If you're fully qualified and experienced in your work, or any leadership role - and yet you still feel that you have to "over-perform", as if you could be found lacking at any moment... you could be experiencing "imposter syndrome".

Imposter syndrome is not a recognised psychological disorder, but a "cognitive distortion" that was first identified in the late 1970s among high-achieving women. More recent scientific research has found that it can affect people more equally across the genders these days, but that it's more common among ethnic minority groups. This could be due to cultural messaging about status or stereotypes.

In this podcast, I look at how imposter syndrome happens, the kinds of problems it can cause, why some people have it and others don't, and I'll also suggest some ways to overcome it if it's happening to you.

Cover art by BiancaVanDijk on Pixabay.

These days, we are expected to perform from an early age - online, in exams and in the workplace. We often feel judged, rated and compared. No wonder global anxiety levels are rising.

In this podcast I consider a possible solution to this performance-related anxiety which might seem counter-intuitive, but is supported by significant scientific research.

In this podcast I look at some of the psychological teachings of George Gurdjieff, a spiritual teacher who was born in the Russian Empire in the late 19th century.

Gurdjieff first found acclaim in Russia in the 1910s, and after the First World War and the Russian Revolution, he gained a following among the wealthy and influential classes in Europe. His unconventional teachings and methods attracted many, but have probably prevented his more progressive psychological ideas from becoming widely known and accepted.

Gurdjieff's ideas were not scientifically based, but probably woven from contemporary psychology mingled with spiritual teachings from various religions. I personally think they make a lot of sense today, and not only that - in an age where our lives are increasingly driven by technology, many of his words seem astonishingly prophetic.

My sources for this video include the books In Search of the Miraculous by PD Ouspensky, Meetings With Remarkable Men by George Gurdjieff and Psychological Commentaries by Maurice Nicoll.

I’ve been doing a lot of Trauma Release Exercises over the past few months, and it’s been an incredibly powerful process.

It’s also been really exhausting.

It’s not the actual exercises themselves that are exhausting - it’s the emotional release process that’s been draining me, physically as well as mentally.

Many people do Trauma Release Exercises regularly and find them just mildly relaxing.

So why have I been holding on to so much trauma? What traumatised me in the first place?

In this podcast episode I discuss the dangerous and scary childhood illness that traumatised me repeatedly between the ages of 2 and 4 years old. I’ll also discuss some of the flashbacks that I’ve had over the years.

Please be assured that this is not about self-pity! I know that hundreds of millions of people experience trauma that’s just as bad, or much worse than what I went through. For me it’s more about self understanding, and understanding more widely about the effects of trauma and the trauma release process.

Memories of traumatic events, especially repeated, complex trauma, can be very distorted. I consider myself very lucky in that the events of my illness were recorded in detail, and also that I had the loving support of my family while I was experiencing them.

For full details, listen to the audio - there is also a transcript available.

Photo by Pauli Nie on Unsplash

Music

Sunset On The Beach by JuliusH on Pixabay

Spanish Guitar by 5XBeats on Pixabay

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Search online for Trauma Release Exercises, and you’ll find loads of information on how to do it, pictures and films of people lying on their backs, tremoring. But there’s very little information on what actually happens when you do these exercises regularly - how it affects your sleep, possible side-effects, even how long it takes to heal from the trauma, to start feeling better.

I’ve been doing Trauma Release Exercises regularly for 8 weeks now, with the assistance of a certified practitioner.

I’ve found the process utterly exhausting. The exhaustion usually comes one or two days after a session of tremoring, but to be honest, I never really know from day to day whether I’m going to be exhausted or wired.

I discussed the effects in this video that I made on my YouTube channel a couple of weeks ago:

The video was made quite spontaneously. I had been intending to make an entirely different video, but I was finding the effects of the Trauma Release Exercises (TRE) so overwhelming that I just felt I needed to talk about it.

I do need to emphasise that the Trauma Release Exercises are not actually to blame for this emotional and physiological rollercoaster. It’s emotional release itself that is exhausting. The TRE process is just a tool for doing this - and a very effective one.

Going by online comments, it seems that other people have had similar experiences when doing TRE, although there are also many people who report none of these effects - they just experience more relaxation and less stress.

More information

Links to where you can obtain TRE online:

https://treglobal.org/open-workshops-classes/

https://tre-online.com/

One-to-one TRE:

https://treglobal.org/tre-provider-list/

https://treuk.com

More info on Internal Family Systems (IFS):

https://innerkindnesstherapy.co.uk/posts/internal-family-systems-sub-personalities/

https://ifs-institute.com/

Music:

Sunset On The Beach by JuliusH on Pixabay

Moment by SergeQuadrado

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Clearing up can trigger many psychological issues. What are the biggest blocks to clearing clutter, and how do you start to overcome them? In this episode I’d like to offer some thoughts and suggestions.

Link to Simply Sort It! download: https://buymeacoffee.com/innerkindnesstherapy/e/506640

Note: when you go to the product page, you'll be prompted to "enter a fair price" - you can ignore this, as I am offering this download free.

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How often do you go out without taking your phone? And if you’re out somewhere and then you realise you’ve left your phone behind, or if you lose your phone, what sort of emotions are triggered? Think about it.

In many ways, modern technology has become a kind of trap. Because we can’t function without it. Take away our technology, and we’re left with our own thoughts - which to many people is an extremely disturbing, even terrifying prospect.

Are we losing part of ourselves through our reliance on technology? And if so, how can we reclaim and recharge those mental freedoms and functions?

Image by CDD20 on Pixabay

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Most people today are way more wealthy than our ancestors from two or three generations ago. And yet somehow most of us feel as if we’re struggling to make ends meet - at least, that’s the way it seems in the UK.

I think this is because it’s not material possessions that we’re lacking. It’s freedom.

In this podcast I’d like to look more deeply into why our lives have become so limited, what these limiting factors are, and how we can start to break the chains - to reclaim some of that freedom that we’ve lost.

The solutions might surprise you.

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Everyone seems to be tracking their fitness levels these days - counting steps, uploading running and hiking statistics to social media, and even tracking sleep.

But is all this digital tracking actually helpful for our health? The evidence suggests a mixed picture.

In this episode I consider the effects of digital fitness trackers on

Image from Pexels

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We often see “self help” as a kind of industry, a category in its own right.

But this is where things can get tricky. Because as a hypnotherapist, I find that some people expect me to be able do amazing things to them – almost as if I’m a guru or a magician.

In this episode I look at why this is, and how we can help ourselves to become more empowered.

Image by Rosy on Pixabay.

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