How does Hypnotherapy work?
Client: “I can’t be hypnotized?”
Therapist: “How would you know if you’ve never been hypnotized? The reality is you go into hypnosis every day.”
So, what is hypnosis?
Because hypnosis is poorly defined or understood in the traditional aspect of the healing arts, there is no universally and clearly defined definition that aligns with its therapeutic use.
Through history, hypnotherapy has been represented on a commercial scale for stage shows and performances.
However, it has been utilized in medicine for centuries and has proven its effectiveness to help create long-lasting change and obtain goals.
Hypnosis is defined as…
“A natural, yet altered, state of mind where communication and responsiveness with the subconscious mind is present.” ~The Institute of Interpersonal Hypnotherapy
Hypnosis is an altered mental state in which you have a heightened awareness and focus.
All hypnosis is self-hypnosis.
How is hypnosis used for therapeutic needs or “Hypnotherapy”?
To understand how hypnotherapy works you must understand the three main factors that we will be working with.
- Conscious mind (thoughts and self-image)
- The Critical Factor (gate keeper)
- Subconscious mind (emotional self or felt sense)
Who you take yourself to be
The reason this list is organized this way is because the conscious mind holds within it the Critical Factor, that voice that nags and talks within you.
The conscious mind and the voice are directly linked to our core beliefs, or our self-image, of who we believe we are, which then projects out in our behaviors, reactions or causes symptoms.
The Critical Factor is like a “gate keeper” between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind.
You shall not pass!
The gate keeper does not allow anything through to influence the subconscious mind unless it is aligned with our current present-day image of who we believe ourselves to be and believe that others see us to be.
Whether this is someone who is scared of heights, someone that is shy, has “bad luck” or someone that is simply “depressed” or has a cloud over their head.
The problem is that our conscious mind and subconscious mind are not easily flowing and communicating together – they are quite separate.
The subconscious mind is a very powerful part of us.
It is the felt sense or feelings we have within our body, that gut, inner feeling, or intuition.
It is that ache we get in our stomach or chest, maybe even a heavy or light feeling we carry in our body.
Because the two are separate, the conscious mind may over-analyze, criticize or deflect and ignore what our subconscious may be trying to tell us.
It is because we have been taught in our upbringing to “get over it,” “stop feeling that way,” or “everything is alright – no need to cry or be scared.”
Easier said than done though, right?
In these events or scenarios, our conscious mind learns to just take over or “hijacks the scene” in our life. We never learned how to properly process or reprogram these feelings we may be having, as we may have learned from those around us that did not know what to do with their feelings either.
Our subconscious may attempt to communicate with us through our emotions. It is why sometimes we may not know why someone or something really annoys us.
This is why we get so angry or why we hurt so much, cry easily, or live in fear for no clear reasoning within our conscious mind. It is our unfortunate programming, from our childhood and upbringing, that laid the foundation of how we understand and work through these feelings within.
Examples of your subconscious mind attempting to communicate with you:
- That feeling of tension, which is indescribable but just felt when you walk into a room in which bad news was just told.
- That feeling of butterflies, stomach turning, nervousness that flows through us when we meet someone we like.
- Or similarly, that feeling or ache, yucky, twisting and turning pit in our stomach when we deal with a situation or person we don’t like or maybe fear.
- The chest clenching or anxiety when you fear something will happen at work, or something you did or did not do.
The subconscious is where our core beliefs and identity are stored and held.
It stores how and where we developed these beliefs and understanding of our life. It locks these beliefs away behind the gate. We let nothing pass that gate to change our beliefs.
But HYPNOSIS allows you to move this gate aside to reprogram your view as a positive, more productive means to reach your goals.
The gate keepers are why if we are told, “You’re so beautiful” or “You’re so smart” or “There is nothing to fear,” we look at the person like they are an alien.
You crinkle your forehead and smirk while saying, “Sure, ok, yeah right.”
Even if we can consciously tell ourselves that it’s true, something inside tells us otherwise.
That is the gate keeper flashing large red lights saying, “Nooooo way, you are not passing, we learned otherwise in an earlier time in our life.” Maybe part of you knows it’s true, but there is indeed another side to the story.
HYPNOTHERAPY re-programs the story to work with you and your goals. It allows us to bypass the gate and get to the root cause and transform it.
Through working with a well-trained therapist that has structured protocols, you can heal and learn to work through the issue to get to your goals.
Examples of when you have been in hypnosis.
There are some states throughout the day in which you are in hypnosis, but maybe not aware of it. Some examples are….
- Watching a movie – Have you ever cried while watching a movie? Do you get “sucked in,” having no concept of time until it ends?
- Driving a routine path – Have you ever got home and not even know how, what were you thinking of while driving? Maybe what you need to do tomorrow, the deadline you have on a project or if you took food out to cook.
Whatever it may be, it is your subconscious mind that has its hands on the wheel to assure you do what you need to do automatically while the conscious mind is going in another direction. This is called “highway hypnosis.”
- Favorite hobby or sport – You are fully in the moment drawn to something, or hyper-focused, unaware of anything else around you, such as when watching a movie, playing sports, drawing, or a passion that brings joy to your life.
Take a step for YOU!
You are in this moment, reading this and ready to do something different.
Move from feeling detached, disconnected, lost and insecure, possibly not knowing WHO YOU ARE, to being positive, connected, and involved.
I have helped many others who came to me feeling just as you do.
Please call me now at (954) 466-2515 to begin your journey to wholeness.
