Hypnosis and hypnotherapy explained

You may be surprised to discover that hypnosis is a regular state for most people, and can occur several times a day. Think about what happens when you are watching television, for example. At first, you are aware of your surroundings and whether anyone else is in the room with you. However, after 15 minutes or so, you can be so absorbed in what’s happening in the programme that you’ve become quite unaware of your surroundings as well as the presence of another person as well as any thoughts that concerned you 15 minutes earlier. This altered state is hypnosis; the same happens when you are absorbed in reading a book, making something or simply daydreaming.

Hypnosis is a safe and natural way for you to relax into a state of mind that enables you to focus, tuning out any distracting sounds or thoughts.

Hypnotherapy brings beneficial, therapeutic change by using the altered state that hypnosis creates; it allows access to the subconscious mind, where we store all our habits and responses that we have learned through experience. When the conscious part of the mind is totally relaxed, the subconscious becomes more accessible, and so it is possible to address issues like phobias, negative habits and other problems at their roots.

Types of Hypnotherapy

Suggestion therapy is very effective for such issues as smoking cessation, nerves, raising self esteem etc. If the problem is straight forward, 2 or 3 sessions may suffice.

Analytical therapy is an ‘uncovering’ technique, appropriate for more complex problems like panic attacks, phobias, sexual problems etc. The more complex cases are likely to take 6 – 8 sessions, tho’ individuals do vary. Generally, the maximum number of sessions would be 12.

NLP – neuro linguistic programming – allows you to experience ‘Aha!’ moments, helping you to make sense of aspects of your life, including events from the past and goals for the future. It involves actively using techniques to gain clearer perspectives, make positive choices, and requires that you practise the techniques that you learn. NLP techniques are usually carried out without the aid of hypnosis.

EFT – emotional freedom technique – is one of the meridian therapies and is still pretty new. The principle is that all negative emotions are caused by a disruption in the body’s energy system. We think of a problem like a log-jam which blocks energy pathways (think of the lines of energy you might see on an acupuncture model). The practitioner helps you clear these pathways via tapping sequences.