From Dr V S Green:

With yet another recent large study confirming that antidepressants/SSRIs appear to work largely by the 'placebo' effect, one wonders about the experiences of many prescribers in that patients do often seem to improve whilst taking these albeit in the medium to long term. I wondered whether the authors or other readers had an views on this subject? In particular what options do prescribers have now for mild/moderate depression?

From David Brannen:

I was wondering if you could explain something to me. As a big admirer of Richard Bandler I decided to buy your book which I am sure would benefit many GPs etc. I am not a medical professional myself, although I am an NLP practitioner and hypnotherapist. One of the things I like most about Richard Bandler is that he always emphasises that his work is about personal freedom so I was surprised when I read page 68 and your comments regarding conscious thought following a psychophysiological decision to act. I may have misunderstood what you were saying but it seems to me that according to Libet and Wegner we are being prompted to act by our unconscious mind.

As you had already spoken about our need for control over ourselves and our lives I was a little puzzled. I do not know what their research entailed but I do know there are other researchers who dispute what they say. If Libet and Wegner are correct then that makes me feel very stressful. Maybe I have read this wrong. I hope you can explain this to me because it seems to run counter to having control over your own life.

From Carol Ervine:

Hi, and congratulations on the book which is a treasure chest! This is my query about alternate nostril breathing: why is it important to breathe out first? The cross-over could still take place after the in-breath if the in-breath was first. And how important is the position of the fingers, especially having the index finger between the eyebrows?

I’m an outreach worker working with young adults with learning disabilities. I’ve been enjoying your book very much so far and have found many useful pieces of information. However, when I tried out asking: ‘What’s that like?’ when talking about a particular problem, my clients are unable to answer. I notice from their eye cues that they seem to be accessing internal dialog and kinesthetics, but cannot answer what the particular problem is ‘like’. Any tips on how to help people who have difficulties expressing themselves at the best of times to be able to communicate what is going on internally?