Woman's 'random' abdominal pain inspired major career change

A woman who was helped by a hypnotherapist to overcome 'random' abdominal pain later qualified herself.

Lina Karpocheva, originally from Estonia moved to the UK in 2010 as a student. She spent three years in Ayr at the University of the West of Scotland where she graduated with a degree in Broadcast Production.

The 33-year-old went to Germany for an exchange Erasmus programme for a year before returning to Scotland where she worked in Edinburgh for about two years. Now she practises her Happy-Wellbeing hypnotherapy in Liverpool, starting a few years after she moved here in 2016.

READ MORE: 'I moved into my mum's flat but now I'm terrified of opening the letterbox'

READ MORE: Amazon's 'life changing' £10 book that is a 'must read'

Lina told the ECHO: "What we do as hypnotherapists and what entertainers do on TV are two completely different things. The difference between what I do and entertainers do is that I'm there to heal.

"Entertainers play on people who are very easily open to suggestions. The mind is a very powerful thing and when under hypnosis you can not actually do anything against your will, it's self hypnosis and the more suggestable you are the easier it is to succumb to it and that is what the TV hypnotist will play on".

Lina suffered abdominal pain for about two years and, after reading a newspaper article about someone who received hypnotherapy to treat the same condition that she had, she decided to give it a go. She found a hypnotherapist in Woolton, who later helped Lina qualify and then set up her own business.

She said: "I could barely walk, the pain was like someone had punched you in the stomach. It was random as to how long the pain would last, from a few minutes to an hour or more, several times a day with pain similar to when I was giving birth.

"I was under the care of the hypnotherapist for six weeks and made a massive recovery. Due to the benefits I received I decided I wanted to be a hypnotherapist myself to help other people".

Two weeks before giving birth to her son, in 2019, Lina qualified and later started Happy-Wellbeing. There’s a free one hour consultation to see if they wish to proceed and for Lina to assess if they can work together, and if agreed sessions are an hour a week for six weeks.

She said: "During a hypnotherapy session people would lie down and the most important part is to make sure they're relaxed almost at the point of what it's like just before you go to sleep, like a hypnotic state.

"People come to see me for various reasons; depression, sports performance, weight management, bereavements, anxiety and more. I would ask them questions about their condition for them to explore, self-reflect and search inside themselves and help them find answers, and to listen more to their own feelings.

"If you don't listen to your feelings you can get psychosomatics (generally known as medically unexplained conditions, real and not faked) and make yourself feel sicker than you are by not listening to them."

The NHS states that “About 1 in 4 people who see a GP have physical symptoms that cannot be explained.” Hypnotherapy is not usually available on the NHS, and GPs may refer people for talking therapies.

A ex-service user said: "Lina, thanks for your help, I’m very close to my ideal weight now. You don't know how much you helped change my life and outlook".

Another added: "Lina is an amazing hypnotherapist. She helped me get rid of a lot of the negative emotion which I have been holding onto for years, also to focus on my back injury.

"I'm feeling so much better, more positive and optimistic about the future. If you're nervous about hypnotherapy just give Lina a try, she makes you feel completely at ease. I definitely 100% recommend."

Lina does not have to be in the same room and sessions can be over the phone or via video calls. She said: "It's about empowering people to take back control of their life, to make the right decisions and releasing emotional blockers.

"We help people change their perceptions of stories and trauma and you come out healed. It’s not about putting suggestions in your mind like on TV but we will discuss, debate and self explore. You have sports psychologists and hypnotherapists, which come under different names and footballers and celebrities use them".

For information visit Happy-Wellbeing HERE

Receive top stories on everything going on in Merseyside including events, shopping and food and drink through our newsletter by signing up here

Get a free National Trust pass worth up to £50 for your family day out this spring