I wish I had discovered Hypnotherapy to help me in early motherhood. I used it for birthing but did not realise how it could support me further. The sleep deprivation is such a shock when you first become a mother, and this is an issue that can last long after returning to work, meaning that we are running on empty, resulting in stress, lack of confidence and many other frustrating issues stop us from flourish at work and being happy at home.  What we all want is  “to sleep better, feel calmer and be your best self.” so today’s interview with Kim Palmer is very special as her new app Clementine offers just that. 

Hi Kim, welcome to No Mum Is An Island. I am a great believer that no mum (or dad) should have to do everything herself, we can’t possibly know it all, and we need all the support we can get, there is a wealth of information out there to help us upgrade our parenting experience, to make our lives easier and this website is a hub for just that!  We love that you have upgraded your life by using your own mental health journey to support other working mums cope through making Hypnotherapy more accessable. 

You have been on your own mental health journey can you share with us what happened? 

I’ve come to realise that mental health is something we all have, just like physical health. But for most of my adult life I paid zero attention to mental health. I spent years being a perfectionist, a people pleaser, a workaholic, highly ambitious with low self esteem. I was also massively obsessed with climbing the corporate ladder.

Five years ago, when I was pregnant with my first son. Rather than slowing down at work, I pushed forward even harder. I was trying to secure a promotion before I left for maternity leave and I ended up having a panic attack one day at work in front of my colleagues and an agency we worked with. This was incredibly traumatic for me. I placed all of my self worth on being good at my job. Which I now realise was incredibly unhealthy.

This panic attack was the first of many. I began to lose my confidence at work, then in everyday situations with my friends and family. I was having panic attacks all the time.  I was then made redundant whilst on mat leave so I was trying to find a new job, which is really tough when your confidence is at zero.

To cut a long story short, I decided I needed help. I tried therapy but that didn’t work and then a friend introduced me to hypnotherapy and after just one session I felt like I had made the first step in my recovery. I still have anxiety and panic attacks. But I know how to work through these feelings better than ever so that they don’t stop me living my life.

Hypnotherapy

It is amazing you found such a powerful tool to support yourself. Can you tell us about the Clementine app and how your discoveries can help others? 

When I found hypnotherapy, honestly I was astounded at how well it worked. My therapist recorded our sessions so that I had them on my phone which was ace because I could then listen to them all the time. I quickly realised that the few sessions I had recorded help me to get to sleep, get back to sleep when my son woke me up, help me take a nap in the day, prep for a big presentation. It was amazing.

When I decided to stop climbing the corporate ladder and start a business (that is a whole other story) I couldn’t stop thinking about this idea of helping others with their sleep and confidence. I then started to speak to a lot of women at my work about what kind of everyday challenges they were facing and when I opened up about my feelings of anxiety and not always feeling confident – they all did too. All of them.

And what also became clear is that many had tried meditation and had felt like failures as they weren’t able to do it. This is why hypnotherapy works so well for people who are stressed and frazzled. It’s a lean back not lean in experience and so you can relax, unwind and it still works.

Hypnotherapy

The voices in the app are all experts, how did you find who these people and what was it you were looking for in them? 

Georgia Foster is the voice behind the majority of the sessions for sleep, confidence, de-stress. She was the therapist who helped me when I was in my deep pit of anxiety and panic attacks.

The newest therapist we have is Hazel Gale and she is a cognitive hypnotherapist. She has recorded all of the ‘body’ sessions we have in our new premium section.

When I’m looking for a therapist there are a few key criteria that I’m looking for:

  • The voice – is it a relatable voice that sounds more like a best friend than a therapist.
  • Their experience with the subject matter – have they had their own experience of anxiety, body image, stress etc. This is super important as it allows them to be incredibly empathetic and get right into the shoes of all the women we are trying to cater the app too.
  • Their use of language – they need to be able to speak plain and simple English. This is paramount – we don’t want formal or over complicated words and language, no use of magical type words. Everyday language is what we are after so that it can connect and resonate with women.
  • Do they have a passion for our mission and believe in Clementine

Tell us your biggest challenge in creating the app? 

It’s has been and remains money. I have such a clear vision for how Clementine can develop and support more women. But I just don’t have the money to support my vision and plans. Investment is proving tricky. But I’m working on it.

Share what is next for Clementine? 

The next step is trying to secure a big wod of cash so that we can scale Clementine and reach more women. It’s amazing that we have over 60k women in our community. But there are millions of women who are all struggling with sleep, anxiety, low self-esteem and stress. We want to help them.

What advice would you give to other parents who want to create a business sharing what they have learned to support other parents? 

Before you jump to a solution for what your business could be – make sure that you think long and hard about a) the problem you are solving – is this a problem, is it a problem for enough people to create a viable business, are you really passionate about solving this problem, is your solution the best way to solve the problem.  Then go for it.

You can download Clementine App Here, read the inspiring blog and learn more about Hypnotherapy HERE and follow on Instagram HERE