I had convinced myself that I needed aclohol, that having a drink was the only way to blot out the misery of everyday life. I was like Marvin the paranoid android in Douglas Adams’ brilliant Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: “Life - loath it or ignore it, you can’t like it!”. A few beers or a bottle of wine seemed to help numb the dullness a bit more, help me get through to the next day.

But of course I was doing myself a lot of damage. By the time I realised there was a problem it had become quite a big problem, a dependancy even. The struggle with the depression was made worse by the realisation (false, it has to be said) that it was going to be all the more difficult without my friend.

Little by little I persevered, having an alcohol-free night here and there, then two, then three, until at one point I actually stopped drinking completely for three months. To my amazement I had more energy and drive in those three months than I had had for years before that! After that, introducing alcohol back in a controlled way was much easier than I expected it to be.

And, now I have left the depression behind me, I can finally enjoy alcohol as I want, with me in control, taking or leaving as I choose and not fuelling my illness even more.

You can find more on depression at www.ultimatetransformation.co.uk.

Til next time,

Nigel Barker.

In the end, it was NLP that did it, but as a coping strategy I found that setting small, step-by-step goals and then focussing on the practicalities of tasks helped my mind to work “normally” rather than going round and round as it normally did. Simple things, like replacing some fencing and gates, planning and visualising the steps to complete the task and the finished job, and then actually carrying out the task as I had planned and visualised it, began to reshape my thoughts into productive channels and helped break out (temporarily) of the cycle of rumination.

Again, simple - but effective!

More information on depression at www.ultimatetransformation.co.uk

Til next time,

Nigel Barker.

Have a half-hour walk or some other form of moderate exercise each day. Before you start, picture where you’re going to go and what you’re going to see as you walk and when you get to your destination. I used to walk from where I walked in Exeter to the canal locks and back, getting out of the industrial estate, over the fields, crossing the railway line (on foot - and if I was lucky I got to see a train at close quarters!) and then along the towpath to the loc, then back and perhaps vary the route slightly. Or, a walk round the perimiter of the estate - making sure I did about 30-40 minutes. Exercise releases the “feelgood” chemicals into our brains and helps lift your mood.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It is - the important thing is to keep it up and not be deflected or diverted - you need the “me time” to do this because YOU are important.

There’s more about depression on the main website at http://www.ultimatetransformation.co.uk.

Til next  time,

Nigel Barker.

Depression has been a big part of life recently - not from the inside this time, but as part of our work. If you have a quick look at our main website http://www.ultimatetransformation.co.uk you’ll see that not too long ago I was a depression sufferer. In fact I had been for around 20 years, and really didn’t know how to get out of it. In the end it was using the techniques of NLP and Neurological Repatterning that gave me the changes I needed to be able to escape.

So what can you do if you’re a depression sufferer?

First, don’t panic and don’t give up. Depression isn’t something that happens to you like catching a cold or chicken pox - it’s a decision you’ve made somewhere along the course of your life.

What? I didn’t choose to be depressed - who in their right mind would choose to be depressed?

You’re right - consciously no-one would chooses to be depressed. Unconsciously it’s a different story. Our unconscious minds are powerful things and the most important thing it knows how to do is to protect and preserve you. But - and here’s the thing - it has some funny ideas about how to do it. Which is why you end up depressed.

So what is the way forward? It sounds easy, and with the right help it is: find the event or events that led your unconscious to lead you into depression, and “re-learn” the event, a bit like reprogramming. We are always more than happy to talk to anyone about depression - visit the website for contact information.

Until the next time,

Nigel Barker.

Thankfully though we haven’t been idle on other fronts. We have been setting up joint arrangements with local gyms, health food shops and the like to spread the word about our unique personal transformation that we offer from a combination of NLP, hypnosis/hypnotherapy and Neurological Repatterning. The results have been very encouraging - several new clients, including a group dedicated to weight loss, and some very solid work.

In fact, our work is more varied than we could have ever expected! Ranging from stopping smoking, assistance with addictions, allergy alleviation (a particular favourite of mine), life and performance coaching and releasing a phobia! Having spent 27 years in the car industry this is such a refreshing change for me.

We’re looking to the future too - several events planned for early 2008 including special dates such as Easter, so come back from time to time and I promise I’ll update the blog frequently.

We were lucky enough to attend the Ultimate Business Seminar in London a couple of weeks ago. This was an event put on by the Christopher Howard organisation, and featured a range of VERY inspiring speakers, including Cameron Johnson, who made his first million dollars at the age of 15! (As I’m now 51, does that mean it’s my turn? Thought not…) Also featured was Chet Holmes from the US, probably one of the sharpest business minds and one of the best speakers I am ever likely to see. If you get the chance, go for it.

With the stated intention of keeping this blog up to date more frequently, short and sweet is the style for now. More tomorrow.

Till next time,

Nigel Barker.

This all started last November, at a hotel at the back of the Earls Court exhibition centre in west London. We had gone there, my wife Sue and I, to attend Christopher Howard’s weekend seminar Breakthrough to Success. To be honest, I was petrified, had no idea what was coming. At the time I was suffering from fairly severe depression which made life very difficult indeed, and the thought of doing something “inspirational, life changing” etc was frankly terrifying! Sue was all for it, thought it would be just what I needed.

We got in the room, sat down and I looked at the papers and the workbook - and very nearly walked out again. It just looked too much to cope with, particularly for someone like me who was very down. But, I decided to stay and “give it a go”…

And am I glad that I did! That one weekend was enough to blow away the depression that had dogged me for nearly 20 years, just from the power of the techniques that Christopher Howard used in that seminar. I can’t tell you how much life changed - confidence came back, self belief and self esteem, and a positive outlook on life that I hadn’t had for so long!

We decided over the next few months that we would sign up and do the Fast Track training program, with all the different things it covers, and duly went back to the next Breakthrough to Success weekend in London in March 2007. We signed on the dotted line, paid our money, and the journey began…

And after completing the Results and Master level NLP training we decided to give back the gift we had been given, and started Ultimate Transformation - for that is what it was and is for us, the ultimate in life transformation! You can visit the website for the full nine yards, but in essence we aim to transform peoples’ live in the same way that ours have been transformed, whether it be giving up smoking, overcoming depression as I have, beating a phobia or an allergy, or a whole lot more.

The future is so exciting and so full of promise that we can hardly wait! There will be ups and downs along the way, but as many people have said, success is the ability to fall down 6 times and get up 7. We’ll be writing about our progress as we go along, so there will be plenty to read about.

Until next time,

Nigel Barker.