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Confidence is having belief in yourself and in your abilities. When we have confidence, we don’t fear the unknown quite so much – because we know we can handle whatever comes our way.

It doesn’t mean you think you’re better than anyone else, it simply means you have faith in your skills and abilities.

When we have this self-confidence, so many opportunities can arise. We’re more likely to say yes to things and to push ourselves to achieve a little more. We become more resilient, able to roll with the punches, adapt and grow.

What hinders our confidence?

We’re all different and there may be many reasons why we don’t feel confident, including our upbringing. Two of the biggest factors are limiting...

As much as we would like to be everyone’s cup of tea, this just isn’t possible in reality. Yet, sometimes (despite knowing this), in trying so hard to be liked by everyone else, we forget who we really are in the process.

Often, one of the issues preventing people from connecting with others is the feeling that they don’t really fit into a social group. Instead, they feel like they’re lost somewhere in-between.

If you’re struggling to gel with a group, whether it’s at work with your colleagues, you’re new to a neighbourhood, or you can’t click with your other half’s friends, we’ve got some simple things for you to remember.

Stop telling yourself that you don’t fit in

‘Fitting in’ can mean different things to different people. To some, it might mean being the centre of attention, having lots of friends, or being the most...

Breaking up with someone you love takes its toll on your mind, body and soul. It can bring with it big, sometimes unwanted, changes to your life.

But, try not to dwell on your sadness. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get your life back on track with our helpful tips to get back to normal after a breakup.

Allow yourself to mourn

When a relationship comes to an end, it can feel like the end of the world – and, that’s understandable; it can be seen as the end of your current world as you’ve come to know it. A breakup might mean a divorce, moving out, or simply a change to your routine or social circle.

The separation may have been a long-time coming, or it might be a shock to you. You may have been together for years, or a matter of months. The length of a relationship doesn’t make the...

With the rise of social media and the growing popularity of ‘clean eating’, it can be difficult to know what to believe when it comes to nutritional advice. Everywhere you look, there is a news article, a tweet or a Facebook post focusing on ‘the latest diet secret’. But how healthy is this trend?

While the growing interest in health and well-being is incredibly positive, there is a lot of information and mixed opinions. Not everything we read has been scientifically proven, yet we still believe it to be true, especially if a celebrity has endorsed the claim.

Every single one of us are unique, and so our diets and lifestyles need to be tailored to us individually. In order to be healthy and well, we need to build a healthy relationship with ourselves, as well as with food.

Below, we explore the steps we take to boost self-confidence, develop self-love and trust our bodies.

Hypnotherapy Directory...

With the highs of Andy Murray’s Wimbledon triumph and the lows of England’s ignominious defeat in Euro 2016 fresh in our minds, we might wonder whether hypnotherapy has anything to offer in terms of enhancing and optimising performance.

I recently heard a radio interview with Dame Kelly Holmes, in which she said that if you were to get the top 10 athletes of any discipline in a room together, there would be very little to choose between them in terms of athleticism and ability, but there would be a profound difference in terms of their psychology that would differentiate the winners from the losers.

In short, psychology is everything when it comes to performance. And if ever a reminder were needed that reaching goals and chasing dreams is an extension of self-belief, then what better...

Confidence is a mental attribute. When we have an abundance of it, we believe in our capabilities and strengths. Yet when we are low on confidence, we tend to doubt ourselves and can become anxious, stressed and unhappy.

Have you ever experienced positive feedback and approval, but you still don’t feel confident in your abilities? This is down to your unconscious holding a belief that you’re not good enough, not being affected by the external praise. For example, an individual could think they are bad at public speaking, so they avoid performing altogether despite them actually being very good.

Hypnotherapy for self-confidence can be a good option for people who suffer from confidence issues as it targets the unconscious mind to make the change. A hypnotherapist will use the power of suggestion to make a positive change and improve confidence levels. So in this example’s case, the hypnotherapist will aim to instil confidence...

Self-sabotage can happen to all of us from time to time; you might start procrastinating, you may become indecisive, you may doubt yourself or even fall prey to substance abuse.

This kind of behaviour can happen when you’re under too much pressure or have too little motivation. Chances are, all of your behaviours have the same underlying cause. For example, if you put things like important phone calls off at work, it may be because you lack confidence in your abilities.

Here we look at ways you can recognise your own sabotaging behaviours, and stop them.

Recognise the pattern

The first step here is to recognise your own self-sabotaging pattern. This means keeping an eye out for your ‘non-confronts’. These are the tasks you do instead of the tasks you really need to do. For example, at work, instead of making that important phone call, you might tidy your inbox or organise paperwork. These things will give you an excuse...

There’s one belief in particular that holds many of us back, it makes us procrastinate and stops us from fulfilling our true potential. This menacing belief is:

“I’m not good enough.”

Whether you think it at work, in your relationships or as a parent – most of us will experience this debilitating thought from time to time. The part of you that believes this uses the thought to stop you getting close to success, because the closer you get to success, the closer you get to being ‘discovered’ as a fraud, right? Wrong.

The part of you that has this belief can (and should) be stopped. Take a look below for three steps to change the way you think and stop self-sabotaging beliefs:

1. Find the part of you that holds this belief

The thought “I’m not good enough” usually stems from an experience. Pinning down this experience is an important first step if you want to...

Mothers who stand in front of the mirror describing themselves as fat or old could be causing their young daughters to start disliking their own bodies.

In a survey involving 2000 women aged 30 to 55, a third of mothers admitted their daughters – some as young as seven – have begun mimicking their negative words or actions about their own appearance.

Young girls are increasingly picking up signs that they need to check for wrinkles and suck in their bellies in order to make themselves look thinner.

In fact, one in 10 of the mothers admitted that they had seen their daughters carrying out these actions.

Half of the women, however, did say that they had tried to hide their negative thoughts about their appearance, hoping to be a ‘positive role model’ for their children.

Overall though, one in seven admitted they had never thought about it, and most of the mothers questioned said they were unaware that their actions or words...