The aim of this blog is to dispel some of the myths out there about hypnotherapy. I’ve had a few people say to me, “Oh my god you do hypnotherapy? That would really scare me the fact that you have no control over your mind”. Unfortunately, the media have done little to dispel myths around hypnotherapy. Let’s face it, watching a TV show where the public are supposedly being made to cluck like chickens does not do much for the profession at large. Rest assured that making you cluck like a chicken is not on my agenda as a hypnotherapist and actually the fact is you have complete control over your mind during hypnosis!
Did you know that 80% of the time you are in an altered state? Being in an altered state is as natural as being wide awake or fast asleep. Whether you like it or not you are always open to suggestion. How many times have you found yourself thinking about paying that bill, or taking that exam, or asked yourself will I be able to sleep tonight, or how can I avoid eating those sweets? The list goes on!
Did you know that what you are focusing on in your mind is in fact hypnosis?
Our internal world works on the same emotions as our external world. In our minds, we can see, feel and hear. Think for a moment and focus inside and remember where you were the last time you were on the beach. Who were you with and how did you feel?
For you to be able to do that you needed to be in an altered state of mind and focus inside. That is how easy hypnosis is. The problem is that we do this with things we do not want. Hypnotising yourself to achieve something that you want can be the hard part.
Think about what it is you do want, not what you don’t want. For example, if you want to lose weight you need to focus on what you DO need to do such as what foods to eat, eating slowly, smaller portions, plan your foods. If you focus on what you don’t want to eat like sweet things, snacks and big portions, this will drive you to eat more of those things because that is what you are thinking about.
If you want to pass that exam, focus on what you need to do. Be calm, confident that you have studied and learnt your subject. It will be easy to recall your knowledge if you are prepared and calm. If you focus on failing you may well fail.
If you were to write a list now of the things you would like to change and how you react to the situation now, how you feel, think and what you are doing and get another piece of paper and write your goal and all the things you need to do to achieve your goal, what would be different? How would you look, feel and think – all the good things about your goal.
If for example, you wrote that you want to be less anxious and you grew anxious feelings that would not be good. Think how you would feel if you were not anxious, calm maybe?
Start thinking about all the positive things on your list and start visualising it as if it was already happening! The more positive you are the quicker you will reach your goal!
Over lock down I went through some notes from my first year on the hypnotherapy course I did 5 years ago. I had written where I wanted to be in 5 years time in relation to my career and I am exactly where I planned to be. I was absolutely astounded at what I had written even down to the amount of clients I wanted. To think we have had lock down over the last few months and I have still managed to achieve that goal is pretty amazing I think. The power of your mind is immense! The more you focus on your goals and what you do want to achieve the less those negative thoughts will come in.
So you see hypnotherapy is not about losing control of your mind it is about taking back that control and understanding the simple method that divides those that are successful and those that are not so successful.
I have seen hypnotherapy work for so many clients who have been scared to fly, have fears and phobias that are affecting their every day lives, anxiety, depression, weight loss, all you need to do is be open to the possibility of hypnosis and recognise that it is nothing mystical, and is in fact a natural state of being. The fact you are in some level of hypnosis 80% of the time anyway I hope dispels those myths.
If you would like to book a session or even have a no obligation chat please feel free to get in touch. (For some clients I recommend counselling first if the issues you present are more deeply rooted).