If you've spent years calling yourself lazy for putting things off, this one's for you.
Procrastination isn't a time management problem, it's an emotional one. When a task stirs up discomfort, your brain does exactly what it's built to do: it moves you away from the bad feeling and towards relief. That's not a character flaw. It's wiring, and wiring can change.

In this episode of Moving Minds Forward, Gary Johannes, solution focused hypnotherapist and founder of Inspired to Change, unpacks what's really driving the avoidance, what's happening in the brain when you reach for your phone instead of the task, and why guilt and self-criticism keep the cycle spinning rather than breaking it.

You'll learn:

• Why a procrastinator cares too much, not too little
• The argument between the planner and the limbic system and who usually wins
• How shame acts as a brake, not a fuel
• What solution-focused hypnotherapy does to lower the dread around starting
• One simple five-minute technique you can use today

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Grief is one of the most human things we go through and one of the things our culture handles worst.

We're quietly expected to be "back to normal" far sooner than any of us actually are. So if you've ever wondered whether you're grieving wrong, taking too long, or not feeling the "right" things, this episode is for you.

In this one I look at what grief actually is, why it hits the body as hard as the mind, and why there's no set timeline and no single path through it. I talk about why the pressure to "move on" does so much harm, and what genuinely helps, from talking and remembering, to looking after your physical health, to the support that's there when you need it.

Grief isn't a problem to be fixed. It's love with nowhere to go. But healing is possible, at your own pace, in your own way, and you don't have to do it alone.

I'm Gary Johannes - solution-focused hypnotherapist and founder of Inspired to Change.

🎧 New episode every week. Subscribe wherever you're listening.
🔗 More about our work: www.inspiredtochange.biz

You already know the spider won't kill you.
You know the plane is one of the safest places you can be.
You know the needle will be fine.

And none of that knowing makes the slightest difference.

That gap between what you know and what you feel is the most frustrating part of living with a phobia. It's also the key to understanding what's actually going on and how to change it.

In this episode, Gary walks through what a phobia really is, what's happening in the brain when one fires, why it took hold in the first place, and what keeps it running long after the original event.

You'll hear why the fear lives in the amygdala rather than the rational part of your brain, why that's exactly why willpower doesn't work, and how avoidance quietly keeps the whole thing alive.

Then we get to what helps. Not white-knuckle exposure, but the rewind technique, a calmer, solution-focused approach that lets the brain refile a memory it filed in the wrong place to begin with.

In this episode:

• What separates a phobia from ordinary fear
• The difference between specific and complex phobias
• What the amygdala is doing, and why it doesn't wait for the rational brain
• How phobias develop, and why the origin matters less than you'd think
• Why avoidance and safety behaviours keep the fear intact
• How the rewind technique works, and why it doesn't re-traumatise
• One thing you can take away today

If you've been told you just have to live with it, or you've tried to push through on willpower and found it doesn't work, this one's for you. The brain that learned fear can learn something different.

One condition. The same lens. What's going on, what's keeping it going, and what actually helps.

Subscribe wherever you're listening. There's a lot more to come.

In this episode of Moving Minds Forward, Gary Johannes sits down with Dawn Ibbetson for an honest conversation about burnout, identity, and the long road back to yourself.

Dawn spent years climbing the corporate ladder in IT, reaching senior management in a male-dominated world. From the outside it looked polished and successful. On the inside, she was slowly losing touch with who she was, until burnout brought everything to a stop.

We talk about what really drives burnout: the slow erosion of your values, the pressure to be someone you're not, and the cost of carrying everyone else's weight. Dawn shares the moment things reached their lowest point, and the small, unexpected act of kindness from a stranger that changed the direction of her life.

This is a story about reinvention. About imposter syndrome and self-worth. About blue hair, joy, and learning to wear your values on the outside. And about discovering that helping others, through solution-focused hypnotherapy, could be the thing that helped her heal too.

If you've ever felt like you're holding it all together while quietly falling apart, this conversation is for you.

What we cover:
– Why climbing higher took Dawn further from the people and values she cared about
– The link between losing your sense of self and burning out
– Imposter syndrome, hyper-independence, and the need to prove yourself
– The moment that changed everything — and the stranger behind it
– Finding her way back through solution-focused hypnotherapy
– Why looking after yourself first isn't selfish, it's necessary

A content note: this episode includes an honest discussion of burnout and a moment of suicidal crisis. If you're struggling, you don't have to carry it alone. In the UK you can call the Samaritans free, any time, on 116 123.

At Inspired to Change, we believe people aren't broken. With the right understanding and support, change is always possible — and there's always a way forward.

If you'd like to talk to someone, we offer a free initial consultation. Find a solution-focused hypnotherapist near you: https://www.inspiredtochange.biz/find-a-hypnotherapist/

Moving Minds Forward is brought to you by Inspired to Change.

#Burnout #MentalHealth #SolutionFocused #Hypnotherapy #ImposterSyndrome #MentalHealthAwareness #MovingMindsForward #InspiredToChange #Wellbeing #Reinvention

That voice in your head. The one that says you're not good enough, that you said the wrong thing, that it's all going to go wrong.

It feels like the truth. It isn't. It's a thought. And there's a very big difference.

In this episode, Gary Johannes breaks down why the brain generates negative thoughts, why some of them get stuck on repeat, and what the evidence says actually helps — not by fighting your thoughts, but by changing your relationship with them.

Because a brain that learned to think negatively can learn something different. It just needs the right approach.

🎧 Subscribe for a new episode every 🌐 inspiredtochange.biz

Listen on Spotify, YouTube, apple and wherever you listen

"I'm just a bit stressed." "Everyone's stressed, aren't they?"

That habit of brushing it off is one of the most damaging things we do. Because chronic stress isn't just an inconvenience' it's a serious condition with serious consequences. Left unaddressed, it contributes to high blood pressure, heart disease, disrupted sleep, and a brain that gradually loses its ability to think clearly, make decisions, and see a way through.

In this episode of Moving Minds Forward, Gary Johannes - breaks down exactly what's happening when stress takes hold and why so many people stay stuck in it.

You'll learn:

• Why the fight or flight response, brilliant for short-term threats, is so damaging when it runs continuously
• What chronic stress actually does to the brain and why decisions feel impossible when you're in it
• The most common causes of stress, and why it's often the accumulation of smaller pressures rather than one big thing
• The self-maintaining cycles that keep stress going, including the ones most people don't recognise
• What solution-focused hypnotherapy does differently, and why it works when other approaches haven't
• One simple thing you can do tonight that starts to shift the brain's stress filter

Whether stress is quietly running your life or has become completely overwhelming, this episode will help you understand what's actually going on — and what to do about it.

SHOW NOTES

What we cover in this episode:

[00:00] Introduction - Gary's background and what this podcast is about

[01:00] Why stress is the most dismissed condition there is - and why that matters

[02:00] What stress actually is - when it's useful, and when it becomes damaging

[03:00] The numbers - 25% struggle to manage stress levels, 1 in 3 affected by work stress, long-term physical consequences

[04:00] What's happening in the brain - the amygdala, cortisol, adrenaline, and the fight or flight response

[05:30] Why modern stressors are so much harder to resolve than the threats the stress system evolved for

[06:30] What causes stress - work, relationships, finances, caring responsibilities, life events, and the accumulation effect

[08:00] What keeps stress going - inability to switch off, avoidance, sleep disruption, behaviour changes, and narrowed thinking

[11:00] What actually helps - understanding the stress response, identifying triggers, the solution-focused approach

[12:30] How solution-focused hypnotherapy works differently - the preferred future, retraining the nervous system, sleep

[13:30] The three pillars - positive interaction, positive action, positive thinking

[15:00] One thing you can do tonight - and why it works neurologically

[16:00] Closing - you are not weak for struggling with this

Resources mentioned:

• Inspired To Change - stress support: inspiredtochange.biz/stress
• Find a solution-focused hypnotherapist: inspiredtochange.biz
• If stress is significantly affecting your functioning, speak to your GP

About Moving Minds Forward

One condition per episode. What's going on, what's keeping it going, and what actually helps. Hosted by Gary Johannes, solution-focused hypnotherapist, founder of Inspired To Change, and MSc in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health (KCL, London).

Hit subscribe wherever you're listening. There's a lot more to come.

Why do some people constantly feel not good enough.

Even when they’re capable, successful, and doing everything they can to hold things together?

In this episode of Moving Minds Forward, Gary Johannes explores the psychology and neuroscience behind low confidence and self-esteem. From self-doubt and overthinking to comparison, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and the inner critic that never seems to switch off

This episode looks at what’s really going on beneath the surface.

Gary explains how confidence is shaped by past experiences, stress, relationships, and the brain’s threat system and why low self-esteem is not a personality flaw or weakness, but a learned pattern that can change.

You’ll learn:

• why confidence disappears
• what keeps self-doubt going
• how the brain reinforces negative beliefs
• why avoidance and comparison make things worse
• what actually helps rebuild genuine confidence

Grounded in neuroscience, therapy experience, and real human understanding, this is a calm, practical, emotionally honest conversation about rebuilding self-worth from the inside out.
Because confidence isn’t something you’re born with.
It’s something the brain can relearn.

Hosted by Gary Johannes, solution-focused hypnotherapist, founder of Inspired To Change, and senior lecturer with CPHT.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

Episode Timeline

00:00 — Introduction
02:10 — What low self-esteem actually is
06:45 — Why confidence disappears
11:20 — The role of the brain and threat response
16:10 — Self-criticism and the inner voice
21:40 — Comparison, perfectionism, and people-pleasing
27:15 — Why avoidance keeps confidence low
31:50 — The neuroscience of rebuilding confidence
37:05 — What actually helps
42:20 — One practical step you can take today
45:10 — Final thoughts and encouragement

Most people with social anxiety don't look like they have social anxiety.

They show up. They function. They get through the day.

But on the inside, before every social situation, during it, and long after it's over, something exhausting is happening.

The monitoring. The self-scrutiny. The replay. The dread.

In this episode, Gary Johannes, solution focused hypnotherapist, founder of Inspired To Change, and MSc in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health, breaks down what social anxiety actually is, what's happening in your brain when it kicks in, what keeps it going, and what actually helps.

This isn't generic advice. It's a clear, honest explanation of one of the most misunderstood conditions there is and one practical thing you can do today to start shifting it.

If social anxiety has been quietly shaping your decisions and shrinking your world this episode is for you.

TIMELINE

00:00 — Introduction & Gary's story

01:30 — What social anxiety actually is — and why it's not just shyness

03:30 — The gap between what you know and what you feel

05:00 — What's happening in your brain — the amygdala and the threat response

07:00 — The self-monitoring spiral — why you can't just relax in social situations

08:30 — The replay — what happens after and why it's so exhausting

10:00 — What causes social anxiety — biology, early experience, and social media

12:30 — What keeps it going — avoidance, safety behaviours, and withdrawal

16:00 — What actually helps — the solution-focused approach

18:00 — The preferred future — where the work starts

19:30 — Rebuilding gradually — how the brain actually changes

22:00 — One thing you can do right now

24:00 — The closing message — you're not broken, you're stuck