Hypnotherapy is a tool that helps you to link in with the amazing power and potential of your subconscious mind. Hypnotherapy has been used to help people quit smoking, reduce chronic pain, lower anxiety and depression, and lose weight. 

Myths about Hypnotherapy.

Hypnotherapy used to be shrouded in mystery and myth. Here is what hypnotherapy isn’t:

• Hypnotherapy is not mind control.
• You are not under the control of the hypnotherapist. In fact, you are always in control during the hypnotherapy.
• A hypnotherapist cannot make you do things against your will, or anything against your moral code.
• Hypnotherapy cannot cure everything, it’s not a magic bullet. But it can help you deal with an amazing range of issues.
• Hypnotherapy is not dangerous.

Back then…..

In the 1800’s, when hypnotism first started being developed, religious groups saw it as a sign of demonic possession, magic or devil worship. Then again, in the 1800’s most religious groups thought that any sort of therapy was about demonic possession, magic or devil worship. They also believed that humans are meant to suffer, and any pain reduction caused by hypnotherapy was against God’s will. With such a bad rap, hypnotherapy lost favour and was virtually unheard of for over a hundred years.

However, hypnotherapy saw a massive resurgence in interest after the Vietnam war, when dentists were using hypnosis as an anaesthesia substitute with combat soldiers. Since then, in countless scientific trials, hypnotherapy has been proven time and again to be able to assist people with a range of issues. Hypnosis was endorsed by the American Psychiatric Society in 1961, and a special division on hypnosis was created within the American Psychological Society in 1969. And with the growing knowledge over the past twenty years in neuroscience, mind mapping and brain plasticity, the science behind hypnotherapy is becoming more and more solid.

What happens during a hypnotherapy session?

A hypnotic state is a normal state of focussed attention which feels very similar to a meditation session. It is very relaxing. The person being hypnotised remains in complete control, and can remember everything that happens within the session. The primary benefit from being in this ‘trance’ like state is that you are given the chance to improve your control over your mental and physical state.

Another word about being in a ‘trance’. We all go in and out of a trance state every day. When we’re watching television, at the movies, even when we’re driving. (Have you ever gotten to your destination and realised that you didn’t notice the trip at all? That’s a trance.) The difference is, when you are with a hypnotherapist the trance is deliberate. You are working with the hypnotherapist to enter the trance, and while you are in that relaxed, focussed state, the hypnotherapist speaks with you and your massively powerful subconscious. It is your subconscious that holds the key to change for you, and it is your subconscious which is the primary force in hypnotherapy.

You and the therapist have a discussion prior to the hypnotherapy about what you want to achieve. The therapist will help you get into a relaxed, hypnotic state (in a process called the ‘induction’) and while you are in that receptive state the therapist will then enlist the help of your conscious and subconscious mind to help resolve the issue you have presented with. During the hypnotherapy session, the therapist will make suggestions to your subconscious. These suggestions can enable your subconscious to reprogram itself in ways which help you achieve your goals painlessly and easily. After the hypnotherapy, which most people describe as very relaxing and restful, you are gently brought out of the hypnotic state with full memories of everything that was said. And after the session you can keep repeating elements of the session to reinforce the messages to your subconscious.

Recent neuroscientific research has found that any self-improvement involving the brain – such as meditation or hypnotherapy – will be most effective if it lasts for at least 27 minutes and is repeated daily for eight weeks. If possible, get your hypnotherapist to record your session so that you can replay it for yourself on a daily basis. This gets the new, positive message more embedded into your subconscious where it can create your new reality.

What would you like to see in your reality?

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At Penrith Counselling women are supported and nurtured by strengths based holistic counselling and Reiki energy healing. Click here for more information.