Ken's Story

How Ken Found A New Direction

Many people wonder how hypnosis and coaching works for other people, so this month I'll hand you over to Ken, whom I've been working with for 5 months. He's fun, a hard worker, and one of my favourite clients (as of course, you all are). We meet up every 7/10 days.

Ken's story
I've worked as a civil servant for over 20 years, and to be honest thought that was my lot until retirement. I've also suffered with depression these past few years, and at various times have been prescribed all the usual drugs by my GP. Then late last year my department began a review with the intention of cutting back. Suddenly what I'd feared became very real; that I might be one of the casualties, with little or no experience of the world outside of what I'd been trained to do.

By May the review had got to the stage where I would at some point have to be interviewed for a new role in an even newer, more streamlined department. The thought terrified me, and I lapsed into a deeper and darker depression, and for the first time was unable to work for several weeks. It was at this point my wife, who had coached with Mike several years previously, suggested I contact him.

Our first appointment was dire. It wasn't a good day for me. My energy was low; I'd had a sleepless night and was feeling quite numb. We met at his offices, and thankfully Mike was as gentle as I needed him to be. After an initial conversation he suggested that hypnosis might help relax me enough to sleep and begin to get my strength back. It was excellent. This followed with 4 more hypnosis appointments before we ever started coaching. By that time I was feeling more awake, alive and in touch with the real me.

One of the major breakthroughs was the realization that at 42 I'm still young and certainly not over the hill. One of my greatest fears was that I'd somehow become old and thus unable to change my lot. That belief, Mike helped me see, was completely debilitating. Believing I was too old was not the only problem. Believing I was too old and therefore diminishing, a spent force, was. Realizing I was still young, and that even though pretty unfit still capable of getting my energy back, and with it opportunity was the moment my whole world changed. Mike described it very well as a light bulb moment. I remembered I'd always planned to live to at least 90 (not unusual in my family), which meant I wasn't even half way. Therefore, I couldn't contemplate spending the second half of my life living as though I was there already!

Five months later I'm different. I workout regularly at a gym (something I'd thought about doing for many years but never done, again thinking I'd missed my opportunity with that), and what it's given me is a list of positives. I feel stronger, physically and mentally; I look forward to going there and working my body. I love to swim, and even took lessons to improve the rusty old schoolboy style that had never developed passed my 25 yard doggie paddle at age 11. I do weights and cardiovascular, or CV as I now call it. I also play badminton with new friends I've met at the gym. This was another old memory of a sport I used to half enjoy at school, now resurrected after 30 years, and which I plan will lead on to learning squash and/or tennis.

Now I know I'm 42 and still strong, vibrant and getting younger every day. I haven't taken any medication for months, and coming into Autumn I feel I have the tools and support structure in place to stay bright all winter.

I have decided to leave my job. I've begun investing in the property market, only a couple of properties so far, but I'm enjoying it. To be honest, I'd always liked renovating and beautifying my own house, so this is simply an extension of that. My wife also enjoys helping, and handles the book keeping side of things.

I also want to retrain and work in the environment. To that end, I am due to start a course at college in the next couple of weeks. I'm about to become a mature student and it feels great! I'm not sure exactly which area of conservation I want to focus on yet, and it may well be self employed, but I am excited for the first time in years for what could be a long and exciting 2nd career.

In short, I feel blessed. I wanted to write this for two reasons, firstly to let others, especially those who might be feeling stuck, passed it, or depressed, as I was, that there is light out there, there really is.

Secondly, I wanted to thank Mike for the wonderful work he's done and is still doing with me. At the beginning he was so gentle and supportive if he'd been as positive and perky as I feared he might be I'd have run a mile! He was just perfect. The hypnosis was as gentle and inspirational as I needed to begin to bring me out of depression. He even went to the gym with me a couple of times! The first when I joined, doing the induction with the instructor and me. And then after a few weeks to show how rusty he was with badminton too, and how much fun a game could be in the process.

Finally (and I know I said there were two reasons for writing this, but Mike has now read and returned it to me to add this!), finally the most important reason to write this is for me. To remind me of where I was and where I am now. To show me what is possible. Mike encouraged me to take pictures along the way (even bringing his own camera to the gym and giving me the prints afterwards for me and my wife to laugh over). In these words I've recorded my journey, which is still continuing. I will include it in my journal, and use it as a marker of where I was at this pint in time (I use past tense of course, since I will have moved further by the time you will read this).

And finally (again), I'd like to wish anyone else who's either contemplating or has begun their journey, believe, let yourself have fun and smile along the way, and above all give it 100%. You really can do it.

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