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E. 15 Unlocking Freedom: Breaking Emotional Habits with Georgia Foster
18 Plays3 months ago
In this powerful episode of Oh, There You Are, I sit down with Georgia Foster, world-renowned clinical hypnotherapist and expert on emotional resilience, to dive deep into the patterns that hold us back and how to break free from them.
Georgia shares her expertise on how emotional habits—like overdrinking, overthinking, and self-doubt—become ingrained in our subconscious, shaping the way we see ourselves and the world. But the good news? We have the power to rewire these habits and step into a life of confidence, self-trust, and emotional freedom.
🔹 How emotional habits are formed and how they shape our daily lives
🔹 The power of hypnosis in transforming self-sabotaging behaviors
🔹 Why willpower alone isn’t enough—and what actually works instead
🔹 Practical techniques to shift your mindset and unlock lasting change
🔹 How to embrace self-compassion and release guilt and shame
She is a speaker, and the author of the bestselling book, Drink Less In 7 Days.
To learn more, go to: www.georgiafoster.com
If you’ve ever felt trapped in negative emotional cycles, this episode is your invitation to break free and step into a more empowered, joyful version of yourself.
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Transcript
Introduction by Danielle
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey friend, I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to oh There You Are. This is the podcast for anyone who's ready to step out of the shadows of self-doubt and into the life they've always dreamed of.
00:00:13
Speaker
I'm your host, Danielle, a wife, mom, and registered nurse who spent way too long believing my voice didn't matter. But guess what? It does, and does yours.
00:00:25
Speaker
If you've been holding back, waiting for the perfect moment, or telling yourself you're not enough, this is your reminder you are more than enough. You've always been enough.
00:00:36
Speaker
Everything you need is already inside you. In this space, we're going to push past fear, stop hitting snooze on life, and start going after what we really want. Each week, I'll bring you solo episodes and interviews with people who had the courage to go first so that you can go next.
00:00:55
Speaker
So grab your favorite drink, settle in, and let's go. And hey, don't forget to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode because we're just getting started. And remember, you're not late.
00:01:08
Speaker
You're right on time. And I can't wait to see where this journey takes us.
Meet Georgia Foster - Background and Expertise
00:01:16
Speaker
Hey friend, welcome back to all There You Are. Today's guest, Georgia Foster, is a clinical hypnotherapist specializing in alcohol reduction and weight loss for women.
00:01:27
Speaker
Known as the Taboo Therapist, Georgia helps women tackle everyday vices like drinking and emotional eating through her unique approach to hypnotherapy. She is the author of the best-selling book, Drink Less in Seven Days, and a sought-after speaker, regularly featured in media outlets like The Daily Mail, Psychology's Magazine, The Times, and as a guest expert on Sky News.
00:01:53
Speaker
Over the years, Georgia has trained over 63,000 women to cut their alcohol consumption in half in under a week using a method that combines hypnosis hypnosis and voice dialogue.
00:02:05
Speaker
Beyond... reducing alcohol intake, her clients often experience weight loss, enhanced relationships, and a great sense of empowerment. Georgia is also the founder of Bridport Health, a supplement line designed to replenish the nutrients alcohol depletes from the body.
00:02:22
Speaker
She currently lives in Melbourne, Australia with her partner, Ian, and their 11-year-old triplet boys. Hello, Georgia, and welcome. Thank you for having me.
00:02:34
Speaker
You're very welcome. Oh, my goodness, my goodness. What a day. Well, I'm really super excited to have you here today to be able to talk about, um you know, ways to get rid of vices that just kind of pull us back and can take us away from our true
Understanding the Inner Critic and Emotional Conditioning
00:02:51
Speaker
selves.
00:02:51
Speaker
um I'm out here helping people to understand what they need. is already inside of them and that they have the power to go first then so that somebody else can go next. And I'm really just think it's important for us to get back to ourselves and to understand when we look in the mirror, we can go, there you are.
00:03:12
Speaker
And just, I think it's really cool. The things that you're doing to help women to, you know, release things that hold them back from their true selves.
00:03:21
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's my it's my big passion. I think it's so important to, you know, probably first to start off to say that that I'm 58 now and, you know, through my teenage years and into my 20s, I struggled with food and alcohol in in very unhealthy and unhelpful ways in terms of my sense of self-worth.
00:03:44
Speaker
So when I, I trained actually in California in this incredible Jungian psychology, which is a very big part of the success of my work. Hypnosis is is is the is the tool, but you know what I work with in hypnosis with clients and with my online programs is to really change that emotional conditioning to food and alcohol.
00:04:07
Speaker
I mean, look, you know ah when somebody wants to you know um go on a diet or drink less, I mean, there are these great plans in place.
00:04:18
Speaker
And I think, you know, everybody has that inspiration on a Monday or ah great example is New Year's resolutions or something like that. And I know the frustration that was talking to um a journalist this morning about, you know, why is it people can't stick to their resolutions, whatever time of the year it is.
The Mind as a Library - Influences of Past Responses
00:04:39
Speaker
And I think a lot of people need to be respectful that that what happens is if your conscious mind, has these beautiful plans to go to the gym or to eat really well or whatever it is, but by the end of the day, it doesn't happen.
00:04:56
Speaker
It's not because you're weak-willed at all. And I think this is the one of the biggest misconceptions about people's behaviours is that our mind works on history.
00:05:07
Speaker
So you can imagine your mind is like a library and all the times we've felt anxious, fearful, scared, bored, tired, um when we're basically being unkind to ourselves, the mind scans and says, what did we do the last time we felt this way?
00:05:23
Speaker
Oh, I'm going to have a glass of wine. Oh, I'm going to have a cookie. Oh, whatever it is. And so the word willpower doesn't exist. It means that the different parts of the mind aren't congruent.
00:05:35
Speaker
So that's where hypnosis really steps in and helps the deeper part of the mind that has created the emotional conditioning such as I've just had an argument with my husband. I need to have, you know, three or four glasses of wine.
00:05:49
Speaker
um lot of people who live on their own, you know, um may overeat because they're feeling lonely or whatever. And I think that we've got to stop We've got to stop the shame and the guilt, which is why I call myself the taboo therapist, because all of these things, whether it's food or alcohol or just anxiety, is driven by the psychology that I'm trained in, which is a fabulous Jungian psychology.
00:06:16
Speaker
And when I discovered it, and I'm talking about in my 20s, I ran away to a health farm. I had a ah very stressful personal situation happen. I was one of those girls who was...
00:06:29
Speaker
always always the bridesmaid, never the bride kind of story, you know. And I had some very unhelpful relationships and I ran away to try and figure out who I
Transformative Experiences and Self-Discovery
00:06:40
Speaker
was.
00:06:40
Speaker
So I went to a health farm and i what I didn't realize was ah I went into this, which quite an extraordinary story actually, I went into this group therapy every morning for a week and and we had vegan food and we had the yoga, we had all that kind of thing, but it was actually a a therapy group session every morning.
00:06:58
Speaker
And I was sitting in a room with people who were good looking, slim, successful, rich, look they had perfect families, and they all had the same problem as me, different background, but they all didn't like themselves.
00:07:13
Speaker
And that was the beginning of my journey. I realized that I had been numbing myself with food and alcohol because I actually didn't like myself.
00:07:26
Speaker
And so that was the beginning of my journey. And that's why I specialize in these subjects because they're so common but also very, I believe, misunderstood.
00:07:38
Speaker
You know, if it was just like as easy to cut back on your drinking, we would have all done it by now. If it was easy as to cut back on your eating, we would have all done it by now, you know. For sure. and and And I think that this is where there's a massive, big um separation between what people read and believe and what actually really goes on in the mind. And that's why when I discovered hypnosis,
00:08:02
Speaker
it was extraordinary to me because I could see and I was experiencing myself. And then as I was putting my own client base, because I, I'm from Melbourne, Australia, but I lived in London in the UK for 23 years, where I built two clinics, and I specialised in food and alcohol.
00:08:19
Speaker
um And when I realised that, you know, the psychology that I'm training is we're all made up of many parts or sub personalities, and the main culprit of self-sabotaging is the inner critic.
Hypnosis, Neuroplasticity, and Behavioral Change
00:08:33
Speaker
It's the part that says the mums think you're fat at the school gates. What did you say in that meeting today? Everybody thinks you're an idiot. And even though that can be silent to the outside world, it can be extremely violent internally and triggers physical anxiety.
00:08:50
Speaker
And that's where the brain-body thing kind of feeds back to the brain. the vulnerability kicks in and then the mind says, the last time I felt this, what did I do in a nanosecond?
00:09:04
Speaker
Oh, I need to get my wine. I need to get my beer. I need to get my cookie. I need to get my cheese. And it will default to that. So when people say to me, Georgia, i don't have any willpower, like, that doesn't, that's not true. It's just that your deeper mind that runs your emotional life has a blueprint that it has a habit, and it will continue to play and stop at the same train station every single time you feel these feelings.
00:09:34
Speaker
So hypnosis helps break up that particular belief, break up that emotional conditioning, so that you can go to a different train station and get a different destination. That's all really good. So like, And just like layman terms and understanding for myself. So is this like what other people would say as our subconscious that sometimes we're not even thinking about things?
00:09:59
Speaker
And like we were like, we really want to be successful, but there's still something holding us back that even though we can see, you know, the vision and can see yourself completing something.
00:10:10
Speaker
is it And people say, well, you can't, you haven't done it yet because something is still holding you back. Is that the same of what you're speaking about? Like there's something inside of us that's still holding us back?
00:10:23
Speaker
Well, it's the the mind is very impersonal. It doesn't know the difference between right and wrong. It doesn't know. it doesn't know that smoking is bad for you or Coca-Cola is bad for you.
00:10:34
Speaker
It just knows that what you consume or what you do, it's what happens emotionally. So I would say it's it's the thinking before the drinking and the eating. That's the problem.
00:10:45
Speaker
So you could imagine your mind is like a library and has all these references of all the vulnerabilities you have and all the moments that you've responded in a particular way. And if you consciously want to make a change, the reason why it's not successful is because the deeper part of the mind, the subconscious mind, you haven't told it what you want to do.
00:11:06
Speaker
It's still running. you know i mean, there's been so much research on this. um I mean, i'm I very much follow the neuroplasticity approach belief that the brain can change, it's completely pliable and adaptable.
00:11:19
Speaker
But you've got to change the radio station, you've got to change the record player. and and and And, you know, i mean, don't me wrong, there are ways that people can make change very quickly. For example, a great story of ah ah a client of mine who um who didn't come to see me to stop smoking, but actually when he he came to see me about his drinking, but he said,
00:11:44
Speaker
He had terrible teeth and he went to the dentist and the dentist said to him, if you don't stop smoking, you're going to end up with 50 grand dental bill because your teeth are rotting and it's because of smoking.
00:11:57
Speaker
Now, instantly he quit smoking because the desire and the stress of that financial thing was stepped him over the line very quickly. but But you don't really want to put yourself under that pressure to have that ultimatum no choice. You want to do it from a space of freedom.
00:12:17
Speaker
So i always say you know, with my clients and I have online programs about food and alcohol is really the first thing is to discover is that you have an inner critic, but you also have the opposite part.
00:12:32
Speaker
And the opposite part is the health, the goal inspired person, the the connection, the intuition that actually knows how to save the day.
00:12:43
Speaker
But the only reason why it doesn't save the day is because the deeper part of the mind, the subconscious mind doesn't understand that. So with particular tools in hypnosis, we can re-educate the mind to update the software, so to speak, so that it's safe to eat intuitively, that it's safe to stop at two glasses of wine.
00:13:05
Speaker
It's safe to Actually, well, one of the things I find with a lot of people is they're so in fear of food, right? Is this going to make me fat? Is this going to make me thin? and And that in itself causes anxiety. So that's why people who go on fasting, you know, we'll go in those, um you know, those um liquid drink diets is actually it works very well because they don't have to eat because they're actually in fear of food.
00:13:34
Speaker
so There are and a number of things that need to take place, of course, but the bottom line is that within just 25 minutes, you can update the software when you go into a particular part of the mind.
00:13:47
Speaker
And hypnosis is such a beautiful tool to allow that person... We're all born with the same neural pathways, but some of them are very well-trodden, and they're the ones we want to stop being so well-trodden and and to stimulate the neural pathways that represent...
00:14:05
Speaker
calm, logic, faith and trust. And when you start to connect and practice being in that with that neural pathway, and this is of course from a very scientific point of view, is emotionally you open up to new door that shows you a new path that says, well, my boss just is not a very nice person. It's nothing to do with me.
00:14:33
Speaker
and things don't infect you like they used to.
Addictions: Chemical Basis and Psychological States
00:14:37
Speaker
And, you know the inner critic, unfortunately, is there. We all have an inner critic. It's just that for a lot of people, it's over-timed and overused.
00:14:46
Speaker
And the interesting thing about about food and alcohol, alcohol in particular, is that the inner critic produces lots of stress chemicals, cortisol and adrenaline.
00:14:59
Speaker
But when we drink alcohol, the critical part of the mind shuts down, the inner critic goes away and we start to produce dopamine. And the same things happen when we have sugary foods.
00:15:10
Speaker
We start to produce dopamine. So what we're really addicted to is not the food or the alcohol, it's we're addicted to getting the chemical reaction in the body to shift us into another space really quickly.
00:15:26
Speaker
So... I always say to people, please stop giving yourself a hard time about your consumption. Because ironically, your mind thinks it's doing a really good job at producing dopamine.
00:15:39
Speaker
It's learned in a nanosecond that if I do these things, I'll feel instantly calm. if i if i And then your conscious mind will say, but we're not going to do that. We're on a diet. We're on a diet. No, no, we can't do that. We can't do And then this conflict and the pain that you're putting yourself through because the willpower is not real.
00:16:01
Speaker
That's just a media frenzy to make us feel bad about ourselves. Really what's going on, the emotional part of the brain says, this makes me feel safe. Until you give me something else to show me to feel safe, I'm going to continue on this train track until you show me another way.
00:16:17
Speaker
And that's really what hypnosis does. And does it allow then to change the mind permanently? Or is it still something that you have to practice? Like, as you notice, hey, something isn't shifting, right? And something might start creeping its way back in. Do you learn then to how quickly not I won't say quickly, but more quickly to be like, okay, now be quiet. I'm not believing you today. Like that.
00:16:41
Speaker
and like, if you saw, I'm just thinking of like a little monster coming up and like talking in your ear, and you could just turn around say, well, I'm not listening to you anymore. right at Those the things you have to like keep in your toolbox as you go on. And I ask these questions because like I've been a constant up and down, you know, person with my weight and I i really can hear my so own stories and the things that you're sharing. So just curious for minds of mine.
00:17:07
Speaker
Well, exactly. I mean, that there is, there is, so I'm very much about once again, the neuroplasticity and saying, you know, we can't change our past, but we can change our future. So the neuroplasticity is really important.
00:17:20
Speaker
And when I'm talking about that from the perspective of the, you know, hypnosis, the the ah the kind of longer answer to that is in a couple of parts. The first thing is, yes, with hypnosis it's instant, but you need to keep adding to the library. You need to keep showing that these references are there.
00:17:40
Speaker
So that's why with the programs that I have, like the Weightless Mind, for example, with food, is that you have to train your mind emotionally that it's safe to eat in healthy ways, that it's safe to, if it's a birthday party, that you can have a second piece of cake and not feel guilty.
00:17:57
Speaker
So all of these sorts of things are about um setting some scenes in your mind about your future. And a really good way to talk about it in my clinic in London, I had quite a few um media agencies that would send their opera singers to me. I work with quite a lot of um acting agencies and they'd send their West End singers and actors and performers to me for many reasons.
Techniques and Repetition in Hypnosis for Success
00:18:26
Speaker
um and and And one of the techniques that is really powerful is I call it the sports performance technique. And the sports performance technique is really what All of the big players in in the industry use hypnosis is extremely common with A grade players, whether it's NBA, whether it's cricket, whether it's tennis, whatever.
00:18:53
Speaker
And what is a beautiful way to, okay, so if your mind has all these references of overeating or over drinking in a particular way, it will default.
00:19:05
Speaker
So hypnosis helps upgrade software, but the more you take that person into their future and show them future experiences where they're going into ah potential stressful moment, um like a client will say, oh, Georgia, know, there's a packet, there's always a big problem big container of cookies and I just can't go into the kitchen without having one. I just can't do that.
00:19:32
Speaker
So, I mean, it sounds very simple because is that simple is one of the ways that we would work together is hypnotically would take her into that kitchen over and over again and show her that the cookie jar is just that the emotional conditioning there isn't there anymore.
00:19:49
Speaker
That actually the calm, the intuition and works perfectly. and that free flowing optimism and trust that I'm not interested in cookies, they're there, but I'm not hungry and whatever, and start to introduce that healthy part rather than the inner critic that goes into the kitchen and says, Oh, I bet you can have those cookies, right? So literally training your inner language, because your inner language connects with your physical body, and produces the chemicals that calm you down, or make you anxious, is you can train your mind to be in that space. And
00:20:21
Speaker
So the the answer is there's repetition involved. Repetition is really important because you're building the foundations, you're building a library. But like all things, I mean, I do hypnosis three or four times a week. I used to do it every day before my children, but now I i kind of set a rule that I have that time for me.
00:20:40
Speaker
And I know when I'm having an inner critic moment because my inner critic gives me a hard time just as much as everybody else, but I know the signs. And knowing the signs and shooting out of it is what hypnosis will practice to perfect that.
00:20:57
Speaker
like Okay, it's the inner critic. I know what it's about. I don't have to eat the cookies in the in the kitchen at the office. I don't have to do that. I have another choice. And it really, it's like a sliding door moment where you so continue to go into the other space of your brain and you start to build relationships.
00:21:16
Speaker
build the resources and the references so that you intuitively start to be more present in that space rather than where you were. So it it it is about practice, um but it's like going to the gym.
00:21:29
Speaker
you know It's like you keep a muscle going. you We constantly have to monitor our self-esteem. ah Self-esteem is not something we're born with. I think a lot of people are a big misconception that self-esteem, self-esteem is born with lots of great self-esteem.
00:21:45
Speaker
You know, that's just not true. It's something we have to learn like a language. And when we learn that emotional language that it's okay to like ourselves without, I'm going to introduce this to other people and ah personality traits to help with ah discussion today, but when you start to really rehearse that having self-worth um is something you have to monitor and anything can throw you off kilter,
Self-Esteem, Perfectionism, and Healthier Mindsets
00:22:13
Speaker
right? Yeah.
00:22:14
Speaker
such as um you know, having an argument with your neighbour next door or something at work or having an argument with your partner or one of your children or, you know, anything can trigger your self-questioning.
00:22:32
Speaker
And that is when it's time to to sit down and do some hypnosis, bring yourself back to base and start to realise that that's just a passing thought, that's somebody externally And you can't change other people. It's just how you respond is what makes that difference.
00:22:51
Speaker
So how is this different than, you know, we talk about um taking our time to meditate and we can see the future like through, you know, meditation and taking yourself to that future spot and taking the time to to breathe and to calm and be centered. What steps more are you doing to make it hypnotic versus just sitting and breathing and, you know, feeling through those emotions?
00:23:19
Speaker
Yeah, good question. um Hypnosis is just when your eyes are closed. Okay, so meditation, i mean, the goal is that you're going to that half awake, half asleep experience for you to go into that um space where you are calm, because when you're in a calm space, changes can happen very easily.
00:23:39
Speaker
But actually, you know, i always say to people, if you don't have time to do hypnosis, which is which is meditation, it's the same brainwave activity, is just going to the bathroom, closing the door, putting the sort toilet seat down and just sit there for five minutes, close your eyes and start to work with your breath so you do that lovely deep belly breath where you kind of, you know, they call it the box breathing where you yeah you breathe in, count for five, breathe out for five and do that three times.
00:24:08
Speaker
You will instantly... then calm your central nervous system down. And there are so many things you can do in that little five minutes, even two minutes would be amazing, such as um like I have some really funny videos of my children I watch or put on a song that inspires you and motivates you.
00:24:27
Speaker
It will break the state. And every time you do that, you train your mind to not be in that negative space, right? So I would say keep a running list of things that you can do.
00:24:38
Speaker
um and I appreciate that not everybody says, well, George, I don't have the space or the time, but we all go to the toilet every day. Well, how many times do we go to toilet every day, right? So, you know, i always joke about, you know, men spend more time in the in the bathroom. Well, women can too. Just sit there and just do five minutes, right?
00:24:57
Speaker
And just spend some time with yourself to say, That's my inner critic. Why are you giving me a hard time? And let it go and then breathe in. What's the opposite?
00:25:08
Speaker
What's the inner critic saying? What is the opposite to what it's saying? So I think that a combination of all of those are really important, but it really comes down to making a commitment to saying, right, that was then.
00:25:26
Speaker
It doesn't have to be me anymore and that it doesn't have to be perfect. And that brings me on to one particular um personality trait that I, in the psychology training, is the perfectionist. And the perfectionist is the part that can cause major, major havoc when it comes to having a healthy relationship with food and alcohol.
00:25:50
Speaker
It's like, oh, I've blown it. ive I have one extra almond. I shouldn't have had that. I've blown it now. you know And that in itself causes, once again, the chemical reactions. And I've blown it now. i may as well just eat whatever, right? So one of the ways hypnosis can train you to be is to practice and rehearse seeing yourself, having your food and feeling safe, feeling the experience and starting to create new references where you realize you don't have to be perfect because perfect will always take you back to a space of all or nothing.
00:26:29
Speaker
And all or nothing is either on a diet or overeating, over drinking or abstaining. And a lot of perfectionists actually end up quitting alcohol because it's too hard to find the middle ground.
00:26:43
Speaker
But with food, you have to eat to survive, right? So it's a very different story. I was just going to say in my own health journey, like over the last several years, i had heard a coach share with us, which has been really huge in helping me is instead of saying all or nothing, but saying all or something um and giving yourself permission that yes, you don't have to be perfect that day. And if you're only able to give 20%, then you give 20%. That's a hundred for you that day.
00:27:09
Speaker
And I really know I say that phrase a lot. um And it really has helped again, not being like, well, I blew it. I guess I'll have to start again next week, you know, type stuff. So it has been really huge.
00:27:21
Speaker
And I think that's where we've got to really be honourable that, you know, and I say it so often to people. yeah i work with a lot of entrepreneurs and, i you know, and I say, you know, it's okay to be vulnerable, you know.
Assertiveness, Relationships, and Personal Growth
00:27:38
Speaker
It's a very charismatic quality. I think that we we we try and be these perfect people and say, well, you know, I need to do this and I need to do that. But I always say that sometimes that journey, and that's a really beautiful way of saying it, you know, nothing or something.
00:27:53
Speaker
Because there's another part, which actually is really my kind of story, is the pleas of personality, the one that nurtures and the one that really genuinely wants to be liked and wants to be loved.
00:28:08
Speaker
And they tend to be the regular overeater and overdrinker. So they won't have alcohol-free days. They won't, um well, they're very good at dieting, but they can be distracted very quickly.
00:28:21
Speaker
My best friend's, you know, celebrating a birthday party or something happens at work and they can get easily distracted, not because they're failing. It's just like they have a really big, I've got to please somebody else and they don't tend to put themselves first. So,
00:28:40
Speaker
A lot of people say to me, Chorcha, I know that I'm a pleaser, but actually when I'm work, I'm very organized. And I say, well, you can be a combination of both. You can be a pleaser and a perfectionist. So you don't have to be one or the other.
00:28:56
Speaker
But what's really interesting about the pleaser personality, they tend to attract bullies, narcissists, people who are very critical of of people.
00:29:10
Speaker
And And in my clinic life, gosh, I used to see people, so all my clients are absolutely amazing. And when you see somebody who is in a relationship and doesn't have to be an intimate romantic relationship, it could be ah a mother-daughter, it could be a best friend.
00:29:29
Speaker
There are a lot of people out there that don't feel good about themselves. So they like to bring you down to that level. So I often say to pleasers, really, ultimately, you have to practice saying the word no.
00:29:42
Speaker
um And doing it in a way where you can start to to emotionally and physically feel safe to do that. And it was one of my biggest downfalls. And I'm still ah bit of a pleaser, but not like I used to be.
00:30:01
Speaker
um i joke, I say, I'm paid to be a pleaser now. So But it's really that for me was realizing that I was being walked over. i was running myself ragged looking after to other people and I was not looking after myself, right?
00:30:18
Speaker
And one of the ways I would do that would be to overeat and to overdrink. But the thing is with the pleaser, when they drink alcohol, they start to express themselves. They can be um quite aggressive, passive aggressive because people in their sober world, they feel they can't communicate. So they often drink to communicate.
00:30:40
Speaker
And one of my really big top tips for for those listening now is if you resonate with that, and I'll give you a good example of a client who was in a very challenging marriage and um the husband was extremely critical. He was a drinker, but um ah but, and he was critical of her drinking, which would make her drink more.
00:31:00
Speaker
And then she would, he would come home from work and And they would, she'd say something and he'd say, oh, it's just the drink talking, right? And what was happening is she was communicating through the wine. That was correct.
00:31:14
Speaker
But one of the things we did, we worked on training her mind to communicate in sober ways, right? To talk about it with a cup of tea in her hand or a cup of coffee. And what was really interesting and quite telling about the relationship dynamic was that
00:31:32
Speaker
When she started having these heavy conversations with him about she was unhappy in the marriage and unhappy with his behaviour, he was thinking, what's going on here? She's not drinking wine, like sniffing the coffee cup. There's no vodka in there, you know, kind of thinking there's something weird going on.
00:31:50
Speaker
But in actual fact, we'd been working on training her to be more assertive and proactive at communicating. And then her husband was trying to work out what was going on and he found correspondence from us and then um emailed me and said that his wife wouldn't be coming to see me again.
00:32:09
Speaker
So, and I think the same thing happens, ah great example with food and a client who came to see me who, she was married to a doctor and she felt very, they had a couple of kids, put on a lot of weight when when the children were born and and her her sense of self-worth, you know, obviously she was at home, she quit her job, her husband was a big career doctor and he admittedly said to her, I feel ashamed that I've got an overweight wife, you know, i want to have the the wife I had that I married who was slim and confident and and you know it was devastating when she told me that's what her husband had said but um I said but the the good thing is that what he says is not relevant because when you change your emotional relationship with yourself you won't want to because it's the inner critic that was self-sabotaging her it wasn't her that was doing it so anyway
00:33:05
Speaker
they went on a big holiday and she came back to see me three weeks later and she had lost weight. It was very obvious she'd lost weight. And I said, how are you going? And once I said, well, said, I have to tell you story, Georgia.
00:33:17
Speaker
said, my husband, who was always being very critical of my eating, um and as I was just like eating intuitively and it said, I've just, myself, I feel so much better about myself. She's not perfect, but, you know, and she said, my husband came home with a fish and chips like you know from the from the fish and chip shop um which is one of her favorite meals which she was like what are you doing you you wouldn't normally let me have that right or you criticize me for it and we're not it was getting to a bit of a stage where she was getting concerned he was starting to become a feeder and then she sat down and said what what's going on here and he said well you're losing weight and you're happy and he said i keep thinking that maybe you've met somebody else
00:34:02
Speaker
So these are the stories that happen when you make that adjustment emotionally because you're not on a treacherous journey to lose weight. It's actually a pleasurable experience because you're you gifting the opportunity to yourself to not beat yourself up the whole time when you eat. And as I said, a lot of people who have um food issues is because they do live in fear of the food.
Self-Care, Trauma, and Positive Mental References
00:34:29
Speaker
They are concerned about it.
00:34:33
Speaker
you know, from that inner critic perspective. So when you flip from the inner critic to that intuitiveness and that kindness and that not trying to be perfect, but starting to really put yourself first. And I know as a mother, how hard that is, um yes you know, and and um you know, my my boys, they they call me the softie, mum's the softie. Well, I'm not soft.
00:34:58
Speaker
I'm just very mindful of trying to make sure they're nurtured and loved and feel supported. But we do, we do put ourselves last. It's just part of that trait of being a mom. And, and I think that's okay.
00:35:12
Speaker
But when we start to put ourselves last in terms of our own health, then as we get older, then it starts to create habits, you know,
00:35:24
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. i can relate to like every personality that you talked about. i can see all the different phases of things that I have gone through that I'm like, yeah, have you been watching me? You've been paying attention to what I've been doing.
00:35:38
Speaker
There's so many of us that, you know, we relate to this and It's a hard thing to break, that's for sure. And i had ah I wanted to know, like whenever you do your hypnosis, let's say people are having you know problems with food and drinking because of like past traumas, when you go through the hypnosis, or do you have to relive the trauma in order to kind of get past things? Or is that just kind of like what the TV kind of makes you think it is? Because, you know.
00:36:05
Speaker
Yeah, I know that's a really good question. um Well, the answer is no. So I'm a progressive therapist. I don't use regression. I mean, I could, but I'm once again, along the lines of the neuroplasticity of the neuroscientists saying that the brain is adaptable and pliable to change and everything we have experienced, we've already done it once. Why do you want to do it again?
00:36:25
Speaker
Right. And yeah the way is to create new references that, that becomes stronger and more powerful and more present than the old references. So would say to people who you are is, is only who you were because you're using the same brain patterns.
00:36:43
Speaker
When you create new new brain pathways or the neural pathways that support you to feel well and feel safe without over-drinking and over-eating, then your mind will create a new um coping strategy, new references that will become stronger.
00:37:02
Speaker
So once again, back to the conversation before that it's very normal to practice it, to rehearse it, to make it really supportive. And this particular technique, which I have in all of my programs about going into your future, which is really, as you said, visualization, meditation, but starting to really practice going into a space where you would normally feel um vulnerable around food or alcohol and starting to see yourself experiencing the moment, feeling safe, having water, realizing that you check in with yourself, that you're not really hungry.
00:37:36
Speaker
actually, and then your thought, the thoughts go and you move on to another thought. Because, you know, the mind just works on pure habit, emotional habit.
00:37:47
Speaker
So then like the voice dialect teaching and stuff, is that the positive self-talk that you do? Or is it even more deeper than that? Well, I work with the self-talk, you know, we ah discuss, say, what does your inner critic say about you?
00:38:02
Speaker
But what's the opposite, you know? um What is that intuitive, charismatic? And I think going back, I know it's a very old-fashioned word, charisma, but it's a beautiful word.
00:38:13
Speaker
And I love it because it represents vulnerability, beauty. It represents feeling connected. um All of the qualities that somebody who has that lovely aura of energy has.
00:38:27
Speaker
But when you start to realize that that, you know, in hypnosis, you can start to practice that person to be that person. And so it's a little bit of being a pleaser sometimes. It's a little bit about being a perfectionist. Well, I want to get this right and setting some great goals, but not coming from a fear base.
00:38:46
Speaker
And when you don't come from a fear base, the results are very different. um And that's why... A lot of people and and a lot of perfectionists, they have ah they really do have a problem being present.
00:39:00
Speaker
So they're always focusing on where they need to be or where they've been. So it's a lovely combination of the hypnosis working with the different parts to just to start to please yourself by being present.
00:39:15
Speaker
The perfectionist is starting to be um have gratitude and have a sense of I don't have to always be doing. Right. So like this has been a really good discussion, Georgia. I'm so grateful that you've taken your time to come and talk with us today. Because like I said, just on so many levels, I know I relate to this and i know so many other women are going to as well. Just to understand, we got to stop beating ourselves up there. It's not our fault.
00:39:41
Speaker
It's not our fault. We just have to work with ourselves. I know. And it's just, you know, i think it look, honestly, it takes
The Inner Critic and Hypnosis Skepticism
00:39:49
Speaker
practice. As i said, everybody has an inner critic. It's just a matter of making yourself more aware that it doesn't have to infect you as much or as deeply as it used to.
00:40:01
Speaker
what would we say to someone then who would might be skeptical about hypnotherapy and how would you encourage them to give it a try? Well, first of all, you'd need to find a reputable hypnotherapist that you feel good referral, which I think is important. um And then, you know, you also need to have faith that every day we're hypnotising ourselves. I mean, every seven seconds we go into an altered state to update the mind. So, i mean, all of my programs have a 60-day money-back guarantee, so there's lots of time to try
00:40:38
Speaker
and work with the programs that I have. um I think that hypnosis has been given a bit of a bad rap because of stage hypnosis and all that sort of thing. But genuine clinical hypnosis is a powerful tool that can really train your mind very quickly.
00:40:54
Speaker
As I said, in just 20 minutes, 25 minutes a day, um you can be well on your way to be in a better place. So, but if anybody is s skeptical, there's lots of research papers out there now, lots of clinical trials,
00:41:07
Speaker
um In fact, about weight loss in particular, about people who've done hypnosis training versus just just you know just literally using the power of I'm going to do it. um And the people who have used um the brain training, hypnosis, have lost not any more weight but kept the weight off as well.
00:41:31
Speaker
So because one of the things you've to think about with weight is the inside has to um Do you ever see that movie, Hello Shall? Shallow Hello. Is it Shallow How?
00:41:43
Speaker
Is that where the lady puts the wig on and the blonde lady Shallow How? I think that's right. Yeah. so watch this girl was actually very overweight, but this guy only saw her as a slim person.
00:41:55
Speaker
So that what I'm saying is that yeah if when someone loses weight, their mind, their inner mind hasn't caught up with who they how they really look. So the mind would tend to default back to what that person actually felt most comfortable with, whether it was 10 pounds, 15 pounds, whatever it is.
00:42:16
Speaker
So hypnosis is a great way to show the deeper part of the mind that actually we're going to do it this way now. And then both parts of the mind can be congruent together, which is one of the reasons why it's so successful.
00:42:28
Speaker
That's really exciting.
Practical Steps for Personal Growth and Connection
00:42:30
Speaker
Are there three practical steps somebody can take away from today? to help them to begin to reduce, um you know, their alcohol intake or maybe um also to help with their emotional eating?
00:42:42
Speaker
Yeah, I think for either subjects, keep a diary for a week and every time inner critic says something about you to yourself, write it down so you can see it on paper how how mean it is to you and then write the opposite.
00:42:59
Speaker
um I think it's really powerful when you're in that space where you want to overeat or over drink is to break the state by bringing in the dopamine naturally, not by consumption.
00:43:12
Speaker
And that is phone funny friend, put on some music that relaxes you, do do that, sit on the toilet seat for five minutes um is a great idea. Breathing is really, really important as well.
00:43:25
Speaker
But my biggest top tip is is to really trust that you have an incredible mind and just these little bits of activities. Don't try and be perfect about it.
00:43:39
Speaker
Just one different thing. Just try one different thing. <unk> You'll be on the road to showing your mind that this is a change moment, but then it becomes familiar. So the more you practice that in your mind, whether it's, as I said, going past a cookie jar and the office and that your mind, you breathe deeply and you practice that and you walk past it and you start to put in positive thoughts and feelings, then the more your mind will make that adjustment and it will become familiar.
00:44:09
Speaker
love it. I love it. Well, if others that are listening, and they're like, you know, i think Georgia is the girl for me. I really want to know more about her programs and I'd like to find her book or other resources that you're offering. How can people get in touch with you?
00:44:24
Speaker
Sure, my website is georgiafoster.com and there you'll find my programs, Seven Days to Drink Less, which is at the Alcohol Reduction Program and then there's the Weightless Mind and also my supplements that I have for people who would like a bit more support with their liver.
00:44:42
Speaker
um For those who drink alcohol, this supplement takes out, what alcohol depletes the body of, it puts back in with lots of probiotics and all the vitamin B family.
00:44:53
Speaker
It's a really good, it's actually incredible supplement for people who drink alcohol. Yeah.
00:44:59
Speaker
Well, again, I'm just really grateful that we were able to cross paths. I just, with it being the beginning of a year, I know a lot of folks really start to think about how can I, you know, find myself better again this year and set ourselves up for success. And there's a lot of great tips and tools inside of this conversation that people can really come back to themselves and to help heal and to move forward. So, and to hopefully then to become empowered. So thank you again. Is there anything else that you want to leave us with today before say goodbye?
00:45:32
Speaker
Just to say, remember that your past doesn't reflect your future. So just do these little tools, these top tips will really help you move on. And thank you so much for the opportunity. Absolutely. Again.
00:45:45
Speaker
all right, everybody, this was great until next time. Thanks so much for hanging out with me today on Oh, There You Are. Remember, everything you need to step into your power is already inside of you.
00:45:58
Speaker
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00:46:09
Speaker
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00:46:21
Speaker
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00:46:32
Speaker
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