What is hypnotherapy?
A great number of people have misconceptions about what hypnotherapy is, what it isn’t, what it can achieve, and what it can’t. Today I’d like to clear that up with you by telling you what hypnotherapy is all about, and tell you how it can help you!
For a start hypnotherapy isn’t about the stage shows, which is stage hypnosis, and shortly I’ll explain why a hypnotherapist simply cannot make you squawk like a chicken or generally act like an idiot without your agreement.
So what is stage hypnosis all about, and why can they make people do weird things?
Well, if you imagine that in the audience for a stage hypnosis show and there’s 1000 people there, and say 90% of them actually want to be there and are up for a show, so that’s 900 left in the pot of potential candidates. Before the show the hypnotherapist will ask who is willing to come up on stage and make a fool out of themselves. Say for instance that 50% of them agree, so we’re left with 450. The hypnotist will then go through a series of susceptibility tests to see who will make the best volunteers and will select, say 50. Then those people will go through another series of hypnotic tests to see who really is “up for it” to determine the most susceptible, outgoing characters in the group. The rest will be sent back to the audience, and those on stage will be “primed” ready for the show. So a stage hypnotist will load the tables before the group even start acting like chickens or whatever they are asked to do. About 60 years ago governments experimented with hypnosis as a means of interrogation for captured enemy soldiers. After many studies they discovered that enemy soldiers could not be hypnotised to give up secrets! What this proved was that the person being hypnotised is still always in control at some level and cannot be made to do something that goes against their core beliefs. So now you know that we can’t make you squawk like a chicken, without your agreement, what can we do with hypnotherapy?
What can we do with hypnotherapy?
Now this is the exciting part, and get ready for a long winded answer……. anything you can imagine! Now I do have to say there are physical limitations. For instance if you’re wheelchair bound and you come to me saying “Can hypnosis help me win the 100 metres mens final at the Olympic Games?”, you’re going to have to expect a “No”! But, if you come to me and say “I’ve had this phobia of heights for 20 years, but I really, really want to climb a mountain, can you help?”. In that case the answer is a resounding “YES”. If you have a problem and you want a solution then hypnotherapy can help you massively!
How does hypnotherapy work?
So how does it work then Duncan? I’m glad you asked that. We use an hypnotic induction to get you into a state of deep relaxation, very similar to a state of deep meditation. Once there the concious mind is pretty much switched into a standby mode (just like your TV) and the unconcious mind is ready to listen deeply and openly to my suggestions. We then use a series of hypnotherapy techniques (like embedded commands, illusionary choice, and metaphors) to speak directly to your unconcious mind and change the belief programming that has been causing you problems. Now the great thing is here that you are always in control, and your unconcious mind will accept the new programming deeply and allow it to take effect immediately. I’m going to go into more depth about the unconcious mind, habits and how the brain learns in another blog, which will be coming your way very soon! The simple fact is that when I have experienced hypnotherapy as a client and when my clients have experienced hypnotherapy with me they sometimes don’t even know why they’ve changed. The question I’d like to ask you now is “Do you need to know why exactly you’ve changed?”, I mean “Do you need to know exactly how the electricity gets to your house to be able to switch on the lights?”, or “do you need to know how the TV signal gets beamed through the air in order to be able to watch your favourite soap opera?”.
We deal with phobias, fears, unwanted negative emotions, performance coaching, weight loss, stopping smoking, the list goes on and on!
So whatever your problem come and see us, or give us a call on 01342 842 098 or 07917 879 052, to discuss or send us an email to ask how we can help. We don’t charge for email advice, or telephone consultations because at the end of the day our focus is getting YOU to YOUR solution! What have you got to lose, apart from those old unwanted habits and fears?
