Tired of Sugar Cravings AND Sleepless Nights? Beat the Sweets & Sleep Soundly!

Are you battling sugar cravings that seem impossible to conquer? Do you find yourself reaching for sugary snacks, even when you know you shouldn't? And to top it all off, are you struggling to get a good night's sleep, tossing and turning, feeling exhausted even after a full night?

You're not alone. Many people find themselves trapped in a vicious cycle: sugar cravings fuel poor sleep, and poor sleep intensifies sugar cravings. It's a frustrating loop that can sabotage your weight loss efforts and leave you feeling drained.

Here's the truth: your sleep and your sugar cravings are deeply interconnected.

Research consistently demonstrates the profound impact of sleep quality on weight management. When you're sleep-deprived, your body produces more of the hunger hormone ghrelin and less of the satiety hormone leptin. This hormonal imbalance leads to increased cravings for sugary, high-calorie foods, making it harder to stick to your weight loss goals.

But that's not all. Poor sleep can also disrupt your body's ability to regulate blood sugar, further exacerbating cravings and hindering fat burning.

Imagine this: You finally break free from the grip of sugar cravings, and you start sleeping soundly, waking up feeling refreshed and energized. Imagine your body naturally releasing stored fat, and your clothes fitting better than ever before.

This isn't just a dream – it's achievable.

If you're taking all the right steps to eat healthier, but still struggle with sugar cravings and falling asleep, it's time to dig deeper. Sometimes, the root causes of these challenges lie beyond simple behavioral changes. High levels of anxiety, past traumas, or even subconscious patterns can sabotage your best efforts.

This is where hypnosis can make a profound difference.

Hypnosis works by accessing your subconscious mind, allowing you to:

• Reduce Anxiety and Promote Relaxation: Quiet the mental chatter that keeps you up at night, leading to deeper, more restful sleep.

• Reprocess Traumatic Experiences: Address unresolved emotional issues that may be disrupting your sleep and fueling unhealthy cravings.

• Reframe Negative Beliefs: Challenge and transform subconscious patterns that sabotage your weight loss and sleep goals.

• Establish Positive Sleep Associations: Create a sense of anticipation and relaxation when it's time to rest, leading to improved sleep quality.

• Control Sugar Cravings: Hypnotic suggestions can help reprogram your mind to reduce cravings, and choose healthy alternatives.

My "Beat the Sweets" program, starting April 2nd, combines the power of hypnosis with proven strategies for sugar elimination. We'll work together to address the underlying causes of your sugar cravings and sleep disturbances, empowering you to break free from the cycle and achieve sustainable weight loss.

Here's what you'll gain:

• Effective strategies to eliminate sugar cravings.

• Tools to improve sleep quality and duration.

• Techniques to manage stress and anxiety.

• Powerful exercises to clear emotional triggers to sugar.

• The ability to finally feel in control of your eating and sleeping habits.

Don't let sugar cravings and sleepless nights hold you back any longer. Take control of your health and well-being.

Click here  to learn more and join the "Beat the Sweets" program starting April 2nd.  https://www.charlestonhypnosiscenter.com/sugar-cravings

Let's work together to create a healthier, happier you!

The Hidden Key to Sustaining GLP-1 Weight Loss Results

Say Goodbye to Sugar Cravings, Emotional Eating & Food Noise

"Food noise"—it’s that intrusive, relentless internal chatter constantly nudging you toward the next snack or meal. It's opening and closing your DoorDash app repeatedly, wrestling with cravings even when healthier choices are available. Many people experience this barrage of unwanted food thoughts, often sabotaging their best intentions for healthy living and weight loss.

Food noise is more than just thinking about food occasionally. It becomes a problem when thoughts about food becomes obsessive or counterproductive.  It interferes with your productivity, emotional well-being, and sustainable weight loss.

Recent excitement around GLP-antagonist medications like Ozempic and Wegovy stems from their remarkable ability to silence this disruptive internal dialogue. These medications slow digestion and directly impact brain chemistry, making food less rewarding and reducing cravings significantly.

But this silence is temporary. Stop the medication, and the food noise is likely to return.

Last month, I had the privilege to speak at the Fully Optimized Health conference hosted by Jay Campbell.  I spoke about the importance of mental and emotional well-being for optimum health and well-being.

That weekend, I heard so many amazing speakers! I had the privilege to hear Dr. Rudy Eberwein—an expert prescribing GLP medications since 2014—address the future of these groundbreaking treatments. He said the latest research shows they are helping people eliminate alcohol cravings and may even help with various drugs.  

I was really impressed with how he ended his talk. He spoke about the benefits of the GLP antagonists for diminishing and even eliminating food noise completely.  He strongly emphasized:

"Having a strategy, like hypnotherapy, to eliminate food noise after completing your GLP antagonist cycles is vitally important for sustaining your results."

That's exactly why I created Beat the Sweets—a 4 week hypnosis and coaching program specifically designed to eliminate sugar cravings, emotional eating, and, crucially, food noise. Whether you're currently using GLP medications or have recently completed a cycle, this program is your solution to lasting peace from food-driven thoughts.

In the Beat the Sweets program, you will:

• Experience targeted hypnosis sessions to silence food noise permanently

• Uncover and dismantle emotional triggers fueling cravings and overeating

• Cultivate a lasting, sugar-free mindset that supports your long-term health goals

Ready to silence the noise for good and sustain your hard-earned progress?

👉 Secure Your Spot Now

Your lasting success depends on the habits you build today.

Join me for my 4-Week Beat the Sweets Online Program - Sugar-Free Living Challenge (April 2-30)

This program is not a diet; it's a course in subconscious reprogramming designed to get to the core of your relationship with food and liberate you from the grip of sugar cravings, food noise, and emotional eating once and for all.

Why This Program?  

Because if you do not eliminate these challenges, then your best efforts at dieting or using GLP-1s and the like may be futile in the end…

During the Beat the Sweets - Sugar-Free Living Challenge

🎯 You'll Get:
✅ Daily training (sent straight to your inbox)
✅ Powerful hypnosis techniques to stop sugar cravings and food noise permanently
✅ Live Q&A at 6 PM EST for one month of personalized coaching
✅ Hot seat coaching to tackle YOUR specific challenges

If you're ready to break free from the sugar cycle and finally see the weight loss results you deserve.

👉 Grab your spot now for just $247!

https://www.charlestonhypnosiscenter.com/sugar-cravings

Your energy, focus, emotional state and most of all your body will thank you!

Imagine you’ve shed the weight and you’ve completed your final injections….now you’re sitting down to a meal and feeling completely in control when it comes to sweets.

Picture a day where neither food noise nor sugar doesn't dictate your choices, where you're free from the guilt and the cycle of emotional eating and sugar cravings that can hold you back from losing weight or painfully destroy the gains you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

This program is more than just a pathway to breaking free from sugar; it's a gateway to a healthier, happier, and more empowered you.

Don't let another day go by feeling held captive by your sugar tooth! You deserve freedom, health, and to feel good in your body Join us, and let's embark on this life-changing journey together.

Get the full details of what’s included in the 4 week program and secure your spot here, and let's turn the page to a new chapter in your wellness story

Remember, it's not just about eliminating sugar; it's about quieting the food noise, reclaiming your power and taking on the behaviors that support you in living naturally slim for life. It would be a wonderful reward to me to provide you with the mental and emotional freedom from sugar and the feeling of feeling good in your body again!

I'm so excited for Saturday

Exciting News: I'll Be Speaking at the Fully Optimized Health 2025 Live Conference!

I’m thrilled to share some exciting news with you! I’ve been invited to be an expert speaker at the Fully Optimized Health 2025 Live Conference, an event featuring top experts in cutting-edge fields like peptide science, biohacking, anti-aging, and hormone optimization.

I’m particularly excited to let you know that I’ll be speaking about Cognitive Biohacking—a topic I’m deeply passionate about. In my session, I’ll be diving into how you can train your thoughts, beliefs, and emotions to optimize your mind for peak performance in every area of your life. Whether you’re looking to improve focus, build resilience, or shift your mindset to thrive, I’ll be sharing powerful tools that help people master their inner world in order to live your happiest and healthiest life.

It’s an honor to be part of such a transformative event, and I can’t wait to share my insights about what i learned with you from other experts afterwards!

If you’re interested in learning more about Cognitive Biohacking and how you can start enhancing your life today, stay tuned for more updates, tips, and resources coming your way.

If you’re ready to get started right now, I’d love to help you create a personalized plan for your cognitive and overall health.

Schedule a consultation today, and let’s work together to design a customized program that helps you reach your highest potential.

Contact Us — Charleston Hypnosis Center

Thank you for being part of my community. I’m excited to continue supporting you on your journey to optimal health and performance!

Letting Go of the Past: How Hypnotherapy Can Help You Heal After a Breakup

Valentine’s Day can bring up all kinds of feelings, especially if you’re recently out of a relationship. The cards, flowers, and social media posts about love might leave you feeling stuck in the past, still thinking about your ex. If you’re struggling to move on, you’re not alone, but there’s a powerful tool that can help: Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy works by helping you tap into your subconscious, where many of your emotional responses and memories live. It’s a relaxing, safe process that can make it easier to let go of old thought patterns and move forward with your life. Here’s how it can help:

Letting Go of the Past – After a breakup, it can be hard to stop thinking about your ex. The memories, the “what-ifs,” and the emotional attachments can keep you stuck. Hypnotherapy can help release those emotional ties, giving you space to heal and move forward.

Changing Negative Thought Patterns – If you find yourself stuck in a loop of negative thoughts about your relationship or breakup, hypnotherapy helps shift these patterns. You’ll start to break free from the habit of replaying painful memories and instead focus on positive, empowering thoughts about your future.

Boosting Your Confidence – Breakups can sometimes make us doubt our worth. It’s easy to internalize feelings of rejection or inadequacy. Hypnotherapy works to reconnect you with your sense of self-love and self-worth, so you can walk away from the relationship with your head held high and your confidence restored.

Finding Closure – Sometimes, it’s hard to let go because we’re waiting for closure or answers we’ll never get. Hypnotherapy can help facilitate emotional healing, allowing you to process and release unresolved feelings. This can bring the peace of mind you need to fully move on and stop looking back.

Looking Forward with Hope – Moving on from an ex can feel like an uphill battle, but with hypnotherapy, you can shift your focus to the future. Instead of feeling stuck in the past, you’ll begin to envision new opportunities for love, happiness, and personal growth.

If you’re ready to stop letting your ex hold you back, hypnotherapy can be the key to releasing old emotional baggage and embracing your next chapter with a lighter heart and a clearer mind. It’s time to give yourself the gift of emotional freedom and let go of what’s been weighing you down.

My sincere love and light to each of you<3

#dating #break-up #getoveryourex #breakup

7 Ways to Have Calm During Covid-19

As the founder of the Charleston Hypnosis Center & the American Hypnosis & Coaching Academy, I can say that one of my specialties is helping people manage or overcome stress.  Moreover, in the past decade, the number of clients seeking solutions beyond traditional counseling and medications for deep seated anxiety, depression, and trauma related problems has increasingly grown.

I have been personally challenged to put my professional strategies to the test as I have navigated through loss of a best friend to brain cancer, divorce, children going off to college, and now the Covid-19 pandemic.

For myself, I created a mental arsenal of techniques I could practice, one or more steps I would take every single day for staying on top of my stress.  Because I knew that if I didn’t, it would take its toll on my health, my relationships, my attitude and my success.

Before I Offer My Suggestions…Notice How I Won’t Say Practice Meditation? –

WHY? I am laughing as I write this because one very famous personal development author recommended this to people to start doing during the Covid Crisis.  My first reaction was a big hearty laugh!   Personally, as difficult as the practice is for most people, I was thinking that if you haven’t been practicing quieting your mind regularly, you could be setting yourself up for failure if you try to meditate NOW.  I recently took some Krav Maga self-defense classes.  One of the philosophies is to practice self-defense moves repeatedly so when the real danger comes, your self-defense measures are automatic and second nature. 

If you can meditate already, ABSOLUTELY BE MEDITATING!  If you can’t, practice positive visualization and appreciation instead (See #6 & #7 below). It has the same basic physiological benefits as silent meditation like calming respiration, heart rate and increasing circulation.

Here are 7 Ways to Have Calm Under Stress of Covid-19

1)      Shift from a State of Fear to a Healthy Sense of Caution – This means take action.  Self-distance.  Prepare.  Do whatever you can do to stay safe and keep others safe.  Then, say to yourself, “I did the best that I can do to stay safe and healthy.  Now, I have to let it go of worrying about the aspects I can’t control.  Worrying and staying in fear over the aspects of this pandemic that you cannot control are just creating more stress hormones in your body which can impact sleep, digestion, focus, mood and healthy immunity. 

2)     Speak Gratitude for Your Health – This retrains your mind to focus on the good in your life instead of focusing on your worst fears. Say out loud affirmations like the following, “I am thankful for my health.  I am thankful for my body.  I am thankful for healthy immunity.  I am thankful for being healthy right now.”  Now is the perfect time to focus on appreciation of ALL that you have going that is good in your life including your health.

3)     Acknowledge What You Love About Your Home – Too often we take the basics for granted like our health and our home until something like Covid-19 happens. When we acknowledge what we love, we are focusing on the positive. Do you love your sofa or your bed Or your pillow?!  When you are sitting or lying in them, say out loud, “I love this sofa!  I love my bed!” Do you have flowers growing this spring?  Say, “I love these azaleas, they’re so pretty!” or “These roses are so beautiful!” This goes beyond gratitude.  The mind is programmed to focus on what we concentrate on and what we concentrate on grows in our awareness. 

4)     Embrace Your Emotions – There are no BAD emotions.   It takes a lot of energy and work to suppress stressful emotions.  Cry if you feel like crying.  It’s okay to be angry, just don’t hit anyone or break anything (that’s what I used to tell my kids).  If you feel anxious, remember the symptoms of anxiety are always preceded by an anxious story.  Ask yourself, “How’s that story working for me?”  Then, tell a different one.

5)     Minimize Exposure to the News and Social Media – lf you find yourself more anxious and stressed after listening to the news or reading, go on a news and social media diet. Once or twice day updates READING the news and scrolling on social media will greatly lower your stress. This is especially true for EMPATHS or Highly Sensitive People. 

6)     Spend Time Focusing on Desired Outcomes – It is very difficult to tell yourself during times like this NOT to worry.  Not to project unwanted scenarios.  The subconscious mind is wired to keep you prepared for the worst and in simplistic terms to avoid pain.  Use your downtime to imagine and journal about the highest and best outcome for yourself and your family members through all of this. 

7)     Make Finding the Silver Lining Your Superpower – In the Hypnosis and NLP world, this is called reframing.  Your brain keys off how you think of something NOT on what’s real.  For your own inner calm and for your children, make it a game, then a strength and then your SUPERPOWER to seek the positive in every situation.  Become relentless about telling a positive story about what is happening.

Finally, I am grateful for each of you that have taken the time to read this far.  Let’s all throw up our hands and say a collective gratitude prayer, “Thank Goodness for Toilet Paper!”

Could Self-Hypnosis Make You a Better Parent?

“Our worst enemy as a parent is our own emotional reactivity.”

— Hal Runkel

They’re SO CUTE! Who knew they’d be so stressful! Parenting is one of the most rewarding jobs you will ever have and one of the most challenging. To parent effectively, it can be beneficial to get help with your stress so that you become more patient, resilient, and stay more positive during the little bumps in the road of life.

If you are the parent of a special needs child, on-going stress management is a MUST if you are to avoid burn-out and extreme emotional strain that occur from the higher demands you must face on a daily basis. Hypnosis is a fantastic solution for managing stress, improving sleep, and becoming a more positive parent and role model for your children.

Hypnosis can help you:

• Learn to respond to your child, rather than react to their behavior.
• Develop skills to overcome anxiety.
• Become more patient with your children.
• Stop hair trigger responses like anger and hitting.
• Become more present with them so you can enjoy quality time.
• Demonstrate to your children how to effectively manage stress because you are!

One hypnosis session can go a long way towards daily stress reduction!

How I Discovered the Power of Hypnosis

Check out Rebecca Taylor Shaw's story of transformation using hypnotherapy on her personal blog.

Clearing Depression through Hypnotic Regression

Photo by Olivia Shaw

“If you truly want to heal a problem that seems to be a theme in your life, you must start in this moment and work backwards to clear the imprints. Hypnotic regression is very powerful in this regard..”

— Rebecca Taylor Shaw

I will never forget that day in the counseling center at UVA.  It was the fall of 1985.   I was nineteen years old and I had just returned for my sophomore year of college.  My summer break had been stressful and I felt very depressedMy father’s alcoholism was growing progressively worse and my parents were in constant conflict.

By luck or  intention, they assigned me to the head of psychiatry at the counseling center.  I remember his demeanor was very matter of fact.  He said, “Your father is an alcoholic so the depression is most likely biological.   Therefore, I recommend you use antidepressants.”   I paused and reflected.  “How long will I have to take them?” I asked.   He shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head and then responded bluntly, “For life.”

For life?  I was shocked.  I didn’t say anything.  I was very shy back then.  I walked out with a prescription for Nardil and a long list of foods that I couldn’t eat while taking the drug.  ( Prozac wasn’t released until 1987.)

For three months, I took the medication as prescribed.  One day, I spoke to one of my best friends from high school over the telephone.  She remarked, “Are you okay?  You don’t seem yourself.  You seem numb.  I feel like I could tell you that your house was on fire and you would just say, ‘Where’s the marshmallows?’”

That comment somehow woke me out of a trance. I was numb. And underneath the numbness, I was angry! When the psychiatrist told me that I would need to take antidepressants for life, it felt like he had given me a death sentence. A voice inside of me said, “I refuse to accept this! I refuse to accept that I’m stuck!”

I went back to the counseling center the next day. I didn’t want to take the Nardil anymore. They reassigned me to a cognitive behavioral therapist. She helped me understand how my thoughts were directly influencing my emotions. I learned that you can put two people in the same situation, for example, on a ski slope. And the one of those people can be feeling happiness and the other mortal fear! The therapy was very empowering to me.

Unfortunately, the therapy took me to a place where I knew how I wanted to be thinking and feeling, knew how I NEEDED to be thinking and feeling to be happy and peaceful but I still struggled with bouts of depression even during the days when my life was, by all external measurements, a fantastic life!

I was one of those people who had done a significant amount of psychotherapy but still felt stuck.  I didn't know at the time but it was because, I hadn't healed on all levels mind, body and spirit.

Years later, refusing to believe I was stuck, I sought out hypnotherapy. The hypnotherapist told me that she suggested that we do some regression work to go to the source of my depression. I wasn’t excited about delving into my past. I will never forget her words, “Life is like driving a car. Sometimes you have to go backwards so you can go forward in the right direction.”

We did hypnotic regression work together and it was the missing piece for me in my journey to overcome depression. Hypnotic regression is an advanced clinical hypnosis technique.  Hypnosis seemed to clear the hidden wells of emotions that were there from childhood. It helped me to embody the thoughts and emotions that I wanted to have.

It’s an interesting thing that oftentimes what you heal within yourself will reveal your gifts to the world. I feel so blessed to have a sense of purpose that allows me to help others in the same way that I was helped.

This is my professional opinion and not a medical one. I believe that mental health is very valuable for healing on the mental level! If you’ve done that and you still feel stuck, you may want to use hypnosis to explore the problem at the emotional or soul level to find relief. Please seek assistance from your doctor or a licensed mental health professional prior to working with a complimentary health modality like hypnosis.

My work with clients is very intuitive. I am able to sense where you need to go. Each client is different and the sessions will be a combination of hypnotic regression, in-utero exploration, past life regression, and regression between lives depending on where you are still stuck.

If you have never worked with me before, I recommend you book an Initial Hypnosis Session. If you have worked with me before, you can schedule a Soul Clearing Session and get started today! If you are interested in Soul Clearing but have questions about how to get started or how my process could help you, please email me to schedule a free phone consultation.

So if you are struggling because you feel stuck with something, I want to encourage you to never believe you are stuck with anything!

Overcoming Grief with Guided Imagery

“Intellect alone cannot help us heal from the loss of a loved one. Hypnosis and guided imagery help you go beyond logic and effect healing at the deeper levels of the subconscious mind, emotions, and spirit.”

— Rebecca Taylor Shaw

Only time heals the loss of a loved one…or does it? Over the course of 20 years, I have worked with a vast number of clients to heal from the grief of losing a loved one to death. In many cases, the loss came as a shock when the loved one died unexpectedly. In others, the loss is felt just as painfully when the passing was expected to happen due to illness or aging. In either circumstance, when we lose someone close to us, it is evident that on the emotional level, there is no such thing as time. The loss of a loved one can be felt for years, decades or even a lifetime.

Many of the unique imageries, symbols and affirmations that I use with my clients and in my audio hypnosis recordings have been born out of my own journey out of some emotional pain towards peace and serenity.   I lost my father when he was days away from a kidney transplant.  He was so positive about his prognosis that I never suspected how ill he actually was until I got the call.  For months afterwards, I had dreams where I woke up crying.  In one of those dreams, I was there for him at his passing and got to say goodbye.  In another, I am visiting him in a park like setting and I know we are in heaven.  He is talking to me in a way he always did in life, kind, wise, and loving.

One day I experienced a spontaneous imagery during a meditation.   A spontaneous imagery is like a dream that happens when you are awake.  It has elements that are unexpected and go beyond anything your logical mind would have created.

In the imagery,  I am standing in a beautiful green meadow. There are shade trees and a brilliant blue sky up above. My father is there and he is young and healthy and smiling at me. I begin to cry. He says, “You don’t have to be sad. What is real can never be taken from you.” I reply, “Then, are you saying that you were never real? Because you are not with me any more.” He looks at me with such compassion in his eyes and he speaks with such certainty, “Now, I am always with you.”

Then, I hand him my pain and sorrow in the form of a dark ball of energy. He transforms it into orange butterflies that rise above us and spread out over the green meadow. I feel as if a heaviness inside has released and I am ready to face the day with love and hope in my heart.