejected this suggestion (and so did my eyebrows).

Afterward, I was a bit gobsmacked that THIS IS WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS ABOUT?! I can honestly say that this technique could possibly work for some people, some of the time with a one-size-fits-all approach. They must truly believe this is possible for them and be susceptible to these suggestions. I find it curious and curiouser that it is as effective as some therapists have claimed. As for me, no, I didn't believe I had a gastric band fitted (although I did go through the imagining with zealous gusto).

So how do people lose weight and keep it off? We all know that diet, exercise and nutrition play a part but it's not the whole story... The truth is to be healthy and vital it has a lot to do with how you live your life. Are you living a life of fulfilment and purpose? Or are you stuck in a life of restriction? Do you get to enjoy the variety of experiences and sensations that life has to offer or does that sort of life seem beyond reach right now?

The good news is that the solution is right here, right now. Following simple steps you can experience dramatic results without willpower or restricting yourself.

Exploring your relationship with food and what your emotional triggers are should be the first step to any weight loss plan. You need to resolve your inner conflicts and get leverage for change. You can do this with a therapist who really understands the emotional needs of people and can teach you to learn what you need to learn so the behaviour no longer is needed.

I believe that this technique can be adapted with a skilled and experienced therapist to tailor it to the client's needs AFTER the emotional needs are met. This holistic approach will mean you can change the beliefs, mindset, attitude, emotions and behaviours of the client. So weight loss can mean health, wellness and FUN. With all of these things in place the client will find themselves being motivated and excited to pay the price to change their life and their body with eating healthy choices and moving their body.

So, thanks for taking the time to read this to understand the long answer to the first question. Yes. Gastric Band Hypnosis can be effective with the right therapist and the right approach. So, when considering this process for yourself, before you spend hundreds of pounds, check to ensure that the therapist's approach looks at the WHOLE STORY so you can get lasting results that really work.

If you would like to discuss this option or experience it yourself, then please contact me on 01527 853 424.

Workshop Announcement: Think Yourself Slim

Workshop Announcement: Think Yourself Slim

Beginning January 2011
Studley, Warwickshire
Five week group workshop 'Think Yourself Slim'

What is it about?

Does this sound familiar? It's a new year - time for a new diet! You resolve to make changes in your life: new exercise regieme perhaps you even join the gym... You talk to people at work who have had success with this or that diet... You are determined to make it work this time, but then your enthusiasm for exercise wanes when you fall off the fitness wagon and that piece of cake that you kept trying not to think about becomes the only thing you can think about and the straw that broke your camels back...You end up on the weight yo-yo from one extreme to another and you feel crappy about yourself because it feels like so much hard work, you're miserable because you're hungry and your crabby and you just give up... the pounds you lost pile back on and as you know, that yo-yo dieting generally makes you fatter... your confidence in in the toilet and you're fed up... So you turn to food for (delete as appropriate) comfort / stress relief / self loathing / rebellion.

Just imagine if…

You could eat well, lose weight and keep it off - all without any real effort and with a smile on your face! If you could literally ‘think’ yourself slim? No Calorie-counting, no starving yourself, no embarrassing weekly weigh-in, no yo-yoing weight, just consistent, steady weight loss… would that appeal to you? Well you are in luck.

As a Quest trained Cognitive Hypnotherapist and working alongside Trevor Silvester who has teamed up with some fellow Harley Street-based therapists to put together a unique and affordable weight-loss programme that really works.

Come January…

Every national paper and magazine will be carrying articles on the launch of 'Thinking Slimmer' which is a brand new vehicle for a tried and tested and proven weight-loss technology. Make no mistake. The brand might be new but the method is beautifully simple and effective. There are no gimmicks, no smoke and mirrors, just an effective and respectful method that won’t cost an arm and a leg. You can check out their website www.thinkingslimmer.com. I may be biased but I think this is the most exciting thing to happen in weight-loss in generations. Why not check it out? In a few months time Thinking Slimmer will be sweeping the country, and you could be telling your friends ‘I told you so’.

What this means for YOU…

Brenda Bentley is the ONLY Quest Trained Cognitive Hypnotherapist locally who can offer one-to-one support for Thinking Slimmer. She will be running group workshop session beginning in the new year teaching these principles and life skills to groups. The five week course of group workshop sessions 'Think Yourself Slim' will take place in Studley, Warwickshire at will cost £20 per person for each 90 minute session. Each session will offer the opportunity for some individualised support, however private one to one session are £60 per hour.

What you can expect...

• How to set realistic goals and how you can achieve them


• How to have a slim mindset so you are focusing your mind on what you want


• How to cope / overcome cravings by reprogramming your mind


• Learn self hypnosis to keep you on track and in control


• Understand what your relationship to food is - what it gives you and how it can give you what you need to be slimmer


• Learn about the mind / body connection


• Build resourceful beliefs about yourself so you can feel good and stay motivated


• Learn the tools to master life changes that you can apply to every area of your life


• Learn how you can eat what you want, whatever you want, whenever you want until you are satisfied and still lose weight!


• Burn calories while you sleep


• Plus more...

Group space is limited contact 01527 853 424 or 0794 880 1229 to book your place now!

Taking Personal Responsibility

What does it mean to take personal responsibility? It means, you accept that you are responsible for every experience both external and internally around you. I realise that this will probably at first be instantly rejected. Personally, when I began my personal development journey, I sure did!


What I have learned over the years as that everything comes from you. Whether this is based on the meanings that you apply to experiences that you have, decisions you make about yourselves and others and within your beliefs, both resourceful and unresourceful ones. But there is more...

If I said to you Ho'oponopono... You'd probably give me a weird look and think you misunderstood what I was saying... That's okay, it's a big word and I can hardly pronounce it. What is this weird word? What does it mean? It means everything comes from you. Now, as I said before, this will probably not be a popular idea --- it may even be resisted and / or rejected. That's okay - please read on.

There are many philosophies, religions, spiritual and new age beliefs about personal responsibility --- wasn't it Ghandi who said, "Be the change you want in the world" and Buddha who said, "Peace comes from within, do not seek it without." Indeed this brings in the idea that we all are on some level connected to one another. We are not separate (but we perceive it that way). Isn't it true that we cannot survive outside of our environment? That we are all dependent on each other in some way for example, a seed needs soil, water, air, sunlight, bees to pollinate... The flower that comes cannot exist outside of its environment just as we cannot. We rely on a certain balance atmosphere, temperature, gravitational pull...

But what is Ho'oponopono besides what it potentially means? It is an ancient Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness --- of ourselves and of others --- that part of us that is them and vice versa. When we practice Ho'oponopono we are indeed practising 'cleaning' or 'clearing' of what's inside of us --- our limited beliefs, our unconscious programmes and all the other 'junk in our trunk' or as the Hawaiians call 'memories' that go back to the beginning of humankind. “Hoʻoponopono” is defined in the Hawaiian Dictionary as “mental cleansing: family conferences in which relationships were set right through prayer, discussion, confession, repentance, and mutual restitution and forgiveness.” Literally, hoʻo is the equivalent to the English “to”. It creates a verb from the noun pono, which is defined as “goodness, uprightness, morality, moral qualities, correct or proper procedure, excellence, well-being, prosperity, welfare, benefit, true condition or nature, duty; moral, fitting, proper, righteous, right, upright, just, virtuous, fair, beneficial, successful, in perfect order, accurate, correct, eased, relieved; should, ought, must, necessary.” Ponopono is defined as “to put to rights; to put in order or shape, correct, revise, adjust, amend, regulate, arrange, rectify, tidy up, make orderly or neat.”

Joe Vitale wrote a book in collaboration with Dr. Len (Ihaleakala Hew Len Ph.D) called Zero Limits which outlines the history, philosophy and practice of this 'clearing' technique. I have read this book and listened to many resources about this technique --- I also am learning to practice it.

Although, I have only recently begun this practice, I can report that I have experienced an 'easing' within myself. Whenever I find myself becoming irritated, frustrated, hurt or downright angry with others, I repeat the mantra: "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you." Just by repeating this in my mind I am acknowledging that something in me is in them. Whether this be just my perception of them or my limiting belief about them --- it doesn't matter it all comes from me.

Let me break this down. I'm sorry: This doesn't mean that ME / I am sorry. Perhaps someone cut me off in traffic or said something hurtful... It means 'I'm sorry for whatever negative / limited beliefs are inside of me that created this.' Please forgive me: 'Again, I am unaware of what unconscious programmes may be creating this in my life, forgiveness for myself is needed.' Thank you: This is being in an attitude of gratitude, which leaves us open for more things to be thankful for... And finally, I love you: an acceptance and validation of the love you need for yourself (we all want to be loved) and you deserving to be loved --- as well as others being loved. For we are all a part of this fabric of life which stitch by stitch, thread by thread... At the very least, you feel better than what you did --- change your perspective to being more present, in the now and have the intention to let go of that which doesn't serve you. And it's completely free. Try it for yourself --- be the change you want in the world.

Because of this, I've been inspired to create an audio download which will soon be ready that I will use and I hope you will too.

Please watch this video - I confess, it's a bit hokey for even me, but it's the thought that counts, the sentiment is meaningful and the photos are lovely to look at.

Hypnotherapy at the forefront of IBS awareness month - Hypnotherapy News - The Therapy Lounge

Hypnotherapy at the forefront of IBS awareness month
by William Hobson

This April has been named IBS awareness month – a month that aims to increase awareness of the condition of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), which affects an estimated six million people in the UK alone.

IBS is a debilitating condition, with symptoms including stomach pain, bloating, constipation, diarrhoea and vomiting. Many sufferers also feel considerable fatigue or depression given their frequent or even constant discomfort.

Unfortunately, there is no identifiable biological cause of IBS – so there is no simple, satisfactory treatment to offer hope to the millions of sufferers. Although dietary and lifestyle chances can work for many people, in others the symptoms persist even further. Prescribed medication can also be effective in some cases but again, the effects are far from universal.

Recently though, hypnotherapy has been identified as one of the more effective methods of helping IBS sufferers. Last month, The Therapy Lounge reported that Dr Roland Vaori, a gastroenterologist at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital revealed that he had had been using hypnotherapy as an IBS treatment for twenty years and had “never looked back.”

Dr Vaori claimed, in his comments on the launch of new medical journal Frontline Gastroenterology, that in his experience nine out of ten IBS sufferers have seen significant improvement in their symptoms thanks to hypnotherapy. A remarkable four out of ten said that their condition had even cleared up completely.

The role of mental treatments such as hypnotherapy in treating IBS has been supported by others in the medical community. The Daily Express, writing on IBS treatments for IBS awareness month, has interviewed both an NHS hypnotherapist and the head of The Gut Trust, the national IBS charity.

Dr Nick Read of the Gut Trust said: “This is a disease of the whole person. The emotional area of the brain often shows increased activity in IBS sufferers…IBS is so response to confidence and belief.”

NHS hypnotherapist Helen Bremner says that she has seen great successes by helping people sort our their anxieties from the past, leading to the end of their physical symptoms.

”People are sceptical at first” she told The Express, “but after just a few sessions they’re socialising and doing all the things they couldn’t do before, such as walks in the country where there is no loo.”

Brenda Bentley Cognitive Hypnotherapist will soon be providing IBS Rescue Group Sessions in the Warwickshire area. Please contact 0845 269 5029 for more details.

New Year - New You - New Website

British surgeons should hypnotise patients for some operations, says academic - from Telegraph

Please see this interesting article on using hypnosis for some surgeries.

Telegraph.co.uk article

HOW TO... Feel happier | Mail Online

HOW TO... Feel happier Mail Online