The Definition Of Hypnotism: Self Hypnosis is a condition of hyper-suggestibility where the conscious mind and the subconscious dissociate. It is a state of mind where the subject is more likely to believe the Hypnotherapist's suggestions.
You have been in hypnosis many times in your life without even realizing it. If you have ever watched a sad T.V. show and reacted with a tear in your eye, you have been hypnotized. You entered a state of increased suggestibility where you uncritically accepted the idea of grief on the TV screen and reacted with a sad emotion, your tear. In other words, your ability to reason, which is contained in your conscious mind, was bypassed. You did not reason that the show was just a play; you accepted the action as being genuine. So you reacted with real passion and shed a tear.
Who Can Be Hypnotized? It has been discovered that all normal people are hypnotizable to a greater or lesser extent. Subjects with less than a 70 I.Q. generally are not hypnotizable. People who are actively psychotic normally can't be hypnotized. Most senile people are difficult or impossible to hypnotize. I have found in my own private professional practice dealing with many retired people as old as 85 years of age, that hypnotism is a compelling and beneficial method for many people. A person's motivation is the key to success.
Do I Have To Be A "Deep" Subject For Success? For the healing applications of hypnotism we most often deal with, depth of any kind isn't required. You can be the lightest possible subject and still obtain all of the benefits from hypnotism that the deepest subjects will receive. I strongly feel that over the years, far too much importance has been placed on how deep a subject is. If the client is deep, it can be of benefit. This however, may not necessarily be the case. In fact, with the latest hypnotic methods like Ericksonian hypnotism and state of the art "NLP" (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), hypnotic depth is one of the least imperative aspects, which contribute to success.
Are There Any Dangers In Hypnotism? There are fundamentally no dangers to the practice of hypnotism. It is impossible to "get stuck" in hypnotism. The most awful thing that can possibly happen while a person is in the hypnotic state is that she might fall into a natural state of sleep for 20 or 30 minutes. She would awaken rested and out of the state of self hypnosis.
Misconceptions About Self-Hypnosis:
There are many misconceptions about hypnotism. Most of the misconceptions are due to stage and TV acts. As luck would have it, it's because of the fact that the TV can hypnotize you that these misconceptions are so strongly entrenched in people's minds.
Is Hypnotism Sleep? The largest misconception about hypnotism is that it's sleep. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are asleep, you are unconscious. If you are unconscious, you can't hear anything. If you can't hear anything, then the hypnotherapist can't help you. Hypnosis is a state of keen awareness. The subject is wide-awake and aware of everything around her. This misconception stems from the stage Hypnotist's use of the word "sleep" as corresponding to the hypnotic state. When the old time hypnotist swung the watch in front of the subject's face, he told the subject that she was getting "sleepy." He then told the subject to "go to sleep." What he meant was to go into a hypnotic sleep, not a natural sleep.
Is There A Hypntozed Feeling? The second largest misconception about self hypnosis is that there is a hypnotized feeling. There is no particular hypnotized feeling. I repeat there is no particular hypnotized feeling. Most people feel very relaxed when in self hypnosis, as relaxation seems to be the essence of self hypnosis. Some people feel heavy. Some people feel light. Some people have other sensations and feelings. Other people have absolutely no feeling that they are in self hypnosis, and believe they haven't been hypnotized when they most definitely have.
Can The Hypnotherapist Control Me? NO! A hypnotherapist can't force you to do anything against your will. There is always an observing ego state. Should the hypnotherapist make an offensive suggestion; this observing ego state would reject the suggestion. Additionally, you will probably come out of self-hypnosis if the hypnotherapist makes an offensive suggestion to you.
Can The Hypnotherapist Make Me Divulge My Secrets?
You won't give up any secrets while in self-hypnosis unless you want to do so. The hypnotherapist does not have any control over the subject. Quite the contrary, the subject has more control over herself since at this time she can directly communicate with her own subconscious. The subject can easily refuse any suggestion the hypnotherapist makes, no matter how simple or complicated the suggestion might be. The subject can open her eyes, exit from the state of hypnosis, and walk out of the room at any time she chooses.
Must People Tell The Truth When In Hypnosis?
NO! People can lie when in a state of hypnosis.
Do Hypnotherapists Have Super Natural Vibrations?
This is a common misconception. The hypnotherapist does not have any special powers, nor does he have any special vibrations with which to propel you into a state of hypnosis. In reality, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The hypnotherapist leads the subject into a state of self-hypnosis. In other words, the ability of hypnosis is within the subject.
Why Do People Fail To Reach Their Goals When Using Hypnotism?
Perhaps the chief reason for the inability to reach one's goals through hypnotherapy is an inadequate amount of practice where self-hypnosis is concerned.
The largest reason for the return of a symptom or "relapse" is the early discontinuance of hypnotism with the Hypno-therapist or recorded program. While self-hypnosis is important, it is generally the hetero-hypnosis with the hypnotherapist or hypnosis recording which has the greatest impact upon the subconscious.
This is because of the experience that the hypnotherapist has vs. the lack of experience of the client. Some people are penny wise and pound-foolish. They mentally set an amount of time or money that they are willing to spend for help. And then they prematurely cut off their sessions because; "I didn't lose 50 Lbs. in two days, so it isn't working."
If a therapeutic method is really helping one to make their desired changes, then it is priceless and it should be continued. For this reason it is wise to have follow up hypnosis sessions, even after a symptom seems to have disappeared completely. Self-hypnosis should be an ongoing affair on a daily basis. Ultimately,
your success is up to you! Will I Be Better Off Hiring A Hypnotist, Or Will Purchasing A Recorded Program Work Better?
That is a wonderful question. Normally I would recommend that you employ the services of a reputable hypnotherapist. The reason is that by meeting with you, a good hypnotherapist / NLP'er will be able to customize his approach to your personality and your favored representational system - the way you favor taking in information through your senses to make sense out of it and react to it.
In my opinion, 99% of the pre-recorded hypnosis CDs available today are based on Traditional Hypnosis, and consist of only one or maybe two sessions of it at that. Traditional Hypnosis is nothing more than a set of direct post-hypnotic suggestions: "If you eat a brownie you'll throw up." "You won't have urges," etc.. This technology has a very poor track record of success because the people in our generation have been taught to question everything they are told. That's why you, your friends, and your kids usually do the opposite of what they are told to do. This is called a polarity response.
That being said, having personalized sessions with any hypnotherapist / NLP'er who has enough experience to be able to actually help you can be very expensive. There are some hypnotic programs on the market based on Ericksonian Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) that have overcome those shortcomings. They've managed this by using a mix of
Ericksonian Hypnosis, NLP, Traditional Hypnosis, and the highly regarded Video Hypnosis technology.
These are all technologies that are designed to get rid of the resistance factor. In fact, technology that it's based on do not utilize post-hypnotic suggestions at all. They rely on using the thought processes that have created a problem, to eliminate it!
Look for vendors who offer these methodologies in multi-session products. These are programs that generally have six to eight different hypnosis sessions, so you are exposed to a broad variety of technologies. It takes a lot of work to script and record this type of program, but the high success rates achieved are well worth the effort.
Stay away from the "one size fits all" -- "do-or-die" hypnotism CDs and downloads. Many people are lured in by these programs because they are cheap, usually under $10.00. But is it cheap if it just wastes your valuable time and doesn't work?
If you buy a program and it doesn't work, then you get distrustful and start to expect the next approach to fail. And you get what you expect. Do you really think that the same exact post-hypnotic suggestions will work for everyone? Do you think that they will work for you? Do you typically do exactly as you are told to do? Or do you feel a strong desire to do the opposite of what you are told to do?
Article Source: http://www.fitnesshealtharticles.com.
About the Author:
Alan B. Densky, CH is an NLP Practitioner. He began his practice of NLP & hypnosis in 1978. He offers an interactive NLP Six-Step Reframing CD on his Neuro-VISION Hypnosis website. Also available are his Free NLP article library, NLP & hypnosis newsletters and MP3 downloads.
Hypnosis - Just What Is The Simple Truth?
