I recovered from ME and then Depression with the LP, read my story below to find out how!

As Claire Brooker gazed out of her bedroom window and watched the people below her going about their daily business she longed to be any one of them. The people beneath her window had something that she had lost- a life.

Claire from London, was a bright student who had graduated from Reading University in 2001 with a 2:1 in English Literature and had started a career in the financial sector of the City. She had a boyfriend who she loved and even anticipated marrying. However one day this all came crashing down around her.

‘I remember the morning clearly, it was as if one day my body suddenly ground to a halt. When I woke up that morning I knew instinctively that there was something dreadfully wrong. My body felt heavy and my head was throbbing. I crawled out of bed and threw up. I managed to get into work, but I felt terrible and was sent home. I thought it was just a bug I had caught, however as the weeks rolled by with the doctors diagnosing me with Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome I began to get worried. Weeks of illness started to turn into months. There was little improvement. The sickness had gone, but I had terrible pains in muscles and joints, I seemed to becoming intolerant to a new food every week and I felt incredibly week and slept for most of the day and the night. Strangely the sleep was unrefreshing and no matter how much rest I had my deathly white pallor was unshifting.’

Claire’s weight plummeted and she fell from a size 10 to a size 6. Work and social life, and her boyfriend became a thing of the past.

Claire was diagnosed with ME, an illness that currently affects 250,000 people in the UK. Claire says: ‘Some days even getting out of bed and walking around the garden for 10 mins was a struggle . I was put on antidepressants and I remember crying to my mum saying I wanted to die. This was it, I thought as I sat shivering by the radiator staring at the tub of antidepressants; I was officially having a breakdown. I didn’t know how much longer I could last as just when I thought I was getting better I would relapse. Dying at the time seemed better then this life full of pain and isolation.’

Despite a greater awareness of the illness, ME is still misunderstood in the medical profession. Claire saw a very well thought of Gynaecologist to see if there was an imbalance of hormones causing her illness. She says: ‘ I took my limp body off to Harley Street. I was left stunned however when The Professor informed me that my ill health was certainly due to the lack of sex I was having! ‘

Thankfully, Claire heard about a pioneering osteopath from North London – Phil Parker – who was having astonishing results with ME patients via his 3 day training program ‘The Lightning Process®’ which combines concepts of NLP, hypnotherapy and osteopathy. Claire googled Parker and rang him. She says: ‘The voice on the other side of the phone was calm and reassuring. He made it clear that this was a training program and that he would not get me better, however he could teach me how to get myself better. This is exactly what I wanted to hear!’

‘After the first day of the training I knew I could recover my health. I had a tool I could use immediately to start creating massive changes in my health. I was able to walk for 45mins, eat apple pie and visit my grandmother for 3hours all without that crippling fatigue! I was so happy and my family could not believe the change that occurred just after the first day!’
The changes continued daily and Claire made an amazing recovery from ME. She partied with her friends and tried to catch up on the life she’d been missing. She says: ‘I was on a complete high. I could enjoy being with my friends again, playing sport and also all of the everyday things like getting up at the same time every morning and having a shower, tasks that had been very challenging before the course. So you could say I was doing well!

Then Claire started to become depressed. ‘I started noticing a general uneasiness about the future, how would I cope in the real world when I’d lost years of my life to illness? Would anyone employ me after so much time off of work? Who was the “well” Claire? I was going through an identity crisis and I didn’t know who I was anymore. Instead of confronting these issues head on with the Lightning Process training which had helped me recover from ME, I decided to bury them, to ignore them and hoping that they would disappear.’

In fact the depression grew in its intensity so that it was impossible to hide. Claire says: ‘To my family and friends it was as if I was depressed overnight, so extreme was the result of my pretence. I had constant support from my family, friends and of course, Phil Parker, the creator of the Lightning Process, but no matter how hard they tried to help me, nothing could give me the life-jacket I so desperately needed and I continued to free fall.’

Weeks passed. Claire felt increasingly desperate until her mother said some thing which Claire believes, saved her life. ‘Gently she said to me; “Claire you are not depression, you are in fact a wonderful, funny, intelligent and beautiful young woman and I won’t let you forget this.” This stirred something within me, suddenly I was reminded of what Phil had told me on my Lightning Process Training course. “We are each the most powerful influences in our lives, our health and our well being.” I realised that I needed to apply the Lightning Process baby step by baby step to recognise my true identity again.’

Claire applied the Lightning Process, ten minutes at a time. ‘I started to feel lighter and part of the world again. I noticed how I was beginning to find silly things funny again and how I wanted to see my friends instead of avoiding phone calls. Within in two weeks of applying the LP consistently I was free of depression and within 6 months I was completely off the medication I was given. I also went back into full time work.’

Six years on, Claire is confident that she will never go back ‘down again’. Six years later she is an Advanced LP  practitioner with her own business, and  a tutor at The Phil Parker Institute, training the next generation of practitioners. Claire has now taught hundreds of people The Phil Parker Lightning Process® – a Process which she says: ‘ultimately saved my life twice!!

Perhaps there has been a big crisis or a bunch of small one’s piling up. Perhaps you have no idea how this has happened or perhaps this something that has happened a few times before. You are just so tired.

According to the Sunday Times article last weekend you are definitely not alone. Therapists are apparently seeing around 20% rise in city workers with conditions like anxiety, depression, insomnia leading to burnout and time off work.  So stop right now and read on. It’s time for 10 step  emergency action.

1. First step, find a piece of paper and write down, “I will be Okay.” Stick this somewhere you can see it. In our bleakest times we need messages of hope. It will give you energy to remember that this is only temporary.

2. Prioritise.  And because this is only temporary you can afford to do only your priorities for the next 48hrs. Decide that now is not the time to be making any big, life changing decisions. You will deal with those decisions, but definitely not today.

3. Have you eaten yet today? Take the time today to care of yourself. When you’re busy analysing and asking yourself  why you’re feeling this way, beating yourself up for this, that or the other- eating or choosing nutritious food is last on your list of priorities. This is counterproductive. A packet of crisps or a Burger King will only make you feel more tired. It’s likely that with everything on your mind lately, your fridge and cupboards are bare so decide on something nutritious to eat, soup, jacket potato with a nutritious filling, or perhaps a comforting shepherds pie and veg. Go out and get the ingredients NOW! I know you can’t be bothered to cook from scratch, but do it anyway. It will up your energy and get you focused on something positive and this is what  you need right now.

4. Confide in someone you trust. They say “a problem shared, is a problem halved” and I agree. Talk to someone about why you think this happened, what you’re going to do about it, the good stuff about your life that you can focus on and why you can be hopeful for the future.

5. Keep busy with happy stuff. You may be tempted to go to bed for a week nursing your wounds, however you’ll probably go to bed analysing the problem and wake up feeling even worse because you’re not doing anything to create a resolution. Instead immediately start to do things and go to places that make you feel happy. Perhaps there’s a park you love to go to, or a cafe with a soothing atmosphere or even your favourite comedy that you can rent? Can’t think of anything? Take action and call someone you trust and ask them to remind you what you love doing. Even if doing something happy feels like the last thing you should do, do it anyway.

6. You time. This is not the time to deal with other peoples stuff. You’ve got enough on your mind so steer clear of other peoples negativity. Today is all about making yourself feel better and by committing to this you’re actually speeding up your healing process.

7. Move! Energy creates energy so I encourage you to do some exercise. Go to the gym, go for a run, a long walk or go for a swim. Again you probably won’t feel like doing this. However this isn’t about what you feel like doing, it’s what you need to do so get moving!

8. Rest! Along with exercise, learning how to properly relax is a life skill that we cannot skip. One of the main reasons why people burnout is that they don’t take time to relax or get enough sleep. For the next few days make it a priority to get more sleep. Go to bed earlier if you have to. Maybe that means you’ll want to be in bed by 9.30pm tonight. If so, do it. Make it a priority to learn how to relax, whether you decide to learn meditation, go to yoga classes or learn a tool like the Lightning Process ® so this doesn’t happen again.

9. Are you fearful about something? When we are overwhelmed or don’t think we can deal with a situation we often play disaster scenario’s in our head which can  be so exhausting.  Once you have identified your fear you can prevent it from controlling you by taking action to resolve it.  What’s your first step to resolving this? Not sure? Then send me an email or give me a call and we can work through it together.

10. And last but not least, use this experience as a life lesson. Perhaps this is a wake up call to re-evealuate the way you want to live your life? Perhaps it’s time to address certain habits, life-style patterns and behaviours you have that are not leading you to a life you love? A lot of people emerge the over side of burnout a lot wiser. They know themselves more. They recognise that they are not superhuman which means they are less likely to repeat past mistakes.

I hope this helps.  If you are in doubt about your health please visit your GP.

Click here to view the embedded video.

You worry about not being good enough, how you’ll never live up to others or your own impossibly high expectations, that people may find out you’re a fraud, and that any mistake will be the end of your career, relationship, even your life! Phew. No wonder you procrastinate over things when imminent death caused by one mistake is awaiting you around each corner. This tragic pattern keeps us trapped in a state of high anxiety and fuels the physical emergency response which in turn can lower our immune system and drain us of our energy and creativity. So what do we do about it? Check out my 5 Top Tips on how to stop perfectionism and get an insight into how I personally overcame this by watching this video!

Click here to view the embedded video.

1. ACCEPT MISTAKES ARE PART OF LIFE. As long as you’re a human being (I can’t see you, but I’m pretty sure you are…) mistakes are inevitable. We are flawed creatures doing our best to learn from both our tragedies and our triumphs with the goal of being a better version of ourselves.  Now as a former perfectionist I know you may be thinking, “yes, Claire, other people can make mistakes, but I’m different and I’m definitely not allowed to.”  You are very special Reader, but you’re not that special. You are not a god, you are a human being, please, please rejoin the human race- we miss you!

2. DITCH THE NEGATIVE SELF TALK. Any time you notice yourself saying, “yes but it’s not perfect yet,” recognise that this is unuseful if you want to get your task done before next Christmas. Instead get in the habit of saying, “it’s good enough.” This little phrase has totally increased my productivity and effectiveness and it can do the same for you.

3. GET A REALITY CHECK. Have you ever stared at your to do list, completely and utterly overwhelmed by the unrealistic time frame you have given yourself. Stop torturing yourself like this. When you start planning your week pause and ask yourself, “is this reasonable?” If the answer is no, then chunk your project down into more manageable chunks. If the answer is yes, then do a bull shit test, by asking “Really? Are you really going to get this task done in 30mins? If the answer is yes, congratulations and go ahead. If not, ask what’s my first step?” and be more realistic. This will stop you being overwhelmed, and also frees up your energy.

4. SUCCESS IS A JOURNEY NOT A DESTINATION. Cheesy I know, but who doesn’t need a cheesy wake up call from time to time?! So how do you actually walk this talk? Well start by noticing your accomplishments. Most perfectionists delete all the great goals they have achieved and the great things they are doing right now and instead they focus on what they haven’t yet done. Re-balance things by keeping not only a ‘to do’ list but a ‘have done and am doing’ list.

5. HAVE FUN. Fun is the antidote to perfectionsim. Perfectionism is all about rigidity and control, whereas fun is about spontaneity and flexibility. So make sure your sense of humour is still intact and ask yourself, “how can I make this task more enjoyable?” Or how can I have more fun, today?” “Fun, Claire I don’t have time for fun!” I hear you cry! Well you better make time for it if you value your health and well being! This is important. You are good at discipline so start disciplining yourself to have fun, even include it in your to do list. You have a limited time on this planet, do you want to waste it on something as illusory as achieving perfection? Instead re-energise your day by doing something that makes you smile.

I hope these tips and the vid help! I’d love to hear from you

1. WHAT’S YOUR PURPOSE? Finding meaning in your life equals tonnes of energy! Our world has paused recently to celebrate the life of Steve Jobs who was an American business man and visionary, widely recognised for his groundbreaking work at Apple and Pixar Animation Studios. There has been much discussion of the legacy he has left behind. His legacy, was something that Steve Jobs was concious of everyday. He was a great believer in finding your purpose and doing what you love:

“Almost everything- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” Steve Jobs

If you were to leave this earth today what would your legacy be? And a more important question- what would you want it to be? Perhaps you’re thinking, “whoa there, Claire- these are sobering thoughts!” Yes they are, but in order to have a life you absolutely adore living- filled with energy and passion- some soul searching is a must. Knowing that we only have limited time on this extraordinary planet gives us the motivation and desire to do what we love! Reader, you are no accident, the world needs you and what you have to offer…

Ask yourself, “What could I do to add meaning to my life?”

If this seems to big  a question, break it down and ask, “What could I do today to add meaning to my life?” As you ask the question daily, notice how much more energetic you feel!

2. YOU CANNOT BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE. Are you a people pleaser? If so you are likely to feel drained rather then full of zest quite a lot of the time. Although it’s nice to be liked, often saying “yes” when we really want to say “no” can zap our reserves. People pleasers like to make everyone happy, all of the time. Those with high energy know that this is a thankless and impossible task and so use their time and energy wisely. Crucially they realise they cannot make other people happy. The only thoughts and feelings they can change are their own. My top tip is that although you may feel you have to say, “yes,” and adhere to others expectations of you, REMEMBER that this is a compulsive behaviour and that you do have a CHOICE.  ? Ask yourself, “As I’m in charge of my life, what do I want to do? What are my values and ideals?  Live up to your own expectations not other peoples.

3. EMBRACE CHANGE. Do you feel excited by life’s changes or worried by them? If it’s the latter you are definitley not alone, after all human beings have long been known as “creatures of habit.” Trouble is, nothing in our lives will ever stay the same, whether we like it or not. We move house, we get a new job, we turn 30-40-50-60 etc. The world is constantly changing and evolving. In fact the only thing we can be certain of is change itself! So if change is so inevitable, how do we deal with it in a way that increases our energy? Your first step is to alter your perception of change. Think back to when you last experienced a  life change which you now have successfully surfaced from and ask yourself the following questions:

“What did I learn from this change?”  AND  “How did this experience help me to know myself better?”

High energy people embrace change and see it as a learning tool. They also know that as winter turns to spring so the uncomfortable feeling that change can bring is only temporary. “This too, shall pass.” Hurrah! Altering your perception in this way can free you up to focus on the only thing you can influence and that’s your present moment. How do you want to feel about change right now?

High energy people live there life with meaning, they have purpose and they are passionate. They recognise the only person that they can truly influence is themselves and so they don’t waste their time and energy people pleasing. This doesn’t make them selfish in fact as they are looking after themselves and living a life they love, they are more able to positively contribute to the lives of others and the world as a whole. They embrace change and see it as a tool for helping them become better people. These people have learned these life skills and so can you!

Want to know how to use your language to heal and move your forwards rather then to trip you up and keep you stuck. Watch my video to find out more!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Are you constantly asking yourself, “Am I doing the right thing?” Help is at hand! Ditch Analysis Paralysis for good, by asking One Clever Question. Watch my video to find out more!

Click here to view the embedded video.

1. RELAX and BE PRESENT. I know, I know everyone’s telling you to reeelaaax and your trying to, but it’s just so damn hard. Been there done that. I finally mastered relaxation when I disciplined myself to stay in the present moment. How did I do it? Take yourself on a 20minute walk to start with and challenge yourself to focus on your senses. What can you see ahead of you or around you? What can you hear? Birds, traffic or people chattering away? What’s the temperature like? Is there a cool breeze? What can you smell? Is it coffee, cut grass, food from a cafe? Stay focused on what is happening right now. What to do if your mind starts to wander onto, “Oh my god, I forgot to send that really important email!?” or “will I ever get my life back on track again.” Pause, put that to one side and continue being present to what’s right in front of you.  There will always be something you haven’t done, or you still have to do, or you thought you could do better. There will always be something to worry about. Choose to be okay and stay present in the midst of this perceived chaos and you will truly experience peace, serenity and calm. I always find that if I’m stressing about something and do this exercise that solutions seem to flow to me with ease. All this without having to spend a fortune on a Yoga retreat in Thailand. Result!

2. GET ENOUGH SLEEP. Yes, your mum always told you go to sleep when you didn’t want to and now I’m doing the same. Not Fair. Lots of people get into all sorts of trouble when they haven’t had enough sleep and if this is something they are doing consistently then this will effect not only their productivity, but of course their energy and their moods which can in turn compromise their immunity (your ability to heal and recover from things) and their relationships. Bummer, this does not sound good. Avoid this by getting adequate amount of shut eye. If you are knackered, say no to that invitation, limit your time on Facebook and Twitter and instead pick up your kindle or well worn book and hit the sack.

3. DEVELOP RESILIENCE. Those who are more resilient in life are able to cope with the ups and downs of life in a healthy way. How do you improve your resilience? Well, thankfully resilience can be learned and strengthened. Having a great support network, maintaining high self esteem and a positive view of yourself, accepting change and being flexible with life and of course keeping things in perspective help to strengthen your resilience. The consequence of this kind of resilience is a positive effect on your physiology.

4. HAVE A GREAT ROUTINE. It’s so important to be interested and excited about your day ahead. Why? Because Interest and Excitement are neurologically linked to happiness and health. On the flip side boredom is neurologically linked to feelings of self doubt, depression and illness. So feeling excited and interested by your life is not a luxury, but a necessity if you want to improve your health and feel tip top.

5. RECOGNISE YOUR STRESS TRIGGERS. A lot of us are trapped in a destructive spiral of stress. Learn to recognise what your triggers are. Perhaps you repeat “Oh no, not again” to yourself over and over, perhaps it’s the thought of dealing with that tricky family member or maybe you’re going through a period of change. Whatever it is, it may be helping you activate powerful hormones such as adrenaline, cortisol and dopamine. This response, although completely useful if we are in a life threatening situation, becomes problematic if it is activated daily. Find a self help tool to help you interrupt that Physical Emergency Response. My tool of choice is the Phil Parker Lightning Process®

After recovering from ME six years ago, I’ve dedicated my life to teaching people that they are more influential in their lives and health then they ever thought possible. My mission with this blog is to re-energise the world, one reader at a time! Please feel free to comment on posts. I do love a good chat!

Warm Wishes,

Claire