Making Your Own Tapes
After you have used professional hypnosis tapes for a while, you may want to try making your own self hypnosis tapes. You can write your own script and record it yourself, or have a friend record it for you. It may not be a good idea to do this for major problems, but for things like enhancing concentration or reminding yourself to do something (e.g., floss your teeth), it can be very rewarding and a lot of fun.
Safety of Hypnosis
Hypnosis is quite safe, whether performed by a hypnotherapist or as self hypnosis. A common fear is that you somehow won't come out of the trance. This just doesn't happen. Even in a deep trance you are always aware enough to bring yourself out of it at any time. With Ericksonian Hypnosis, you are in complete control. You would hear about it if there was a bunch of people somewhere who never came out of a hypnotic trance! Some people feel they will make fools of themselves. You can't be forced to do something you don't want to do. The subjects in stage hypnosis are willing to perform the stunts you see. You cannot be given a suggestion that will make you do something illegal or immoral after the hypnosis session, and your mind cannot be taken over by someone else.
Ways Hypnosis Can Help
Hypnosis is a wonderful tool. But like any medical assistance, there are appropriate and inappropriate ways to use it. There are a number of ailments that hypnosis is well-suited to help eliminate. Among these are self-esteem issues, pain relief, sexual dysfunction, learning difficulties, concentration, and sleep disorders. Basically, any subject that requires changing your attitude toward being better and stronger is a good use for hypnosis.
Understanding Clinical Hypnosis
With clinical hypnosis, the therapist can make suggestions designed to help the client formulate specific feelings, memories, images, etc. that will lead to curative results. When used as part of a psychotherapeutic program, hypnotic suggestions can influence behavior in three ways. When the listener is relaxed and open to the suggestions, experiences sensory representations of the suggestions, and is able to envision these suggestions will result in future outcomes, hypnosis can be very effective. Creating "hypnotic language patterns" -- in other words, what is said during a session -- are at the core of these three criteria. Hypnotic language patterns include guided visualization, repetition, and cause-effect scenarios.
Can Anyone Be Hypnotized?
If you want to be hypnotized, you can be. Studies have shown, however, that the more active one's creative mind is (i.e., how easily one becomes "caught up " in stories, films, books, etc.), the easier it is for him/her to be hypnotized. Level of intelligence has not been shown to have any bearing on one's ability to be hypnotized. Nor, it seems, does age. Hypnosis has been performed on toddlers to the elderly. All that is required for successful hypnosis is the ability to release the conscious mind and enter a state of deep relaxation.
Using a Pendulum
Hypnosis helps you get in touch with your subconscious mind. There are ways to do this besides the formal trance. One popular method of self hypnosis is the use of the pendulum. There are small pendulums that you can buy, or you can make your own from something like a string and a fishing sinker or other small, heavy object. Put your elbow on a table with your forearm not quite vertical. Hold the end of the string with your thumb and first two fingers, wrist bent, and let the pendulum hang straight down, adjusting it so it's just above the table surface. Now concentrate on the pendulum and silently ask a yes or no question. (You will have established how the pendulum responds. Typically swinging back and forth is yes, side to side is no, and circular is uncertain.) Hold your hand very still and the pendulum will swing without you consciously moving, in response to your subconscious mind.
Guided Imagery In Hypnosis
Guided imagery is a specific practice in hypnosis whereby a subject is asked to envision certain items or scenarios. This method is particularly effective when correcting health problems or negative behaviors. For example, imagine you have a fear of flying. With guided imagery, your hypnotherapist may ask you to envision riding in a plane that is held aloft by a pair of giant hands. Ideally, the next time you fly, you will remember this feeling of safety and your fears will diminish.
Online Hypnosis Resources
The popularity of hypnosis treatments is growing by the day. So, too, are the number of resources to learn about hypnosis online. Whether you are looking to lose a few pounds or gain a better perspective on your life, there are plenty of websites where you can learn about hypnosis in depth. So, why wait? Start your search now. The Internet can provide an ideal primer on hypnosis and your health.
How Hypnosis Can Bring Positive Change To Your Life
The main purpose of hypnosis is to enrich your life. With the right hypnotherapist and a willing attitude, the difficulties, bad habits, and/or negative learned behaviors you have developed can gently be unlearned, using hypnosis as a tool. One of the ways that hypnosis aids in bringing positive change, is through the reinforcing of constructive and encouraging visions during sessions. Afterwards, these reinforcements can act as a triggers, guiding you to make healthy life decisions from moment to moment.
Self Hypnosis vs. Professional Hypnosis
Self hypnosis is a great way to deal with the challenges of everyday life. You can learn self hypnosis and use it for relaxation, to sharpen your concentration, to get over bad habits, to help yourself learn new skills, and for many other purposes. If self hypnosis doesn't work for a problem, if the problem is deep seated and long lasting, or if it interferes seriously with your activities, you will do better seeing a professional hypnotherapist. An intermediate approach is to purchase and use a tape or CD made by a professional hypnotherapist.
The Suggestion
A hypnosis session usually includes a suggestion. This incorporates your goal. In self esteem hypnosis, you would give yourself positive suggestions that reflect the way you want to see yourself. If your goal is weight loss, you might give yourself a suggestion about avoiding sweets. A hypnotist's suggestion can direct you to do something after the session; that is called a post hypnotic suggestion. The suggestion can be a sentence or two, or a long, repetitious "script."
Uses For Medical Hypnosis
The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) has listed several legitimate areas of medical hypnosis. Among these are: allergies, anxiety, Asthma, concentration, Crohn?s Disease, depression, dermatologic disorders (Eczema, Herpes, Psoriasis, etc.), high blood pressure, pain management, and sleep disorders. There is even some indication that hypnosis has been effective in breast enhancement, but the research into this claim was not conclusive. It is important to note the fine line between medical assistance non-legitimate uses for hypnosis. For example, while hypnosis can aid in curing sexual dysfunctions, it cannot help you to "get lucky" or achieve magical powers of seduction!
Stage Hypnosis
Your first introduction to hypnosis may have been through stage hypnosis. Although this can be entertaining, it has little in common with clinical hypnosis or even goal-oriented self hypnosis. The purpose of hypnosis is not to make you quack like a duck. The hypnotist is probably not a trained hypnotherapist, but an entertainer who has learned how to hypnotize willing subjects. Note that you cannot be forced to do anything against your principles under hypnosis, even as part of a stage show.
The Induction
The induction is the beginning of a hypnosis session--that which puts you into a state of hypnosis. There are no set rules as to what an induction can be. It can be a shout, or the gentler techniques found in Ericksonian Hypnosis. In self hypnosis, you will probably use a relaxation technique or focus on your breathing. The induction can be instantaneous or take two or three minutes.