What even is Hypnotherapy ?

What even is Hypnotherapy , and what can it do for me ? 

Two amazing questions which I too asked myself when I first came across the therapy. 

Perhaps if we start with what it isn’t, that will help us to get rid of all the smoke and mirrors so we can really get into the nitty gritty of it all. 

Hypnotherapy isn’t a magical art and Hypnotherapist are not magicians who trick you and your mind into doing things you wouldn’t want to do. That’s good to know I am sure ! I cannot count the number of times people tell me they are afraid of Hypnotherapy. I get where this fear has come from. The funny acts on the tv or at the holiday camps that traditionally have a person dancing around the stage doing something silly and seemingly completely out of control. Control is very much the barrier I find. People are scared of being out of control and rightly so . You wouldn’t get me up on the stage making a fool of myself I can tell you and I know how that all works. 

Here is the secret. Hypnotherapist, stage ones or otherwise, cannot make anyone do anything they wouldn’t normally do. It simply is not possible, so the trick I suppose, for the things you have seen as entertainment, is that they know how to choose those people in the crowd that already don’t care about playing the fool. These people like to be the centre of attention, and this means that when they are up on stage spinning around like a ballerina in front of roaring cheers, their subconscious mind is quite happy to play this out. This is where the myth has arisen I feel, that only certain people can go into hypnosis, because in this circumstance the people who don’t enter into hypnosis will be those, like myself, that don’t want to take part. If however, you were entering it for a different reason. To overcome your anxiety, just as an example , you are more invested in this and quite likely to enter into hypnosis. 

Notice here I use the word suggest. Regrettably for the profession today, Hypnotherapy traditionally was full of suggestion. The subconscious mind can be very open to suggestions. This is what advertising agents know, and how they get us to invest in new products that they suggest to us, with repetition , will enhance our life in some way. Our subconscious mind is picking up new information constantly which is why it is so important to be aware of what we subject ourselves to. This is a whole other blog which I am sure I will cover in the future, but research has shown that by suggesting less and empowering more, the changes that can be made in Hypnotherapy sessions is far more significant and long lasting and this is very much the role of a professional Hypnotherapist today. 

So far we know this. It isn’t magic, it isn’t suggestion, it involves the subconscious mind and anyone can go into hypnosis if they choose to. 

Lets revisit control. Hypnotherapy is the complete opposite of being out of control as people fear, it is in fact a place where you are given all the control you want. Control of how you feel and how you live your life is exactly what clients are supported to gain during a Hypnotherapy session. Logistically a session involves the client sitting with the therapist and the therapist inviting them to go into hypnosis. Hypnosis is, I find, hard to explain, not because I don’t know what it is, but because its quite variable between each person. Some say it’s the place between sleep and being awake. Some people say it is a certain brain wave where the subconscious mind is most active, but if we consider that the subconscious mind is able to take on information with our eyes wide open watching an advert on tv, then we don’t necessarily have to get to a state of complete sedation to communicate with the subconscious mind and make changes. 

What I always say is the best way to find out how it feels is to give it a go and with the reassurance, ( I hope) that it isn’t all of the things you thought it was. 

Now I have a car and I love that it can take me from A to B but I have no idea how it works so lets leave the workings and move on to the really interesting bit. What can be achieved in a Hypnotherapy session ? Abstract answer to this is anything you choose, but to help I will tell you some of the things that have happened for the clients I have worked with. My clients have overcome fears, fear of flying, moths, public speaking, being alone, even being out of control. Another hot topic has been anxiety, especially over the past two years and of course it comes in many forms but with their hypnotherapy sessions these people are no longer sitting feeling anxious and that’s amazing. A lot of people who come to see me have struggled with unhealthy eating habits their whole life but by working with the subconscious mind, where all these behaviours and beliefs about food are stored, the mind is able to change that all around and healthy choices are really easy to make. 

There is no age limit and there are no limits to what a person can achieve, if they want to. Choice and control is all yours for the taking. 

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