As a clinical hypnotist, I am in the business of empowerment. I use hypnosis with my clients to help them change their perception of events, to unlearn unwanted habits, and to build better coping strategies and healthier automatic behaviors. It’s not that what they’ve been doing all along is wrong, it’s just that the way they've been doing it isn't working for them anymore. Using hypnotic suggestions is like installing updated information in your subconscious mind, introducing new ideas that create new patterns and behaviors.
What is Hypnosis?
The myths and misconceptions that surround hypnotherapy often stem from people’s ideas about stage hypnotism as well as what they see in movies and on television. In reality, stage hypnosis is basically an interactive bit of theater, and has about as much in common with clinical hypnosis as television and Hollywood movies have with real life.
The fact is, hypnosis is a clinically proven neurological phenomenon that has valid uses in managing the symptoms of many common conditions, from chronic pain to digestive issues, stress and anxiety to memory and cognition. Simply put, hypnosis is a state of highly focused attention or concentration that is often associated with relaxation and heightened suggestibility. While in hypnosis many people are much more open to helpful suggestions than they usually are.
There are many different types of hypnosis. All of them involve accessing the subconscious mind in some way and introducing a new way of doing things. Two of the most commonly used methods are waking hypnosis and the hypnotic trance. The hypnotic trance that we are most familiar with uses language and directed instruction to bring the client to a deep state of relaxation and focused attention to access the subconscious mind and give helpful suggestions for change. Waking hypnosis uses specific language techniques to get to the subconscious while the client is fully awake and alert. Self-hypnosis is a method of bringing yourself into a hypnotic state and giving yourself suggestions.
Hypnosis is powerful, versatile, efficient, and effective. It can be used as a tool for physical healing as well as emotional healing and growth. There are no side effects, and it is completely safe and natural. Hypnosis uses your own feelings and imagination to motivate changes, build better options, better strategies, and take all these new behaviors and make them so automatic it becomes as if that's just how it's always been.
The Hypnotic Process
Change is a process. Nothing is built, torn down, or rebuilt overnight, and a single session of hypnosis may not produce the type of results most people are looking for. Like everything else, there are some objections to this rule. For example, most smokers are tobacco free after the very first hypnosis session, and subsequent sessions are used to build up resources like stress management and appetite control if desired. Most often, a person will find the greatest benefit in a series of hypnosis sessions to create small, reasonable changes that you can absolutely live with, resulting in permanent and pleasant changes.
Change is a process, though when using hypnosis repetition is not needed to create permanent changes. You can think of it as the difference between training and programming.
When you train someone to do something, you are using repetition to learn a pattern, habit, or behavior. We can use repetition to train the control center of the mind that a certain activity, feeling, or reaction is desirable and eventually, with enough repetition, the control center will accept the change and make it permanent. This method is effective, and the results are usually permanent, like learning to ride a bike. But it takes a long time, and can be difficult when trying to change habits, reactions, fears, and behaviors.
When you program something, like a computer, you are writing the new behavior, habit, or pattern directly into the control center. When you download a new app on your phone you don’t have to train the phone to use the app and perform the functions. It just happens automatically from now on. Hypnosis allows you to program you mind in the same way
Why You Should See a Hypnotist
You don’t have to be sick or injured or have a bad habit that you need to quit. Many people use hypnosis to improve an already great life. Others use it as a way to relax and reenergize. Hypnosis can, and should, be used to help keep you mentally and physically healthy, much like meditation, exercise, and yoga.
The most frequent uses of clinical hypnosis include stress and anxiety management, weight management, smoking cessation, and sleep issues. It is also effective in helping to treat medical conditions such as IBS, fibromyalgia, diabetes, and high blood pressure. In many cases, hypnosis is the best first choice for chronic pain management.
Hypnosis is used by students and business executives to improve confidence and performance. Professional and recreational athletes use hypnosis to hone their skills and perfect their game. If you have trouble getting the perfect swing or shot, hypnosis can help you develop the focus and muscle memory you'll need to succeed.