Hypnosis is a very natural state which all of us have experienced at one time or another. The hypnotic state (what scientists call the Alpha state) is the transitional state between the waking state (Beta state) and the sleeping state (Theta state). The Alpha state is a corridor to the subconscious mind. In the Alpha state, one’s stress hormones decrease and one is more open to positive and beneficial suggestions. Hypnosis can be an amazingly effective tool to achieve more of the potential that we all possess. It can be used to improve a person’s general functioning, making a dramatic difference in lifestyle, success, and feeling of well-being.

Hypnosis is not sleep, loss of consciousness, or loss of control to another person. It will not manipulate you to act against your religious, moral or political values. It is a shift in consciousness that increases awareness and heightens therapeutic suggestibility. People are often surprised to find that when using hypnosis, they remember everything that is said, as well as everything that happens.

If you choose to use hypnosis, you will be in control at all times, and cannot be induced to do or say something that you do not otherwise want to do or say. Perhaps the best definition of hypnosis is “a heightened state of focal awareness or absorption”. When we use hypnosis, we are inducing what is called a trance — a naturally occurring phenomenon that many people experience frequently. It is much like daydreaming. It is a state we enter into many times throughout the day… when reading, watching television, driving a car, or meditating.

 

A hypnotist uses hypnosis to enable the client to achieve a focused state of mental, physical and emotional relaxation.

When in hypnosis, the conscious mind (that busy, critical, analytical part of the mind) takes a rest. Hypnosis allows people to tap into the storehouse of information that lies in the subconscious (sometimes referred to as the unconscious) mind and make positive changes to thought patterns, habits or the effects of traumatic incidents that are having a negative impact either mentally or physically

Hypnosis can be likened to the feelings we experience just before waking completely from sleep or just as we drift off to sleep. Some people say it feels like daydreaming. When in hypnosis, people experience a state of complete mental, physical and emotional relaxation. In itself, this is a very healing state. Dr. Milton Erickson, a leading American Hypnotherapist, described the process of clinical hypnosis as “a free period in which individuality can flourish”.

Virtually anyone can be hypnotised – some more easily than others. Like anything else in life, the more people practice self-hypnosis, the more easily they can slip into that wonderful relaxed state. The depth that people reach in hypnosis varies between individuals. It is not necessary to achieve a very deep level of hypnosis to bring about change to habits or conditions that are having a negative impact either mentally, physically or emotionally.

Everyone can be hypnotised, all you need to do is follow your hypnotherapist’s instructions and have a reasonable attention span.

Scans of people in hypnosis show that the brain activation seen in hypnosis is quite different from that seen in normal waking or sleeping or in meditation.

No! This would be the most common misunderstanding associated with hypnosis. This is probably tied in with another misconception that the hypnotherapist has control over the client. This is not the case. People will not do or say anything under hypnosis that they would not do normally. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis – you cannot be hypnotised against your will. This fear probably comes from the TV shows and performances by stage hypnotists.

No. When in hypnosis, the conscious mind takes a rest. Hypnosis allows client and hypnotherapist to tap into the storehouse of information that lies in the subconscious (or unconscious mind) and makes positive changes to thought patterns, habits or the effects of traumatic incidents that are having a negative impact either mentally or physically.

Yes:

• Your ability to IMAGINE
• Your ability to REMEMBER
• Your CREATIVE abilities
• Your responsiveness to POSITIVE suggestions

This is hard question to answer accurately as every person and every condition is different, however as a general rule of thumb a condition or behaviour change may take 2 to 5 sessions.

If someone comes with a multitude of changes they wish to make, often this will take longer as you work on one issue at a time; sometimes it can be likened to peeling an onion until we get down to the underlining core issue whilst resolving each obstruction along the way.

No. What hypnosis does is to help bring out the best in you. This means that you will change by leaving behind any habits or baggage you no longer need or want and thereby become a stronger and happier person. Hypnosis will not put something into you that was not there in the first place. It just helps you to uncover your strong and good qualities, which you may not even have known you have.

Hypnosis is a normal, naturally occurring, healthy state of mind. There has never been a single documented case of harm resulting from the use of hypnosis.

Leslie Le Crone, psychologist and authority on hypnosis, states: “As to self-induction, many thousands have learned it and I have yet to hear a report of any bad results of its use”.

In his book Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Dr William S Kroger states: quote; “Platonof, an associate of Pavlov, who used hypnosis for over fifty years in over fifty-thousand cases, reports as follows: ‘We have never observed any harmful influences on the patient which could be ascribed to the method of hypno-suggestion therapy, or any tendency toward the development of unstable personality, weakening of the will, or pathological urge for hypnosis'”.

A Clinical Hypnotist can teach you to use self-hypnosis thereby giving you a life long skill to change behaviours, intrusive thoughts and emotions that no longer serve you.

 

Hypnosis can be utilized in the treatment of most disorders, whether mental or otherwise, where the relaxation response promotes the person’s attitude. For example, with a physical injury, the person’s mental resources can be enlisted to aid in managing the subsequent discomfort, allow for some rest and lessen the associated emotional trauma. It must be noted that Hypnosis is not a replacement for medical treatment from your doctor.

Hypnosis helps with:

• Business Performance
• Creativity/Concentration/Memory Enhancement
• Depression
• Eating Disorders
• Exam Nerves
• Fears, Worries and Phobias
• Grief and Loss
• Insomnia
• Mood and Anxiety Issues
• Nail Biting
• Obesity
• Pain Management
• Panic Attacks
• Relationship Issues
• Self-Esteem/Confidence Issues
• Self-Hypnosis
• Sexual Dysfunctions
• Sleep Disorders
• Smoking Cessation
• Sports Performance
• Stress Management
• Unwanted Habits
• Weight Management

Hypnosis can improve:

• Exam performance
• Memory
• Study Recall
• Sports Focus
• Public Speaking
• Personal Growth
• Pain Control
• Confidence
• Performance
• Assertiveness
• Childbirth
• Relaxation
• Communication
• Counselling
• Goal Setting
• Personal Power
• Releasing the Past

 

 

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is an approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in California, United States in the 1970s. NLP is extremely popular in the self-help, therapy, sports, education, coaching, performance and corporate worlds. NLP is often used in conjunction with hypnosis to achieve results quickly and effectively.