It’s a question that always comes up ....
Thanks to my stage ‘breatheren’ even after I have explained that hypnotherapy is nothing like stage hypnosis, and is actually a natural ocurance where you the subject has all the control, people are obviously still wondering when I am going to trigger them into behaving as if they are strippers or drunk etc etc. Well folks I’ve got news for you – you don’t have to bend to the will of the stage hypnotist if you don’t want to and when you come and see a Clinical Hypnotherapist you are in for an experience completely removed from the unfortunate best known example of hypnosis (i.e. stage shows)
Clinical Hypnotherapy is so far removed from stage hypnosis. Hypnotherapy is not a trick and actually has a long track record of assisting people to deal with various problems (right up to hypno anaesthetic). For this reason I am more than willing to explain to people what it's like.
When working with me the first thing I will have you do is to relax by way of a short relaxation exercise. It sounds easy but in today we pay mere lip service to real relaxation as life is one big deadline, usually when we are stuck in traffic. The word ‘relaxation’ usually conjures up an image of a good meal or a glass of wine but it’s more than that - the skill we neglect the most in relaxation is breathing. The relaxation is a bit of homework I will have you do between sessions and an activity that you will benefit from even if you do not follow through with any actual Hypnotherapy.
Now you’re current wondering what I am going on about… how can breathing, something we do instinctively be considered a skill? Proper breathing is a skill as when we are stressed our breathing can become become shallow and too fast. And it's a vicious cycle as breathing fast and shallow activates our sympathetic nervous system, which produces adrenaline, which brings on more and more stress and on we go until the physical symptoms build up to such an extent that the stress makes us ill. Try it now ….. concentrate on your breathing now. Not great big breaths. Just deep enough to be comfortable, and, most importantly, nice and slow. Count in for five, hold for five and breathe out for five. Breathe from your belly. Even thirty seconds of this can make you feel better.
And what does this do when you breath properly? Quite simply you relax, and when you relax your brain calms down. It stops being busy. And when it stops being busy it stops stressing out. When the brain is relaxed then with the correct suggestion the Hypnotherapist can guide you into the hypnotic state and talk to your subconscious (if you want them to). That is the key to Hypnotherapy - it's all about the hypnotherapist talking to the subconscious.
For example, say you want to lose weight. Your conscious mind knows that if you lose weight you will feel fitter, your clothes are going to fit better and this is going to make you feel happier. But your subconscious mind remembers just how much you enjoy fast food. You enjoy it A LOT and your subconscious is very persuasive. It’s a winner, it loves winning and getting it’s own way as it’s built up quite a track record over time as every enjoyable moment experienced eating burgers is stored in your subconscious. So what the Hypnotherapist does is reason with it in a very clever way, for example getting you to visualize looking at yourself in a mirror, imagining your reflection is fitter and slimmer than you and you know that your body is working to equal your new svelte reflection. Or get you to see the outfit you would like to buy when you loose a few kilos. This is because the subconscious responds and accepts this kind of reasoning best and you are replacing your love of burgers with a desire to be fitter and healthier. If you just tell it to don’t eat burgers, it will simply see that ‘don’t’ and take it as a ‘do’ and the next thing you will have the urge to run to your nearest burger joint. All the while your Hypnotherapist takes you on this journey, they will make sure you stay relaxed.
Clients are amazed at just how good it feels being in hypnosis with one telling me that after a 25 minute session they felt more rested and relaxed than after an evenings sleep. Having questioned a number of clients (both my own and others) the last majority say it's half-way between being awake and asleep. What ever your experience with Clinical Hypnotherapy (if you choose to take that route) you will hear everything that's being said and you are in total control. No ethical Hypnotherapist will tell you you're a naked alien from Mars and if they did you are more than likely to come out of hypnosis and starting asking them very hard questions.
So, next time you watch a stage hypnotist don't let it put you off hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy can help you.
Many thanks to Jo Wills at http://www.johypno.com/ for the inspiration for this article
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