Moving Minds Forward

About Moving Minds Forward

Most people know something's wrong. They just don't know why or what to do about it. Hosted by Gary Johannes , Solution focused hypnotherapist, founder of Inspired To Change, and senior lecturer at CPHT. Moving Minds Forward is a podcast about mental health, the brain, and what genuinely helps people change. One condition per episode. Anxiety, depression, panic, sleep, stress, trauma, OCD, overthinking, confidence and more, explored through honest conversation, grounded in neuroscience and current research. Some episodes are educational. Some include guests sharing their own experience of moving forward. No jargon. No blame. No dwelling on the past. Just straight answers about why the brain does what it does and what actually helps. Because people aren't broken. Sometimes the brain just gets stuck in patterns it learned to survive. And the brain can learn something different.

Publisher

Gary Johannes

Category

health & fitness · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 May 2026

Latest episode

20 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

25 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   20 Oct 2026

   Addiction and the Brain: Why You Can’t Just Stop (And What Actually Helps)

   Nobody chooses addiction. It starts as relief: a drink that takes the edge off, a joint that quietens a busy head, a bet that makes a grey Tuesday feel like something. Then one day it isn’t a choice any more. In this episode of Moving Minds Forward, solution-focused hypnotherapist Gary Johannes explains what’s actually happening in the brain when addiction takes hold. It covers why willpower so often fails on its own, and what helps people break the cycle for good. If you’ve been trying to sort this out on your own, this one’s for you. In this episode: What addiction is, from alcohol, weed and cocaine to gambling, food and screens How dopamine and the brain’s survival system hijack your choices Why ordinary life starts to feel flat The stress bucket, and why alcohol blocks the drain What keeps the cycle going: rehearsal, tolerance, secrecy and shame What actually helps: the solution-focused approach, the three pillars, and how hypnotherapy fits One simple thing you can try the next time an urge hits People aren’t broken. The same brain that learned this pattern can learn something different. Want support? Inspired to Change has a nationwide network of solution-focused hypnotherapists across the UK. Find your nearest therapist and book a free initial consultation at https://inspiredtochange.biz (https://inspiredtochange.biz) Important: If you drink heavily every day or depend on benzodiazepines, don’t stop suddenly. Speak to your GP or your local drug and alcohol service first. If you’re struggling or having thoughts of harming yourself, call Samaritans free on 116 123, any time, or 999 in an emergency. Subscribe for a new episode on a different condition each week. What’s going on? What’s keeping it going? And what actually helps? #Addiction #AddictionRecovery #MentalHealth #Hypnotherapy #Neuroscience #MovingMindsForward

2. 

   4 Oct 2026

   Imposter Syndrome Symptoms: Why High Achievers Feel Like Frauds (with Dawn Ibbetson)

   Imposter syndrome symptoms don't look like low confidence, they look like success that never feels earned. In this episode, Dawn Ibbetson, who led global IT teams across time zones while convinced she'd be "found out," joins Gary to explain what's actually happening in the brain, and what helped her stop wearing the mask. Dawn calls herself the swan, calm and capable on the surface, panicking underneath. First in, last out, no lunch breaks, constantly trying to prove she belonged in the room. Not because she wasn't good enough. Because no amount of evidence ever felt like enough. In this conversation, Dawn and Gary get into: – What imposter syndrome actually is, and why it has nothing to do with ability – Why it hit harder for Dawn in a male-dominated corporate world – What's happening in the brain when the "found out" feeling fires and why the amygdala can't tell the difference between real danger and being seen – How imposter syndrome and burnout fed each other, and which one came first – The one small action that starts to break the cycle (it's smaller than you think) – What an ordinary working day looks like for Dawn now, boundaries and all Somewhere between a quarter and a third of high achievers deal with imposter syndrome symptoms at some point. 94% have never said it out loud. If that's you, you're not the exception, you're just one of the many who hasn't spoken about it yet. One condition per episode. What's going on, what's keeping it going, and what actually helps. Dawn Ibbetson is a solution-focused hypnotherapist with Inspired to Change, based in our Chelmsford clinic, and works with individuals and corporate teams on imposter syndrome, burnout, and stress. Find your nearest Inspired to Change therapist and book a free consultation: https://inspiredtochange.biz (https://inspiredtochange.biz) Subscribe for more episodes of Moving Minds Forward. #ImposterSyndrome #MentalHealth #SolutionFocusedHypnotherapy #MovingMindsForward #Burnout

3. 

   27 Sept 2026

   Fear of Flying: Why Your Brain Panics on a Plane and How to Overcome It

   That heavy thunk as the cabin door closes. That's the sound your fear has been waiting for because that's the moment the choice is gone. If you've turned down a trip you wanted to go on, driven two days rather than fly two hours, or spent the fortnight before a flight with a knot in your stomach, this episode is for you. You're not weak, you're not dramatic, and you're not alone. Around one in ten people in the UK have a fear of flying, and a quarter of adults feel some anxiety about getting on a plane. In this episode of Moving Minds Forward, Gary Johannes takes the fear of flying apart the way he takes every condition apart: what's going on, what's keeping it going, and what actually helps. In this episode: Why fear of flying is often not about the plane at all, but about losing control of yourself in a place you can't walk out of The smoke detector in your brain that can't tell a fire from burnt toast Why the facts don't help in the moment — your survival brain can't read a safety record, only your heartbeat Why you don't need a bad flight to develop the fear, and where it usually comes from instead The stress bucket: why fear of flying is often the symptom and an overflowing life is the cause How avoidance gives instant relief and makes the fear grow Why rehearsing the disaster in your head means you've flown that nightmare a hundred times before you reach the airport What actually helps: positive interaction, positive action, positive thinking, and the breathing switch that talks straight to the alarm What hypnotherapy really is (and isn't) and what Stanford brain scans show it does One thing to say to yourself the next time the dread rises The fear was learned. What's learned can be unlearned. Gary Johannes is a solution-focused hypnotherapist, founder of Inspired to Change, and senior lecturer at CPHT Hypnotherapy Training. He left school at 14, joined the RAF at 16, spent 30 years in sales and hospitality, retrained in his late 40s and completed an MSc in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health at King's College London at 60. Want help with your fear of flying? Inspired to Change has solution-focused hypnotherapists across the UK, in person and online. It's worth starting well before your trip. Find your nearest therapist and book a free initial consultation: inspiredtochange.biz (https://inspiredtochange.biz) If panic is showing up in everyday life, not just on the plane, please speak to your GP. Chapters 00:00 Gary's story and the Moving Minds Forward approach 00:00 The woman who drove to France, the man with the 7am whisky 00:00 The cabin door closes: what you're actually feeling 00:00 What fear of flying really is — and why it's often about the feelings, not the flight 00:00 What's happening in your brain: the smoke detector 00:00 What causes it: learned fear, claustrophobia, and the stress bucket 00:00 What keeps it going: avoidance, rehearsal and body-watching 00:00 What actually helps: the three pillars 00:00 What hypnotherapy actually is 00:00 One thing to say when the dread rises 00:00 You are not broken #FearOfFlying #Aerophobia #MovingMindsForward #SolutionFocusedHypnotherapy #MentalHealthPodcast #FlyingAnxiety #HypnotherapyForFearOfFlying #InspiredToChange #GaryJohannes https://inspiredtochange.biz/phobias/agoraphobia/ (https://inspiredtochange.biz/phobias/agoraphobia/)

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Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

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