Yes. Your mind naturally uses hypnotic states frequently.
What isn’t hypnotic if you spend enough time considering it…?
Hypnosis, hypnotism, hypnotherapy and hypnotic trance states are all natural phenomena. A person’s subconscious mind naturally goes in and out of hypnotic state every few minutes. To dispel a lot of the misconceptions around hypnosis, one needs to understand that hypnosis is simply a state of heightened internal awareness over external awareness. Hypnosis functions through the process of fixation… Being drawn deeper and further within to consider what is being said… even now as you find yourself reading this. And, to allow it to continue to fully sink in, you can feel free or not, to reread or at least reconsider the previous sentence.
It all has to do with paying attention and whether or not the attention is focused outward or inward. You can think about a waterfall. You can see a waterfall. You can imagine a waterfall. You can try not to think about the last waterfall you visited or saw in a magazine or movie. It doesn’t really matter whether or not you’re cautiously thinking about waterfalls or if your subconscious mind is generating images and mental movies and waterfalls for you… automatically. Because this is how communication works. Automatically. Your unconscious mind generates content based upon your paradigm – this means your educational experiences, your life experiences, your belief system, your values, your mindset, and your attitude.
Hypnosis is a natural phenomenon; occurring constantly and nearly every single time you find yourself having gone inside your mind to make sense of words that you’re hearing or reading. Practically every ancient culture had some form of ritual or write the integrated the use of altered states of consciousness. This could be drumming, this could be used of psychoactive plants, this could be breathing patterns are chanting, this could be guided imagery or visualizations as used in sleep temples in Egypt. Human beings have the capacity to experience nearly simultaneously both internal and external environments depending upon where they allow their stream of consciousness to be focused.
There is a different form of hypnosis referred to as Ericksonian hypnosis; one that you’ve already been experiencing while reading this article. Contrary to the Hollywood representations of hypnotism and hypnotherapy that utilize watches and pinwheels, and slow counts down… Conversational hypnosis or indirect hypnosis functions off of the basis that communication cannot NOT be processed. If I tell you
Don’t think about a red car
You can’t NOT go inside your mind and NOT process the noun and adjective in that command. In order to be contextual, your mind must attempt to process all of the information it has been given even if this information is framed in negative context. This is the power of conversational hypnosis, Ericksonian hypnosis, or indirect hypnosis. Politicians are doing it to you all the time. In fact, often they’re guilty of telling you what exactly they’re going to do by framing it with a negative.
Read my lips no new taxes…
I did not have sexual relations with that woman…
In most communication, communicators unwittingly create the representations they do not want because they do not understand how communication actually functions.
The main difference between hypnotism and hypnotherapy is that one is done for entertainment purposes and the other is done for therapeutic purposes. Hypnotism is mostly based upon compliance testing and an audience that is expecting to be entertained. Hypnotherapy however is conducted in a private, professional setting that allows for the hypnotherapist to address the client’s specific personal issues or challenges. A hypnotist typically has no formal hypnosis training or professional background, whereas a hypnotherapist may have a background in psychology, counseling, or may be certified as a therapist.
One of the best ways to find a good therapist is to actually try using hypnosis downloads, hypnosis audio programs or hypnosis apps to have some experiences with altered states of consciousness into experience hypnotic suggestion. By going this route, you can actually learn how to do self hypnosis and this will prepare you and help you better understand the role of the hypnotherapist. Most hypnotherapists will have a hypnotherapy certification and should have some other credentials or licensing. As a certified hypnotherapist myself, I recommend that you choose two other backgrounds when considering hypnotherapy:
Ericksonian therapy will make a big difference in the hypnotherapist’s ability to communicate with you, while training in NLP will help a therapist to be more precise with his or her language.
Like earlier said, it still unclear how hypnosis therapy works but scientists believe it works by altering one’s state of consciousness. It switches off the left side of the brain leaving the right side to be more alert. As a result, control over the conscious part of the mind is inhibited while the subconscious part awoken. The subconscious part of the mind posses more instinctive force than the conscious part therefore making it easier to change the way we feel, think and behave. A classic example is the fear of snakes. One can consciously do almost everything imaginable to overcome the fear of snakes without being successful because the subconscious mind will still recall whatever caused the fear. Reprogramming the subconscious mind however, alters or abolishes the cause of fear enabling the person to eventually overcome the fear. Two of the best known uses of hypnosis are sleep hypnosis and weight loss hypnosis. Many people will attest to this form of hypnosis psychology as being effective.
Hypnosis can be used to treat people suffering from anxiety, depression, stress, habit disorders, pain among other medical and psychological health problems. Contrary to what many people think, hypnosis may not be useful in treating all psychological problems. If you are thinking of using hypnosis to solve any problem, you need to consult a professional healthcare provider. The health personnel should be properly trained in not only the use but also the limitations of clinically using hypnosis.
The following reasons explain why you need to try hypnosis as a treatment option:
1. It is quite effective
Most people are aware of what they are required to do in order to deal with their specific conditions. We are however, not able to do so no matter the willpower we have because we are simply trying to address the issue focusing on our conscious level. A good example is a phobia triggered by an innocuous childhood experience. The conscious mind may not be able to recall the experience which triggers the fear therefore no matter how hard you try, the phobia will still come back. Hypnosis on the other hand helps you access the memories and reprocess them thereby getting rid of the phobia.
2. It is faster and more available when compared to conventional therapy
Hypnosis simply takes less time and is less costly than therapy.
3. It is versatile
Hypnosis can be used to treat various psychological and mental problems.
Pros:
The benefits or pros of hypnosis include:
Cons:
The cons or drawbacks of hypnosis include:
If you are looking forward to breaking bad habits and indulging in a more healthy lifestyle, hypnosis is the way to go. You should however, learn about the importance of understanding both the cons and pros of hypnosis as well as what to do to in order to make it more effective. In one form or another, hypnosis is a foundational part of coaching, personal development and includes many elements of visualization, meditation, altered brain wave frequencies and guided imagery. Try our hypnosis audio programs and apps below.
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