Hypnotherapy is sometimes feared, exploited and under-estimated. We have all seen stage hypnotists hypnotise people and make them do just about anything they ask them to and we all say “I’m not doing that”! But Hypnotherapy has helped many people in many ways, so it may be worth while reading on to see what it could do for you!
What is it?
Hypnosis is usually induced by the use of the therapist’s voice and focusing the mind on something specific. There is no form of unconsciousness and nobody can be made to do anything they don’t want to – if you run round clucking like a chicken then that’s because you want to – possibly having drunk six pints of beer or the equivalent!
A person in hypnosis is aware of everything happening and retains a full and accurate memory of everything afterwards. It’s simply a very comfortable relaxed state and everyone enters a similar state every day simply by day dreaming – when driving a car in a trance; when playing computer games; whenever you have time distortion i.e. when watching an enthralling film. Everyone can be hypnotised, with the exceptions of the truly mentally subnormal, very young children, and anybody under the influence of hard drugs or large quantities of alcohol.
Hypnosis is about working together so that the client can be empowered to create change in his or her life. Nobody can be forced to do anything against their will. So if your partner wants you to give up smoking, but you don’t, then hypnotherapy won’t work. However, it can be a very effective tool for a great many problems where psychological factors are involved.
What can’t it do?
It is generally accepted that all hypnosis is ultimately self-hypnosis. A hypnotherapist merely helps to facilitate your experience – hypnotherapy is not about being made to do things, in fact it is the opposite, it is about empowerment. If someone tells you they can hypnotise you to do something, ask them to hypnotise you to run naked down the high street, and when they can’t, ask them to stop making ridiculous claims!
What can it do?
Hypnotherapy in its clinical use is quite simply one of the most powerful devices for personal development and positive change. Why? Because it utilises the most powerful part of our creative potential – our imagination.
The mind controls our thoughts – good and bad – but can sometimes be tricked into believing things that are “not quite right” which then signals other parts of the body to react accordingly.
Hypnotherapy allows the hypnotherapist to ‘suggest’ positive thoughts to the mind to allay the negative thoughts that ‘creep in and take over’ or to provide motivation where the mind has put in blocks, i.e. lack of will power for weight loss or suddenly not being able to run that marathon quite as quickly.
Some people state how they have a feeling of having an inner fight, one half of them wanting one thing, i.e. to diet, and the other half of them wanting to eat compulsively. By relaxing the mind, it enables suggestion to be accepted by the subconscious so that it brings it in line with the conscious so both aspects of the mind are wishing to achieve the same objective.