Hypnosis is a pleasurable state within a controlled environment where it is easy to communicate with subconscious mind. Hypnotherapy is one such tool utilised to negotiate with subconscious mind to a desired outcome.
It is a common state from which everybody automatically flows in an out of, from time to time. It’s like when you get engrossed listening to good music or when you read a good book or are day dreaming, when everything around seems surreal and reality fades off, as your thoughts take you to a different world of fantasies. This is a form of trance where you are still conscious, but your consciousness is temporarily altered, somewhere between being asleep and being awake.
In fact, we all go through a similar stage just before we go to sleep. When you are being hypnotised, the Hypnotist guides you into the same kind of trance state called a hypnotic trance, giving you a very pleasant feeling, a feeling of serenity and deep relaxation. Despite the accepted belief, that when you are hypnotized you are not asleep or unconscious, your eyes will be closed, but you can hear and feel and even speak. In fact, your sensitivities are further heightened and you tend to be more attentive and alert.
What one experiences, during hypnosis is a personal thing, as different people have different experiences with hypnosis. Basically, it is like being in a day dream, giving you a very calm and pleasant feeling. But some people may experience feeling heavy and some people may experience feeling very light and floaty, while some people may feel nothing at all, others may feel a deep sense of relaxation. Often the eyelids may flutter even if they are closed or there may be a sensation of tingling in some parts of the body. For most people, entering hypnotic trance is a very gradual process, but getting into the mode of relaxation is an important requirement of hypnosis. It can be a disappointing experience for some people, as they expect to be charmed in some sort of magical spell, but there is no such weird feeling in hypnosis. In fact, most people will not feel anything and will not realize that they are being hypnotized, as they will not experience the sudden loss of consciousness, as they may have anticipated and might think they are not hypnotized at all.
It is necessary, to be realistic about the hypnotic process and understand that it is a gradual drifting process of relaxation. If you keep thinking that you are not ‘going under’ during the induction into hypnosis, then this mental interference itself, will disrupt the whole process. What is required, is that you need to let go of your mental tensions and focus on the Hypnotherapist’s voice, so that he or she can help you to relax.
When the body and the conscious mind have been relaxed adequately, the normal barriers to the subconscious part of the mind also become relaxed, and the subconscious becomes receptive to positive suggestion.
The aim of Hypnotherapy is to bring about beneficial transformations to certain problems which originate from the mind.
Hypnotherapy has many branches and has many uses; like it is used to overcome many addictive habits, calming nerves, overcoming fears and phobias, overcome stress and stress related ailments. Though it is mostly well known, to help people overcome addictions like smoking, it also helps people to strengthen self-control and boost self-controlconfidence.
In case of complex problems, where there are deeper psychological indications, Hypnotherapy can be used in an analytical capacity, to give an insight into the subconscious triggers, which can cause many unexplained symptoms.
Very specialized branches of Hypnotherapy can even deal with pain relief where it is used as a natural anaesthetic in surgical operations, or to help with childbirth.
Generally, Hypnotherapists provide you with a list of specific problems they treat and some individual therapists may specialize in treatment of specific area of interest to them.
A positive suggestion is a positive statement or command given (or suggested) to the subconscious mind. A positive suggestion can be accepted and stored in the subconscious mind, only in a relaxed state of hypnosis, where it becomes receptive and can subsequently act upon it.
For example, if a positive suggestion that you are now a non-smoker is left in the sub conscious mind of a smoker, the person will no longer wish to smoke. But the positive suggestion would be effective only if the smoker really wants to give up the habit.
In short, positive suggestions can re-programme the mind to bring about beneficial changes, provided you truly have the will and desire to bring about that change in yourself.
The mind is made up of the CONSCIOUS and the SUBCONSCIOUS. All the day to day conscious thinking is done by the CONSCIOUS mind, which is at the superficial level of your mind.
All the unconscious actions are the things you do automatically are done by the SUBCONSCIOUS mind, which is at the deeper level of your mind, from where all your automatic responses are activated, as it stores your habits and your habitual fears. All our memories are stored in the subconscious mind and is responsible for making you the person you are today.
There are several methods to induce hypnosis and different type of hypnotists. Example, the, Stage Hypnotists and Hypnotherapists have different aims of hypnosis and employ different methods to induce hypnosis.
While some Hypnotherapists, ask you to like to gaze into their ‘piercing eyes, some others might ask you to focus at a swinging watch, or on a revolving spiral, or some other object. It just indicates that there are several techniques and a hypnotherapist may prefer his own method to induce hypnosis.
Most Hypnotherapists use relaxation techniques and you are also likely to be asked to focus your attention on your breathing or to imagine various things or may be to start with some form of fascination. The therapist is likely to speak in a tone or in a way, during the induction process, to enable you to calm down and gradually drift into a pleasant state of hypnotic trance, so that you feel relaxed and you feel a sense of well-being. The therapist is likely to use calming words like “relax,” “deeper,” and “sleep” or “sleepy” not with the intention to put you to sleep, but merely to send messages to your brain to help you relax and feel at peace.
Hypnosis is not a state of being unconscious, but merely a state of having your consciousness altered. In fact, during hypnosis you remain clear and focused and are likely to remember most of what was said to you.
Some people are very easy to hypnotise, while others take longer. Most people remain in a light state of hypnotic trance, while a few people naturally go to much deeper levels. Sometimes people drift in and out of lighter and deeper states. All this is perfectly normal. Though deep states of hypnosis are not required for successful therapy.
No, your co-operation is required for being hypnotised.
Most people can be hypnotised, except for young children, mentally abnormal and those who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. But people need to cooperate with the process, for those who show any kind of resistance to the process, might have difficulty in entering hypnosis.
The people who respond best to hypnosis are those who have a reasonable amount of intelligence and are capable of concentration, imagination and mental dexterity.
No. You will know what is going on and you will retain your intelligence and your self-control. Hypnotherapy requires you and the therapist to work together in a spirit of co-operation, to help you to control your own mind. For Hypnotherapy to be successful, you need to be comfortable with what is going on in the session. You can reject any suggestion with which you did not agree to, or you could be shocked out of hypnosis, if anything that was suggested to you was against your beliefs or moral convention.
Stage Hypnotists and Clinical Hypnotherapists have different aims and employ different methods. Successful stage hypnosis, requires willing volunteers and stage Hypnosis merely helps people volunteering to lift the inhibitions which they may ordinarily have against performing.
Hypnotherapy is not dangerous and in skilled hands Hypnotherapy is a proven healing aid, where no drugs is ever to be used and there are no unwanted side effects. We hope we have been able to throw sufficient light on hypnosis and that you now have a clearer understanding of Hypnosis and it’s uses.
In addition to the information we have given, we will answer any additional questions you may have
Hypnotherapy finds its applications in all walks of life, to name a few:
- Eliminating Addiction (Smoking, Drinking or any other form of Addiction)
- Emotions management (Depression, Anger, Negative Thinking, Low Self-esteem, Low Self-confidence)
- Fear and Phobia Management
- Stress Management
- Pain Management
- Back Pain
- Asthma
- Anxiety
- Behavioural Issues
- Relationship issues
- Sexual Issues
- Skin Disorders
- Stage Fright
- Study Habits
- Weight Management
- Allergies
- Trauma and Grief Management
- Belief System related issues – Money, Love, Misfortune