A professional dog trainer with several serious health conditions uses group hypnotherapy with her dogs, ducks and chickens to improve her mental health and chronic pain management - by falling asleep alongside her menagerie of pets. Joe Nutkins, 43, has tried everything from wearing human dog collars on her ankles to light therapy to manage her chronic pain from fibromyalgia, myalgic encephalomyelitis and an underactive thyroid.
Hypnotherapy has the most noticeable effect, which sends her and her pets to sleep, making them all more relaxed. Joe has missed out on many get-togethers with her loved ones because of being in so much pain.
The impact of the debilitating pain means that for the last ten years, Joe has felt like a part of her personality has been missing. She lives in Harwich, Essex with her husband, Jon, 43, an HGV driver, and their pet ferret, hamster, house duck, two parrots, three dogs, four cockerels, nine quails, 25 chickens and 30 ducks.
