Juliet Hollingsworth Hypnotherapy

07/08/2026

One of the ideas that changed the way I understand human behaviour is that dopamine isn't simply the "feel good" chemical we're often taught it is.

I see it more as a signal that says: 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

Your body releases dopamine before you eat the food, before you buy the item, before the message arrives, before someone you like replies, before you reach the goal. It creates motivation because, throughout human evolution, anticipation helped us survive. If something looked as though it might improve our chances of staying alive or belonging to the group, our biology encouraged us to move towards it.

That ancient system now operates in a world full of notifications, dating apps, online shopping, social media, gambling, streaming platforms and endless novelty. The biology hasn't changed but the environment has.

When you notice those moments of anticipation, you give yourself the opportunity to understand your behaviour differently. Instead of assuming you lack willpower, you can ask what your body believes it's moving towards.

That question has changed the conversations I have with clients. We often focus on the behaviour itself, yet the anticipation that drives the behaviour frequently tells us much more about the need underneath.

I'm increasingly convinced that if we want to understand modern human behaviour, we need to pay much closer attention to what our biology evolved to seek.

06/08/2026

Last week, on the night of the full moon, some friends and I took ourselves, our children and their friends down to the beach to spend time beneath it. We'd planned a fire, but no one had gathered enough energy to bring the wood. Very quickly, someone pulled out an old notebook and a lighter. The children ran around gathering bits of old wood, while myself and a couple of others built the fire. Building the fire, jumping in the sea, surrounded by friends old and new, with the children all together enjoying it too, is how I felt most myself. Toasting marshmallows over the fire was the icing on the cake!

What about you? When do you feel most like yourself?

05/08/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤

The combination of unweathered chalk dust and the blue sky looks like something out of a Farrow and Ball catalogue - as does the sea, sky and reeds. Or maybe the Farrow and Ball colour chart looks like the colours of nature... 😉!

The full moon at night and the slightly waning moon in the morning.

Sunrises at the moment are MEGA!

Swimming in the sea is surprisingly amazing every time, no matter how often I do it.

Pavement signs are cool!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲?

05/08/2026

I've written about how hypnotherapy helps with anxiety.

When people think about hypnosis, they often imagine relaxation. While that's certainly part of it, what's actually happening beneath the surface is much more interesting.

In this article, I explore why anxiety develops, what happens in the brain during hypnosis, and how hypnotherapy can help retrain the nervous system to recognise safety again.

If you've ever wondered why anxiety can feel so physical, or why it's so difficult to simply "think your way out of it", I hope you'll find it helpful.

Discover how hypnotherapy and anxiety connect. Learn how hypnosis retrains the brain, restores calm, and helps your body feel safe again.

04/08/2026

Why stress isn't the problem.

Many people want to understand why they feel stressed, anxious or overwhelmed, even when life seems to be going well.

One answer comes from human evolution.

The stress response evolved because it helped humans survive. When your brain detects a challenge or recognises that something important is missing, it coordinates changes throughout your body that increase the likelihood of taking action. This system developed over hundreds of thousands of years to help our ancestors stay alive.

For most of human history, those signals led to behaviours that met the body's needs. Hunger encouraged people to find food. Isolation encouraged them to return to the group. Fatigue encouraged rest. Once the need had been met, the body settled and prepared for whatever came next.

Modern life gives us many ways to ease discomfort, without necessarily meeting the need that created it. We can scroll instead of connecting, keep working instead of resting, eat for comfort rather than nourishment, or use alcohol and other distractions to soften difficult feelings. These responses often provide temporary relief, but the underlying need can remain.

This idea sits at the heart of my Human Mismatch Theory. I see stress as part of a biological guidance system that evolved to move us towards the conditions humans needed to survive and thrive. When those needs remain unmet, the signals often continue.

Understanding why the stress response evolved helps many everyday experiences make sense. It also encourages a different question:

What is my body asking for?

References

McEwen, B. S. (1998). Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. New England Journal of Medicine, 338(3), 171–179.

McEwen, B. S., & Wingfield, J. C. (2003). The concept of allostasis in biology and biomedicine. Hormones and Behavior, 43(1), 2–15.

Nesse, R. M., & Williams, G. C. (1994). Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine.

Sapolsky, R. M. (2004). Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers. Henry Holt.

03/08/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞?

Most people think procrastination means you're lazy or simply need more self-discipline.

It can sometimes look that way, but that's only part of the story.

Thousands of years ago, humans lived in environments where immediate needs usually took priority. Finding food, avoiding danger, and responding to opportunities that were right in front of them often mattered more than investing effort in rewards that might arrive weeks or months later.

Our brains still carry many of those tendencies today. Research suggests that procrastination is often linked to how we regulate emotion, rather than a lack of effort. When a task feels uncertain, stressful or emotionally uncomfortable, our brains are drawn towards activities that provide quicker rewards or temporary relief.

The problem today is that we're surrounded by instant gratification - social media, emails, streaming services and online shopping all offer immediate rewards that our ancestors never encountered. Our biology hasn't changed nearly as quickly as our environment has.

The more we understand human behaviour through the lens of evolution, the more everyday experiences begin to make sense.

𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬

Steel, P. (2007). The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65–94.

Sirois, F. M., & Pychyl, T. A. (2013). Procrastination and the Priority of Short-Term Mood Regulation: Consequences for Future Self. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(2), 115–127.

Tice, D. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (1997). Longitudinal Study of Procrastination, Performance, Stress, and Health. Psychological Science, 8(6), 454–458.

01/08/2026

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 #𝟐𝟖 How else to start a book about stories with a story. And maybe I should do so in fairy tale style.

Two young maidens were visiting a castle south of the sun, where they happened upon an old horse. In their happy, carefree state of mind they stroked the old horse.

The old horse enjoyed the attention so much that when they wandered off she called them back with a big kick against the stable door. Many times over they returned to the old horse and then left again. Each time the old horse called them back with her hoof.

After a short while the queen came down from her castle abandoning her afternoon reading on the veranda. She too had heard the call of her old horse.

She left her open book on the table for all to see. The fair maidens asked - what book is this. A book about fairy tales for women? That, we must buy and they ran off home to order next day delivery on Amazon prime.

There are two beautiful quotes in the afterword of 𝐑𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐞 that I like:

“Stories are spells; they change things. And when they slip into our hearts and their quicksilver magic slides through our veins, they change us too…

But to find our way out of the dark woods that are closing in around us, we need a trail of breadcrumbs: stories which can lift us out of despair and powerlessness, and propel us onto a path of wise action and deeply rooted hope.”

I found it hard to concentrate on this book - it didn’t absorb me. However there are a lot of lessons in it. I have already recommended it to more people than I do most books. I'd screenshot a page to send to someone, and then realise I’d need to send the whole chapter, so I'd end up photographing the cover and suggesting they read the whole book!

I found the beginning hard to take in. The book explains fairy tales, travels through the lifetime of a woman using fairy tales to describe different experiences, and then offers some ideas for using fairy tales as a personal tool. It makes sense that the later chapters resonated with me the most.

The book has certainly inspired me and there is lots I can take into my work. There is some personal work I’m going to do as a result of reading it which I also think will be fun. All in all, a beneficial read, one I’d recommend if you want to learn about fairy tales and enter some personal development work in a less than usual way.

31/07/2026

Your brain didn't evolve to produce constant comfort. It evolved to keep you alive.

Many uncomfortable feelings begin as biological signals that something needs your attention. Hunger encourages you to eat. Loneliness motivates you to reconnect with other people. Unease increases your awareness when your nervous system detects uncertainty. Fatigue encourages recovery. These sensations direct your behaviour towards meeting needs that supported survival throughout human evolution.

Modern life gives us countless ways to quiet those signals before we understand them. We scroll, snack, stay busy, shop or keep working. These behaviours can change how we feel for a while, yet they often leave the original need unmet. Your nervous system continues sending the signal because its job is to guide you towards conditions that support survival, not simply to create comfort.

The next time you feel a slight discomfort, try asking yourself:

What is my body moving me towards?

Perhaps it needs rest. Perhaps it needs food. Perhaps it needs connection. Perhaps it needs safety. Sometimes it needs movement or another basic human need that modern life has pushed into the background.

Human behaviour makes far more sense when you understand that many emotions began as guidance systems, rather than problems to eliminate. Learning to recognise those signals gives you another way to understand yourself and another way to respond.

30/07/2026

𝐀 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮...

𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑠?

Some things that I wonder about:

Why do some people wonder and others don't?
Why can I be more myself with some people than others?
Why do I feel intimidated by some people?
How can I stay true to myself?
What makes me feel deeply connected?
What makes me feel safe?
What makes me feel truly seen?
Why do some people want to learn and others don't?
Does anyone else think like me?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

29/07/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤

The beautiful sunrise on Saturday morning as I sat working.

How green the contents of my fridge are thanks to .

A wasp killing a horsefly. It was fascinating to watch until it flew away and I thought it was chasing me! I felt like I wanted to rescue the horsefly but had the voice of our driver in Tanzania ringing in my ear “it’s zee nature”.

The difference in colour of the yarrow at the moment. I did some research and learned that the pink comes from pigments called anthocyanins. Some wild yarrow plants naturally produce more pink pigment than others. They also open with a stronger pink flush and then gradually fade to pale pink or almost white as the flowers mature.

When you lick something (like ice cream) it becomes yours!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲?