As cases of Covid-19 multiply around the world and life has literally come to a standstill in Hong Kong, it has become increasingly difficult for everyone to cope with the ongoing anxiety and pressures of social distancing and lockdowns. Hong Kong hypnotherapist Christine Deschemin of Renewed Edge Hypnotherapy Center offers Hong Kong parents a new hypnosis app that strives to support parents struggling with stress and anxiety to help them relax, remain calm, build mental resilience and practice self-care.
The UpNow app, which is available on the Apple App Store, offers a comprehensive library of self-hypnosis audios that have been carefully curated to help parents stay resilient and emotionally healthy as Hong Kongers continue to face disruptions to their daily lives.
Together with the impact of last year’s social unrest, Hong Kong parents have been served a double whammy. Now, more than ever, working and schooling from home becomes the new norm with extended periods of social distancing creating more stress and panic.
“I’m seeing more cases relating to anxiety, insomnia and other ailments, affecting more people than ever and given the realities of this challenging period, I believe it’s not only essential to care for our physical health, but also our psychological well-being.
With this trend of mental health issues on the increase, I wanted to offer my clients readily accessible tools to help them create a state of focused awareness, allowing more people to become open and receptive to create what they want for themselves and their families,” she adds.
“Hypnosis helps you calm your nerves, manage difficult emotions and adopt positive behaviours and constructive thoughts. This includes redirecting energy towards improving optimism and embracing healthy habits that can protect and promote good health.”
As a certified hypnotherapist and coach, Deschemin regularly works with athletes, executives, entrepreneurs and parents overcoming behavior and emotional challenges, achieving much success.
Deschemin offers tips and strategies for parents to boost their immunity and cope with high levels of stress and anxiety to combat Covid blues:
Empower your mind
Your mindset is influenced by the news you hear and read. And there is nothing worse than digesting worrisome news as soon as you wake up because the first hour sets the tone for the rest of the day. Try to refrain from watching the news and social media in that first hour. Similarly, you should adopt a calming routine in the last hour before you go to bed and focus on winding down.
Practice relaxation
Stress affects your immune system and therefore you should make it a priority to de-stress. Studies have shown that frequent hypnotic-relaxation practice can strengthen the immune system. Our UpNow app contains free audios to help you do just that.
Cultivate a healthy, positive mindset
The Covid-19 pandemic is forcing us to acknowledge that some things are outside our control. Children learn through what we say but also through what we do and how we react to events. By becoming more comfortable with change, especially unexpected change, you are teaching your children essential coping skills that they will carry all their lives.
Remember that you communicate more with your gestures and voice than with your words. So take some time to digest any news with some breathing exercises before you discuss it with your child.
Breathe consciously
Anxious people do not know how to breathe. They breathe from the chest when they should breathe from the abdomen. You can pause and take in a deep breath, while paying attention to the sensations inside your body and listening to the sounds around you. Practice this with your children as well. If you have an anxious or worried child, often the case during these trying times, help your child breathe consciously. Repeat this exercise 3 times and you should feel a surge in clarity.
Read more: How Mindfulness Can Help During COVID-19
Decode your emotions
Your emotions act like gauge that can help you understand yourself even more. With knowledge comes insight and the ability to renew yourself. Emotions are closely related to your thoughts. In our hypnotherapy sessions, you will learn to recognise these emotions and reframe your thoughts. By doing so, you will parent consciously and help your families at the same time.
Balance relationships
Social distancing feels awkward and almost painful because we are social animals. We need to stay in touch with friends, our family and the communities we contribute to. Nowadays, there are many tools that can help you connect with friends and family in a more meaningful way.
Stay connected
Make a point to reach out to one like-minded friend every day. Choose a friend that can elevate your mood and choose to do the same thing for him or her. If you suffer from social anxiety, it is time to make some changes and start enjoying interacting with others. Hypnotherapy for social anxiety can help you do just that.
“UpNow is somewhat of an on-demand virtual self-hypnotherapist helping people manage their mental wellness remotely and at their own convenience. Users can become more empowered by learning to leverage a state of focused awareness to relieve anxiety, improve sleep, build mental fitness and live healthier – all from the comfort of their own homes,” expressed Deschemin.
More importantly, she adds, people who are experiencing hypnosis do not lose control and thereby, would not do anything they would find unacceptable.
UpNow is categorised into 15 dedicated audio categories featuring Stress Management, Anxiety and Depression, Healthy Mindset, Losing Weight, Exam Stress, Overcoming Smoking & Vaping and much more. Parents and teens can fit these 20-25 minute sessions as daily self-hypnosis and meditative practice and follow these sessions offline, if preferred.
Christine Deschemin is a certified Hypnotherapist at the Renewed Edge Hypnotherapy Centre and founder of the UpNow app. Interviewed by Kashish Sakhrani.
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