What is Hypnotherapy? What is it like to be Hypnotised?

Disappointment, addiction, fear, anxiety, guilt, unwanted habits, embarrassment, shame, depression, conflict, relationship difficulties, strange thoughts, recurring patterns, sexual difficulties, issues at work and poor self esteem are just some of the things that trigger us into realising that something is not right in our lives. However, when we take a closer look, it can be interesting to find that the unconscious mind, which contains all of life’s experiences to date, may have at least a significant role to play in the unpleasantness that goes with many of these negative experiences.

Within the subconscious mind are all of the elements which influence so much of where we are today. Even the slightest thought could be attributed to the goings on within our deeper mind. Much of the unconscious mind resides within the body. The body serves as a powerful memory, creating habitual thoughts, addictions and emotions, and our cognitive processes, such as our beliefs, become entwined in what our unconscious mind tells us. In order to make genuine and deliberate changes in life, it is these unconscious processes that need to be lifted and changed.

Hypnotherapy is an extremely natural, proven and safe means by which these changes can be so easily made. It is a state that people experience regularly, like when you find yourself staring off into space, or when you first wake up in the morning feeling a little groggy. These situations or words might not be precisely how you would describe it, but everyone experiences a trance state regularly.

Hypnotherapy has changed and evolved like any form of psychotherapy. Modern hypnotherapy is a process of collaboration between the therapist and client to achieve the desired outcomes. It can be surprising what can be achieved in a short period of time.

The Experience of Hypnotherapy

Nearly everyone has seen somewhere, usually on TV, a Stage Hypnotist invite people out on stage and get them do things they wouldn’t normally do. You probably find it all hard to believe. However, it is entirely authentic, as the people are all volunteers who have been guided into hypnosis. They are all awake, and probably very aware of what they are doing, despite how it all looks.

However, if one uses the word ‘trance’ to describe hypnosis, as Stephen Gilligan does in his book, Therapeutic Trances (1987), then one begins to get a better sense of what it might be all about. You see, trances have been used in most traditional cultures for as long as history can record. If you think of the Aboriginal Corroboree, there are trance like processes that occur with the repetitive musical sounds and beats that if listened closely to, may take one into an intensely focused state. Other cultures have similar rituals that in themselves can induce a trance like state.

Consequently, trance, or hypnosis, is a universal state. One that everyone can easily access through guidance from the skilled voice of the Hypnotherapist. Within this trance phenomenon, the emotional impact and potential for change is like no other therapeutic intervention out there.

Imagine a River

Imagine a river of strength that flows through from deep within your unconscious mind. In that river is all of your potential, strength, love and energy. Just like any life form, the energy propels you forward to grow and reach your potential. Unfortunately, people and circumstances around you affect this life river, creating floods and droughts that are experienced in the form of symptoms in the body/mind. These symptoms include bad habits, addictions, emotional responses, anxiety, laziness, depression, and so on. Imagine if the course of the river could be redirected to flow once again as it was designed, in a constant stream that made available all of the wonderful forces within the unconscious mind in a way that gave you control and even access to those resources to help you in a way you desire. Hypnosis can do this for you.

What is Hypnosis?

Hypnosis is a perfectly natural state that people enter and leave all the time. Now, this might surprise you, yes you, have indeed experienced an hypnotic state. If you think for a moment of a time when you were completely absorbed in something like a good book, a memory, an idea, or an emotion. These are all times when you were experiencing a form of trance. The often quoted example is when you are driving down the road and lose track of the journey because your mind has become absorbed in a thought. As a result, you might feel you don’t remember part of the journey, or you took the old way instead of the new way, or you were on automatic pilot for a period of time. These experiences are all evidence that you went into a trance at some point, albeit a light one.

What hypnosis is not:

It really isn’t surprising that people might become confused about whether they were hypnotised. It is probably quite a common question that people ask themselves after their first hypnotherapy session, “Was I hypnotised?” They might have seen people hypnotised and thought they were under some kind of spell or under the power of the Hypnotist. They might say to themselves, “Well, you couldn’t make me do that.” Well, of course no-one can make you do this or that. That is not what hypnosis is. You can also be very aware of yourself and everything around you when in hypnosis. You cannot really tell by any means, accept by your own subjective experience and the belief that this is what Hypnosis is and that you were hypnotised at all. This causes confusion for people, because they set themselves a standard of what it must be like to be hypnotised, or that something must happen, which is a standard in itself. But, that is not necessarily the case at all.

What is Hypnotherapy and How does it work?

Hypnotherapy is essentially psychotherapy in hypnosis. The kind of psychotherapy performed in hypnosis has been developed to help people in this relaxed state to change. The purpose of using hypnosis, and the reason it yields better results in a faster rate of time, is that is goes deeper into the mind. In hypnosis, your awarenesses increase and suddenly you know, or remember, or feel stronger and better, and happier. In fact, to rely on any description here would limit your potential, because that is what hypnosis does; it releases your potential to become the person you really want to be, with the habits, feelings and attitudes you were meant to have. Many people are truly amazed at what hypnosis can and has done for them. The real truth is in finding out what hypnosis can do for you.

How can Hypnotherapy change how you feel, behave or think?

Hypnotherapy utilises psychotherapeutic interventions. These interventions are designed to help you to get to what might be causing your problem, and make some changes to that. These changes are usually a processing or releasing of uncomfortable emotions, or an adding of positive emotions. They can also be a commitment at a subconscious level to changing behaviour and thinking.

People often think it all has to happen in the first or second session, however, this is very unrealistic, as you need time to get comfortable with hypnotherapy and your therapist. It takes time to do what is required, well. You might make changes in your first session, as most people do, however, for permanent change, further work is usually required.

How can I get the most out of Hypnotherapy?

While Hypnotherapy is a very successful approach to help people for all kinds of things, it should not be seen as a quick fix. This is a mistake many people make, and therefore, give up too easily. Many people will give their counsellor months or years, yet the Hypnotherapist might get one session to prove themselves. While this is understandable, given the way hypnotherapy is portrayed in society, it can lead to undue disappointment.

What to do…

1. It is best to look for the positive changes that do occur, albeit small, rather than an instant cure. You might have heard of someone who had a miracle cure with hypnotherapy, but most people change gradually.

2. Be patient with yourself and the process; it takes time to change.

3. Be honest and open with your therapist about the process, as there are many ways of doing hypnotherapy, and if one approach didn’t work, there are many more, as your therapist learns to adapt to your needs and style.

4. Be confident that Hypnotherapy will work, as if you find a good therapist, they will be able to help you find a resolution.

Hypnotherapy is generally a much faster therapeutic intervention to any other psychotherapy intervention, however, accept in the cases of addictions and smoking cessation, it is not an instant cure.

Jeremy has helped thousands of people to change with hypnotherapy. Sometimes it is nice to be surprised at how hypnotherapy can help you.