Nicholas Pollak

A 35-year-old lady recently asked for help in reducing her stress and anxiety levels. Interestingly, she packed an enormous craving for sugar. That could be important because she needs to be focused every day for her job. She is a jet pilot. Sugar is her major issue because it deepens her stress. Even though her job carries an unusual amount of responsibility, she should be accustomed to stress. She appeared to be outgoing, but she confessed she is ...

People see me for all sorts of reasons, from insomnia to understanding relationships. Most come to see a hypnotist when desperate. I tend to have great success with most clients, especially when they are motivated. When a new client begins, there is suspicion whether hypnosis will help. Those who try are rewarded with ...

One reason quitting smoking is one of the hardest tasks in life is that longer you smoke, the more ingrained is your harmful habit. We all learn habits, but we can unlearn them, too. Takes time and determination. Stopping is difficult because of the ...

An acquaintance of my wife said recently she is becoming more housebound. She loves to be outside and go places. But she has been suffering from debilitating panic attacks. They worsened to the point of interfering with her life. When her husband suggests a drive or a weekend away, she used to say yes but now is ...

A 53-year-old lady asked if hypnosis would work for someone who was afraid to drive. Hypnosis is perfect, I told her. A few days later, she arrived with her daughter. The woman knew how to drive but was scared. She explained her symptoms when she was getting ready to drive. She was fine until ...

I have found that when I talk about hypnosis, people listen. You may be a little like me. When we go to a party or meet someone new, it does not take long to find out what a new acquaintance does for a living. The response to me never varies.

An unusual number of recent clients have shared the same problem – whether men or women, when their partner ends a relationship, they cannot get over the hurt. All react the same: They do not understand why their partners left. The answer is not complicated. I use two categories when helping a client with a relationship issue:

A new client called me with an issue of anger, a lifetime problem. When she recently had an outburst, it caused a huge rift in her extended family. Her husband was threatening to leave. As a mother of two young children, she wants to can gain control over her temper and moodiness. She had seen other therapists, and the tools they gave her were not working. I explained to her that ...

A middle-aged woman on the telephone said she wanted to work on her weight and anxiety. She is unemployed. Nervously, she has been consuming everything in sight, and her weight was whirling out of control. She had to do something. She had been hypnotized before and liked it. Concerned about the cost and number of sessions, I told her my recommendation always is a minimum of three, maximum of six. Clients, of course, always may stop when they want. Her expanding weight and anxiety were ...

With improvements in the internet and video chat, such as Face Time and Skype, there are changes within my practice. Forty percent of my clients are now online sessions. I prefer clients come to my office. I accept that they have busy lives. and cannot always come in to see me. If I do a session via video chat, the client should have come to my office first. Why?