19/08/2026
We're deep into the summer holidays and my focus is shattered by the disorder of the days. My baseline bonhomie has dipped as a result and I couldn't work out why, until I spoke with hypnotherapist Heather Makepeace.
For Heather, it all comes down to purpose - finding yours, and navigating from it.
"if I go too far off my course I'm going to start with the anxiety and even the depression — all of those things start to creep in when I'm not doing what I know I'm supposed to do."
Heather is no stranger to midlife wobbles herself. She returned home to South Africa in her 30s to join the family business. But a decade on, she faced a hard choice: scale up and risk losing the essence of who they were - or close the doors. She chose to call it time. As she made the decision, relief coursed through her body so strongly she can still feel its pulse.
Then she had to start from scratch.The safe bet was a finance job. But having long been fascinated by the mind and how we think, she took the plunge instead - and in her 40s, retrained as a hypnotherapist. Today she works with everyone from burnt-out professionals to Comrades ultramarathon runners.
"I value freedom, but it doesn't mean a lack of security isn't just as scary."
In this episode we get into the neuroscience behind hypnotherapy, training our brains to be more positive, identity shifts in midlife, and the antidote to imposter syndrome. Plus the myths and misconceptions around hypnosis - and whether she can really make us tell her all our secrets.
Link in bio. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
