Enjoy the Now

This is becoming a theme in the world around me. I'm noticing so many people - on their cell phones, on their computers, working, feeding the machine - instead of living.

We get a short time to be alive. We get to meet all sorts of interesting people and filter out those we aren't into and keep those we really like to stay in our lives. We get to be exposed to all sorts of things and filter out those things we're not into to keep the things we dig. Let's do that stuff together. Let's share the stuff we dig with the people we like. Let's do that every day!

Let's not hashtag out lives away.

I was at Universal Studios last weekend, grateful to be taken along for free on my husband's company trip. We left our cell phones in the hotel room and talked to one another in line. We people-watched, made up stories about the relationships of others that we saw, rode rides, talked about life, and generally just enjoyed each other's company.

We saw ton's of people on their cell phones and it grated on the both of us - both of us are technophiles, I should mention; I have 3 Twitter accounts and am no stranger to the amazing wonders of technology. But you're on vacation; enjoy it. Don't #vacation #rollercoasters #havingagreattime. Actually do that stuff. Talk about it later.

Enjoy the now. There is nothing more.

Living in the Now

I was at a hockey game last week and there were two little girls in the row ahead of me. One was there with family and was was the friend. I'm going to guess they were about 9 years old. Both girls had on their team hats. At one point, the friend spent about 15 minutes fixing her hair, fixing her hat, and taking photos of her self until she got one she liked. She then posted it to Facebook with "I'm at the hockey game!"

Indeed, she was physically at the hockey game. But was she really at the hockey game? She didn't see those 15 minutes of play. She wasn't enjoying being at the game, or even with her friend and her friend's family. I'd venture to guess she didn't even enjoy her personal photo shoot but rather it seemed time that was simply gone. She was creating her highlight reel for others, but there's no value in that.

Your highlight reel is what it is. If professional athletes were playing for their highlight reels, their attention would never be on the game, but on how they look to the cameras. That would make for bad sports. Living for your highlight reel makes for bad life.

Be. Be where you are. Do what you do. Enjoy this moment; the next is not promised.

Autumn Hahn is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist practicing at Clear Mind Group in Weston, Florida. Call 954-612-9553 for a consultation. Follow Autumn on Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on the right under Follow by Email for the weekly blog delivered directly to you.

Temporary States

Right now, my house has ants. They're tiny and seemingly everywhere. They are incredibly pesky. I'm also moving in a couple of weeks, so having an exterminator out or laying bait traps seems pointless. This is a temporary state. As annoying as I find these ants, who ruined my box of cereal this morning and cause me to have to wipe up around the cat's dishes several times daily, they are a temporary state and we can put up with anything for a little while.

The nice thing about life is that all the bothersome parts are also just temporary states. If there is something about your own behavior or thoughts that you don't like, you can change it. If there is something about your work, your home, your social circle, or an ant problem, "this too shall pass." We can put up with anything for a little while.

Persevere the little things. Fix the big things. You've got this.

Autumn Hahn is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist practicing at Clear Mind Group in Weston, Florida. Call 954-612-9553 for a consultation. Follow Autumn on Twitter and Facebook.

Restful Nights with Self-Hypnosis

Everyone has those nights where you wake up and can't get back to sleep, or can't seem to fall asleep even though you might feel tired. If this happens more than once a month, you may have categorical sleep problems. Here are ways to combat restlessness:

1. Schedule  Go to bed at the same time every night, even weekends. You'll only have to do this as long as it takes for your body to learn the routine. This could mean as little as a few weeks or as long as a year; your mileage may vary.
2. Routine  Do things to unwind before bedtime every night. Have a cup of decaffeinated tea, a warm shower, read, or do whatever it is that puts away today's stressors.
3. Eat Well and Exercise Daily  Taking care of your body and expending unused calories will help your nervous system to regulate your body and make you tired.
4. Self Hypnosis  Come see me and I'll teach you a technique that you can use at home to put yourself to sleep or back to sleep that takes just a few moments and requires nothing more than your own mind.

Autumn Hahn is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist practicing at Clear Mind Group in Weston, Florida. Call 954-612-9553 for a consultation. Follow Autumn on Twitter and Facebook.

Bubble Wrap Your Kids

Bubble Wrap Your Kids, a parenting guide for the prevention of childhood trauma is now available at Amazon. Buy it here.

This book makes a great gift for new parents or growing or blended families. Advice is from birth through the teen years and fits with any parenting style; any parent with children at home will benefit from reading Bubble Wrap Your Kids. Amazon allows you to ship gift copies to additional addresses at no additional charge, so include any friend or family member who has kids in your shopping and help prevent a niece or nephew from harm!

Publishing a book is like birthing a baby. There's a lot of gestation that goes into the writing. There's resting and thinking and worrying and fussing over little details. There's joy and a feeling of accomplishment over achieving new stages. And then the labor of publishing itself, difficult and full of anticipation and eager waiting. And then, you have it in your hands, your work over months and months, produced, and ready to share with the world. And there's even a feeling of emptiness, of "Oh. What do I do next?" 

And what I will do next is a book on changing corporate culture: making your company one where employees are glad to go each day. After telling myself to take the rest of August off, I woke up the other morning with an outline in my head and had to start writing. If you have article or book suggestions or just want to include your input, email me.

I will update you when a Kindle edition of Bubble Wrap Your Kids is available, but it won't be for awhile.

Building Resliency

mini kiss roses
photo by Autumn Hahn ©2003

I want each person to be fine no matter what happens in their life. I want everyone to have solid ground under his or her feet and to say "okay, that was a trial. What's next?" and to be able to face the next thing with determination and ferocity. As my fellow therapist and friend Tara says, we're creating warriors.

Life will never be simple and easy where only good things happen and all is perfect all the time. That'd be boring anyhow and no one would have growth or know how far they'd come. Prepare for reality - that sometimes there will be manure and sometimes there will be flowers - and that flowers are stronger and brighter for the manure.

How do we do this? Master the following three skills from an RRT practitioner:

1. Clear past trauma  The things that have happened to drop manure into your life happen suddenly, oftentimes, and these sudden dumps (if you'll pardon the pun) can cause you to become stuck and weighed down. Clearing these events frees up that stuck energy to fuel you forward. Progressing with all manner of wonder isn't fully functional until this step is done. That's why all the talk-therapy in the world still leave people with crummy memories and weeping when the dredge that stuff up. Rapid Resolution Therapy® is the process many of us great therapists use to clear the old debris so you can resume planting flowers.
2. Live in this moment  If you have depression, you're living in the past, thinking of what was and could have been or should have been. This is fruitless without a time machine, and I'd even say fruitless with a time machine as we learn and grow from our mistakes. If you have anxiety, you're living in the future, thinking of what might be and what should be or what could be. This is also fruitless as we can't change or even predict with any certainty what will happen. Some people, with certain gifts, can glimpse the future; but even then, we have the ability to change things. Living in the present moment is a skill akin to meditation, and is in the teachings of every religion. Being present means knowing that you are safe and fine and that your mind and body are responding appropriately to the situation. This may not be true and may need adjusting. 
3. Dismiss pop culture's idea of self esteem  Self esteem is being absolutely fine with you, despite and including all of your imperfections of body and disposition. This is not automatic. I will never ask you to look in a mirror and tell yourself absolutely anything as I feel your time is valuable and I'd rather you be doing something fun. If a depressed person looks in the mirror and says 10 times (100 times, 10 billion times) "I am happy," that person will be no more happy than before. There's a mismatch between truth and speech and your mind knows that and will believe truth. I will never ask you to say "I'm made of balloons" because you're not! That's what pop culture says about self esteem: that it is valuable and necessary and saying it makes it so. I call shenanigans on that. However, you can learn to be perfectly imperfect and fine with you, all of you, at this moment in time.

These techniques are effective for children and adults and are part of the bullying group I run for ages 10-18. Hold your head up and be uniquely you by unleashing your inner warrior.

Autumn Hahn is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist practicing at Clear Mind Group in Weston, Florida. Call 954-612-9553 for a consultation. Follow Autumn on Twitter and Facebook.

Rapid Resolution Therapy® and Rapid Trauma Resolution® were developed and founded by Dr. Jon Connelly, LCSW, PhD. More information is available at www.cleartrauma.com and www.rapidresolutiontherapy.com. 

Cloudy to Clear: Out-of-Town Special

How many years have you been living with trauma, guilt, grief, anxiety, or depression? Are you ready to get
past it and live the life you imagine for yourself: free of pain and worry, feeling light and relieved? Cloudy-to-Clear makes this possible!

The fastest way to get over a trauma, anxiety or panic attack, guilt and shame, grief or loss, and substance abuse is Rapid Resolution Therapy®. This treatment utilizes metaphor, storytelling, laughter, and hypnosis in a skillfully combined way to produce immediate relief of symptoms and permanent change in the way memory is stored.

Autumn Hahn, licensed mental health counselor, certified clinical hypnotherapist, and trauma specialist practices RRT in Weston, Florida, just a short drive from Fort Lauderdale. If you do not live locally, you can still get your issues cleared by her in a convenient and effective manner. Cloudy-to-Clear allows clients to fly into Fort Lauderdale airport and book a hotel for just 3 nights. Mrs. Hahn will see you for up to 4 3-hour sessions over the course of 2 days, ensuring there is plenty of time to clear the issue and down time for you to process what has happened.

Sessions must be booked in advance and a phone consultation is necessary. Forms will be sent by email to be completed in advance. Teletherapy and Skype are not available as they are less effective and Mrs. Hahn is committed to giving you the very best service and clearing your issue completely the first time.

To schedule your sessions, call 954-612-9553 and speak directly with Mrs. Hahn.

Autumn Hahn is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist practicing at Clear Mind Group in Weston, Florida. Call 954-612-9553 for a consultation. Follow Autumn on Twitter and Facebook.

Rapid Resolution Therapy® and Rapid Trauma Resolution® were developed and founded by Dr. Jon Connelly, LCSW, PhD. More information is available at www.cleartrauma.com and www.rapidresolutiontherapy.com.