Hello, my lovely. I’m so pleased you’re here.
I’m Nichola, and since 2014 I’ve been helping people explore the thoughts, feelings and familiar patterns that can make change feel difficult, even when they know exactly what they want to do.
Today, much of my work focuses on helping women with the emotional and psychological side of weight loss — from emotional eating and long-standing habits to body confidence and the fear of putting weight back on.
I bring my professional training and experience to that work, but I also bring something else: a personal understanding of the weight-loss journey.
Before I tell you more about that, I’d love to share a little of my story and how I came to be doing the work I love.
Hello, I’m Nichola.
The morning I didn’t recognise myself
It was December 2006. I was sitting at my dressing table, getting ready for a Christmas shopping trip and lunch with my mum.I looked at the woman in the mirror, and tears began to roll down my cheeks. Where had the happy-go-lucky, confident, go-getting woman gone? The woman looking back at me seemed tired, sad and lost. It took me a little while to realise that I was looking at myself.
Later that morning, when I met Mum, she could see something was wrong. “Are you OK, sweetheart?” “No, Mum. I don’t think I am.” And with those words, the tears came. That morning became one of the most defining moments of my life. Just a few weeks later, I left my marriage and the home I loved. I was starting again with two young children, no job and very little money.
I was lucky to have a loving family around me, but I was frightened and I didn’t know what would happen next, how I would manage or even who I was anymore. Yet somewhere beneath all that fear was a quiet feeling. A little whisper that seemed to say:
It’s OK. You’ll be all right. Trust me.
And little by little, I began to find my way forward.
Finding my way back to myself
The years that followed were a journey of rediscovery.
There were wonderful moments, challenges, successes, setbacks and plenty of times when I had to find my feet all over again. Along the way, I began reconnecting with the woman I thought I had lost.
I discovered how much I loved learning about the mind, our emotions and the ways our experiences can shape how we see ourselves and respond to the world around us. I read, studied and explored different approaches to personal development and wellbeing. Meditation became an important part of my life, too.
You won’t usually find me chanting or doing anything particularly ‘woo woo’! You’re much more likely to find me sitting barefoot in my garden, enjoying a quiet moment with a cup of coffee, or curled up by a candlelit fire when it’s cold outside.
I’ve always loved the idea of creating a much simpler life with room to breathe so that I could finally hear myself again, and the more I learned, the more I wanted to help other women to create that same space and room to breathe.
In 2014, after a great deal of studying, hard work, and over 300 hours of practice and case studies, I qualified as a Clinical and Advanced Conversational Hypnotherapist. It was something I had wanted to do for a long time, and it gave me a way to bring together my fascination with the mind, my own life experiences and my desire to help other women make meaningful changes too.
I understand, because I’ve been there too
As a short, curvy woman, I’ve always had to be mindful of my weight. I know what it’s like to start a weight-loss journey full of determination, to understand exactly what you need to do, and yet find that life, emotions and familiar habits can sometimes get in the way.
I’ve experienced many of the same frustrations, setbacks and moments of self-doubt that the women I work with describe. I know how it feels when you’re trying so hard to make changes, and how much it can mean to begin feeling comfortable and confident in yourself again.
And here’s something else I want you to know: I’ve used my own hypnotherapy training to help myself, too.
I’ve drawn on the techniques I use in my practice to explore my own habits, emotional responses and relationship with food. So when I talk about the emotional and psychological side of weight loss, I’m speaking from personal experience as well as professional knowledge.
That combination shapes the way I work with you. There’s no judgement, no lecture about willpower and no expectation that your journey should look like anyone else’s.
I understand how it feels to be on this journey, because I’ve been on it too. And I understand how valuable it can be to work on what’s happening beneath the surface, not just what’s on your plate.
Why I do the work I do
My own experiences have shaped the way I work as a hypnotherapist. I understand that weight loss is rarely just about knowing what to eat. It can involve long-standing habits, emotions, confidence and the way we see ourselves.
Since qualifying in 2014, I’ve developed my own personalised approach to hypnotherapy, drawing on clinical and advanced conversational techniques as well as other methods I am qualified in to help women explore the patterns that may be holding them back.
I’d love to tell you more about how I work and what you can expect when we meet.
With much love,
Nichola x