Hypnotherapy Birmingham

22/10/2025

10/02/2025

Insomnia and Sleep Issues
Lying awake at night, staring at the ceiling, feeling wired but exhausted?
If that sounds familiar , there’s a good chance your cortisol levels are out of control.
And here’s the deal: high cortisol is more than just a bad night’s sleep—it’s a serious roadblock to your health, energy, and your ability to hit the flow state.
Cortisol is your body’s built-in alarm system.
It’s meant to help you handle stress, but when it sticks around too long—especially at night—it can wreak havoc on your sleep.
Studies show that elevated evening cortisol is one of the biggest culprits behind tossing and turning, disrupted sleep cycles, and that feeling of being “tired but wired”.
When your cortisol levels are too high in the evening, your body stays in a state of alertness, making it nearly impossible to relax and fall asleep.
And poor sleep doesn’t just affect your mood—it drags down your entire health, energy, and performance.
The Cost of High Cortisol:
1. Disrupted Sleep
High cortisol messes with your body’s natural circadian rhythm, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. You wake up feeling drained, no matter how long you’ve been in bed.
2. Increased Stress and Anxiety
Cortisol is linked to heightened stress responses. If your cortisol stays high, your body is constantly in “fight-or-flight” mode, which leads to more stress, anxiety, and mental fog during the day.
3. Blocked Flow State
Cortisol doesn’t just affect your sleep—it blocks your ability to enter the flow state. The flow state is where you’re fully focused and performing at your best, but high cortisol keeps your brain stuck in overdrive, making it impossible to focus deeply or think creatively.
Now, imagine what happens when you cut evening cortisol by 25%.
You’re not just lowering your stress—you’re giving your body the green light to relax, sleep deeply, and wake up energized.
Lowering cortisol improves your sleep quality, reduces anxiety, and opens the door for you to finally access the flow state.
When cortisol comes down:
1. Deep, Restorative Sleep
Lower cortisol allows your body to enter its natural rest-and-recover mode, improving sleep quality and helping you wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day.
2. Reduced Anxiety, More Clarity
When your cortisol levels are balanced, you’ll notice less anxiety, better mental clarity, and an increased sense of calm. This sets you up for a more productive, focused day.
3. More Consistent Flow State
With cortisol in check, your mind and body can work together, making it easier to slip into the flow state—where creativity, focus, and high performance come effortlessly.
You don’t have to spend another night staring at the ceiling, trapped in a cycle of poor sleep and high stress.
Lowering your evening cortisol naturally is possible, and it’s the key to better sleep, more energy, and consistent access to the flow state.
Call Stuart - 07825 599340 to discuss your insomnia issue in more detail
Email - stuart .co.uk
https://hypnotherapy4freedom.co.uk/.../hypnotherapy-for...
Client reviews - https://hypnotherapy4freedom.co.uk/reviews

Stuart Downing is a trusted hypnotherapist helping clients overcome their issues across the UK and worldwide. Read his reviews here.

03/08/2023

What we think determines what happens to us, so if we want to change our lives, we need to change our minds.

05/04/2023

Hypnotherapy successfully treating IBS symptoms
Online appointments available
Call Stuart - 07825 599340
Email stuart@stuartdowning.co.uk

Hypnotherapist Antonios explains what IBS is and how hypnotherapy can help.

04/06/2022

Separation and attachment anxiety
If your child has separation anxiety, he/she might have recurrent and excessive distress about anticipating or being away from home or loved ones, he/she might refuse to go to school, get repeated nightmares about separation, or even have headaches, stomach aches or other symptoms when he/she separates from you or other loved ones. There is a danger in not treating separation anxiety in children, as it can be misread by teachers as a lack of ability to focus in the classroom.Hypnotherapy for separation anxiety for children is effective as it trains the thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. Within a few hypnotherapy sessions, they will be able to adapt themselves to the new situation. Many parents have reported that it is far more effective than conventional talk therapy, which doesn’t treat the problem where it arises
Early attachment interactions are thought to shape people’s attachment patterns later on in adult life. For example, a secure adult has a similar relationship with their romantic partner, feeling secure and connected, while allowing themselves and their partner to move freely. On the other hand, a loss of a romantic partner such as divorce may trigger depression among people high on attachment anxiety, because their anxiety relates specifically to separation and abandonment. Those who suffer from panic attacks often have a history of childhood separation anxiety. The sudden arousal of the social separation can lead to panic attacks. The panic attacks and separation anxiety make one feel as if the center of one’s comfort or stability has been abruptly removed.

It's not unusual to have some degree of separation anxiety as an adult at certain points in your life (e.g., after the death of someone close to you or when experiencing other losses). This would be considered episodic separation anxiety. However, adult separation anxiety disorder is a recurrent and persistent problem that is not linked to anything objective that is going on in a person's life at the time.

Typical symptoms of adult separation anxiety disorder are:
Recurrent excessive worry about separating from a place or a person that you are close to (like a spouse)Persistent and recurring fear about losing people close to you or that something bad will happen to them (when there is no objective reason for feeling this way)Recurrent reluctance to go to school or work or go elsewhere due to fear of separating from someone close Persistent and excessive fear of being alone Persistent and excessive fear or reluctance of going to sleep without having someone who is close to you in the house or nearbyRepeated complaints about headaches and other physical symptoms when you are separated from the person or people that you are close to Recurrent nightmares about separationThis anxiety causes significant impairment in one or more major areas of your life (e.g., your relationships, work life or in other significant areas).These symptoms last a month or more, and they are not attributable to any other physical or emotional causes.

There are many ways to treat adult separation anxiety. Clinical hypnosis is a safe and effective form of therapy. It allows you to relax enough to get to the unconscious causes of the problem. You maintain a dual awareness of the here-and-now as well as whatever comes up in the clinical hypnosis session. It also allows you to discover if you are being triggered by other prior events in your life.
Fortunately, research shows that a person’s attachment system, along with his or her sense of security, can be changed for the better. For example, a relationship partner who acts as a reliable security figure can restore a sense of felt-security and help the person function more securely. Effective treatment via reflective awareness and cognitive re-appraisal can facilitate neuroplasticity changes in the patient’s non-conscious mind and increase capacity for secure attachments.
With Clinical Hypnotherapy, I will help you to break down the walls of this self-created prison – with rapid results.
You will achieve all that you desire, no more living in the shadows of life.
You’ll release your mental block, laugh more often and become the person you knew you could always be.
You will grow greater self–confidence, self assurance ,create opportunities, express yourself, realize your ambitions, goals and dreams… become the person you always knew you could be.
Become the Person You Always Knew You Could Be.

Zoom online appointments

Call Stuart - 07825 599340 to discuss how neuroplasticity can rewire your addictive issues
stuart@stuartdowning.co.uk
https://hypnotherapy4freedom.co.uk/hypnotherapy-services/hypnotherapy-for-anxiety-disorders

What our clients say - https://stuartdowning.co.uk/client-reviews

20/05/2022

Fertility and Hypnotherapy
Fears, baby blocks and anxiety can all interfere with natural fertility
Call Stuart - 07825 599340 to discuss your issues and how hypnotherapy can resolve these issues
Zoom online appointments available
stuart@stuartdowning.co.uk
https://hypnotherapy4freedom.co.uk/hypnotherapy-services/hypnotherapy-for-fertility
See what our clients say - https://www.stuartdowning.co.uk/client-reviews

01/05/2022

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
Often a pattern of ongoing instability in moods, behaviour, self-image, ,anger (splitting) and abandonment can all be prevalent in BPD.
Specialised therapy for BPD - Call Stuart -07825 599340 for a free telephone conversation to discuss how BPD therapy will help you take back control .
Zoom online appointments available
stuart@stuartdowning.co.uk

https://hypnotherapy4freedom.com/hypnotherapy-services/borderline-personality-disorder
https://www.borderlinepersonalitydisorderbirmingham.co.uk

See what our clients say =https://www.stuartdowning.co.uk/client-reviews

21/04/2022

Poor body image can affect intimacy and libido
Communicating our feelings and desires, removing limiting beliefs
and embarrassing emotions can all contribute to a healthy relationship.
Anxiety...blame.. shame. .jealousy can all interfere with our need for
fulfilment ,security and relationship happiness .
Increased desire.... arousal .....increased satisfaction can all contribute to loving, secure happy relationships and feelings of high self esteem .
Zoom appointments available
Call Stuart - 07825 599340 for a free in confidence telephone consultation
Email - stuart@stuartdowning.co.uk
https://hypnotherapy4freedom.com/.../hypnotherapy-for...
What our clients say - https://www.stuartdowning.co.uk/client-reviews
https://youtu.be/giMOxVmuaVI

S*x Therapy can help you if you're experiencing difficulties in your love life and can help you to improve physical intimacy. If s*xual problems are preventi...

22/02/2022

A recent Client review from a satisfied client with therapy for her eating disorder .
If you or somebody you care for requires help with eating issues ,
contact Stuart- 07825 599340
Online appointments available .
stuart@hypnotherapy4freedom.com
www.hypnotherapy4freedom.com
https://www.stuartdowning.co.uk/client-reviews

I was struggling with an eating disorder which had been getting gradually worse since I was 11 years old. Stuart helped me to identify the causes of my abnormal eating and through hypnotherapy helped me to change my mindset and relationship with food, giving me coping mechanisms to deal with my emot...

09/02/2022

Eating Disorder client review posted today regarding restrictive eating issues .

Please contact Stuart - 07825 599340 for a free telephone consultation to discuss your
issues around food and eating or email stuart@hypnotherapy4freedom.com

https://hypnotherapy4freedom.com/hypnotherapy-services/hypnotherapy-for-eating-disorders

What our clients say - https://www.stuartdowning.co.uk/client-reviews

I struggled through the second lockdown and used food as a coping mechanism. To cut a long story short, I ended up suffering from an eating disorder, feeling anxious about the future and feeling totally lost. Finding Stuart was the best thing that could have happened at that point in my life. He tau...

01/02/2022

Recent client review regarding successful Hypnotherapy Stop Smoking in one session - £295 - Online - Saturday appointments available
Call Stuart - 07825 599340 if you are having issues around stopping smoking
Please see our independent client review page -
https://www.stuartdowning.co.uk/client-reviews
Email - stuart@hypnotherapy4freedom.com
https://hypnotherapy4freedom.com/hypnotherapy-services/hypnotherapy-to-stop-smoking-in-birmingham

I felt totally at ease, relaxed and under no pressure , it’s well worth talking to stuart as he can advise and guide you thru and process required, all in all perfect session and STILL smoke free and 16 weeks . Try it , it really works.