Tuesday, 2 June 2015

Have you got a workplace migraine?


by Jodie Nevid


As a clinical hypnotist I have a lot of clients wanting to work on “problems of the mind”, things like self-sabotage, low self-confidence, specific fears, eating disorders, depression and anxiety. Getting rid of the problem usually (but not always) involves training people to think differently, see the world, or even themselves differently.

What has really surprised and even shocked me is just how many people have persistent negative self-talk, for some, it is so strong they literally give himself or herself a headache or even a migraine!  But here’s the thing… if a client who suffers from migraines wants me to simply hypnotise them to remove the pain and I just did it… that would be malpractice!  Removing a migraine without understanding the cause could even be fatal.  Here’s why - a migraine is a symptom and behind it lays a cause.  Imagine a migraine as our bodies alarm screaming “something’s wrong!”

And here’s the problem - we live in a society that is more invested in addressing symptoms than understanding the causes.  What if my client’s migraine was a symptom from a brain tumor, if I help them remove the pain the tumor goes unnoticed and they could die!

Before you panic think of Arnie…  that maybe “it’s not a tumor”, migraines can also be symptomatic of any number of causes like perfume, diet, lack of nutrition, poor eyesight, dehydration, stress or depression just to name a few. Unfortunately we are more prone to pop a Panadol (or something stronger) to numb the pain instead of investing focus on understanding and identifying the specific cause.

I see this pain numbing approach all the time in workplaces, in fact the symptomatic problems are so common we have identified a list of 7 repeat offenders.  

1.     Low levels of accountability

2.     Under performance or apathy

3.     A culture of blame

4.     Resistance to change

5.     Working in silos

6.     Poor communication or

7.     Avoidance around performance management

Above is a list of symptoms not causes, they exist in most organisations, however each organisation has its own specific and personal cause.  Are you clear on both the symptoms and causes of the issues impacting your organisations performance?  If you want problems to go away for good then stop numbing the symptoms and start understanding the cause. There are 7 key questions we ask organisations we partner with; and one of those questions is “What are the specific symptoms and causes of your problems?”

To find out what the other 6 questions are, join us at our High Performance by Design breakfast on Thursday 23rd July in Adelaide.

Contact amy@the7effect.com.au or click here to register now!

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