Testimonial from John Green, another satisfied client
I went to see David on a recommendation from my brother. I had had trouble sleeping for the past 15 years, and had all but given up hope of resolving the situation.
In my late teens I began to have trouble sleeping, the problem stayed with me until I saw David for about 6 sessions (15 years after the start of the problem). During those 15 years my sleep varied between no sleep for several days, to a few hours here and there, and on a good night 5 hours, but never uninterrupted. The effect of the problem on my life has been dramatic, as I had been in a state of chronic exhaustion without respite for all those years, my ability to think clearly had been impacted, my ability to be happy was all but forgotten, and I struggled to find any pleasure in anything. My energy levels were constantly low, my head and body constantly aching, I became averse to sunlight and grew to detest summer, as the heat brought great discomfort. During the first years of the problem, my mind was constantly racing and always at a frantic pace, I would often sit in bed all night crying, wondering why me, what is wrong with me. As the years wore on my mind seemed devoid of the energy to do much of anything, and the racing vanished I missed or turned down a lot of fantastic opportunities because I was weary right down to my soul, and the thought of anything such as a holiday seemed like way too much effort and pain. I become a little introverted because my state meant that I constantly felt in an impenetrable haze, I found it very hard to communicate with people, which in turn reduced my confidence greatly, and increased my anxiety in social situations.
During that time I sought help, was prescribed temazepam (slept like a log, but didn't feel like it, and as soon as the drugs stopped so did the sleep, the choice seemed to be insomniac or drug addict, I chose the former). I had another doctor prescribe anti-depressants, which caused me to have vivid technicolour, hallucinating horror dreams. I read books and consulted authorities on the subject to no avail. I found little solace in friends, because it seems people have no concept of what insomnia is like, unless they actually experience it. I would be given advice like, don't drink coffee, and read a book, and drink milk, all meant with good intention albeit with a complete lack of understanding.
So there I was, chronically exhausted, unable to communicate well, no one who understood my situation, in constant pain, doubt, and utter despair. I had relationships with two women fail, due to my lack of life/ambition/desire and the future looked pretty grey.
Out of despair I managed to drag myself through university (with help from lots of coffee and alcohol), and find a good job, although through all this little changed in my sleep patterns.
Anyone who has missed a couple of hours sleep knows what tiredness is, make that missed 5 hours sleep and times that by 15 years, it is impossible to imagine what it was like, and even now I struggle to recall how hard it was, made even harder by the fact that insomnia is not considered a legitimate condition, in the same was as say, stress.
I took an NLP practitioner course in 2000, hoping to find answers, and whilst I was able to make many changes (self esteem, motivation etc.) the sleep problem remained. I was curious to know what a more experienced practitioner could do. I was curious, as to whether I would be encountered by a stream of basic NLP techniques, which I would be aware of, and possibly sabotage the session. Happily, and quite surprisingly, I didn't recognise any of the stuff I knew, in the form I knew it, and kept thinking "when is he going to start". We chatted and laughed (a lot) for a couple of hours, then he said you can close your eyes if you want, he then continued talking, and in seconds I had drifted of into trance (Bandler is the only other person to have accomplished this with me), where I remained for who knows how long.
After the first session, a nightmare (which I had been having in one form or another for many years) disappeared, never to be seen again. Also, before bed, there was no longer any sense of uncertainty, it was as if my mind had stopped wondering whether I would sleep or not, and was going with the flow instead. I began to sleep more contentedly, less tossing and agitated awakening.
Over the next few sessions, we covered so much ground, from developing a passion for relaxation to challenging and removing limiting beliefs and creating and installing new ones (and tons of other stuff). My rapport with myself has grown considerably and my interest in NLP has been fired up again.
After about the 6th session, I went home and since then (3 months ago) have had only 2 or 3 bad nights sleep, which were mostly due to excessive alcohol, food, exercise or jet lag. My life is quite different now, my energy levels are growing and I am more relaxed and confident. I still have some changes to make, but they are to do with getting early nights, and better dietary habits. All that stands between me and good sleep now is not taking the opportunities to sleep, when they are there. My soul is alive, the body and mind are catching up too.
Now, I am so looking forward to summer, I seem to smell more, see more, I am more aware of my body, I feel emotions, I feel happiness coming at me from many directions (inside and out), I can think clearly, I have energy, I have goals and dreams, I can connect well with people.
I would have paid ten times the price for this outcome.
David embodies the spirit of NLP, curiosity, willingness to experiment, ferocious desire to improve people's lives and a wicked sense of humour. Dave's knowledge goes way beyond NLP, in sessions we addressed bio-chemical processes, energy healing, postural effects, environment, relationship impacts, even spiritual elements of the human state, all as part of a process of exploration and resolution, during which we both learnt a great deal.
The price I have paid before reaching this point, could be measured as follows :
1) Jobs I turned down : 13 years * 10,000/year more than I was earning £130,000
2) Lack of savings due to low wages (£1,000/year * 13 years) £13,000
3) Alcohol used to induce slumber : 6 pints * 3 times per week * 5 years @
£2.00/pint £9,360
4) Consultation with several therapists £2,000
Total £154,360
That is a nice house.
J.Green. A very satisfied client.