Can hypnotherapy help me?

Most of us have heard of hypnosis, and hypnotherapy, and may have seen a stage show which leaves us with an impression of what it is. But the things you see on stage are about entertainment rather than therapy, so what is the same and what is different? And can it really help?

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Our minds are made up of the conscious rational processing element, and the enormous range of unconscious functions. Hypnotherapy is concerned with unconscious mind, all those things that you do without thinking. Our habits, emotions, values, beliefs, cravings, and so much more form part of our unconscious functions. If you like, the unconscious mind is everything you are not conscious of in the moment. Its 'job' is to notice everything, and only bring those things to your conscious attention that are 'important' in that moment. And so the problem with trying to change something consciously is that every time you are not paying attention to it, your unconscious takes over and may have a different agenda.

Hypnotherapy works by talking directly to the unconscious mind in a way it understands. I wonder if you have ever tried to rationalise with someone who has a phobia? The thing about a phobia is that it is an irrational fear of something. Let me share an example. As a child I was. like many of you, stung by a wasp. I hadn't done anything to provoke it, and it led to a fear of wasps. The behaviour that accompanied this was to panic at anything that flew and buzzed, move quickly out of the way waving arms everywhere on the way. I feel sure many of you know someone like this. Although the behaviour was not confined to wasps, and was more likely to get me stung than not, I was not in control of the response, it became instinctive. Knowing the response made things worse not better did not change it - it was not a conscious response, it was driven at an unconscious level, rather like when you put your arms out if you trip.

Some therapies rely on having you think about the behaviour and regain a level of conscious control. Hypnotherapy talks directly to the unconscious mind to change the behaviour and simply remove the old behaviour and replace it with a different one. It does not rely on will power, but instead alters things at the level of your habits. So when you seem to be working against yourself, hypnotherapy is a good solution.

If you have seen a stage hypnotist you may have noticed several things. The first is the way in which they choose who they invite up onto the stage. As their stage show is about entertaining people they need to identify people who actually want to be hypnotised and take part. To resist being hypnotised all you have to do is choose not to follow the instructions. The suggestibility tests aren't about who is gullible but rather about the willingness to follow the suggestions that are being given. Trance is actually a naturally occurring state that most of us experience several times a day, Anyone can choose to allow themselves to enter a trance state, or of course, choose not to.

The next thing is your unconscious mind is protective, it watches for danger and alerts you to it. The subjects who choose to go up on stage are generally aware of the type of things that will happen, and would be likely to do those things after a few drinks when they are feeling relaxed and enjoying themselves. If you really don't want to find yourself clucking like a chicken your unconscious will bring you out of the trance at the mere mention of chickens. So if you are considering hypnotherapy remember that you must actually want to make the changes you are seeking help for or your unconscious mind will resist and work against you.

And then there are the 'tricks' that you typically see. Sometimes the stage hypnotist will get someone to forget their name, or the number 4 for example. You'll see the participant consciously struggling to remember and looking puzzled because they know something is wrong. The unconscious mind is the domain of your memories, and it is well practised in repressing memories, effectively hiding them from you. It is a simple matter to have someone forget something. Or see something that isn't there, or feel no pain, or jump up every time they hear a cue word. Stage shows are great examples of how easily suggestion works in a trance. Their down side is when people come to fear an apparent sense of mind control.

So when you imagine how easily hypnotherapy might be able to help you with all manner of positive changes, its important to talk about any fears you may have too. A hypnotherapist will explain everything to you including how much control you are in. The crucial thing is that you establish a sense of trust with the therapist to enable your unconscious mind to more readily accept the suggestions. I have had several clients who have wanted to jump straight to the suggestions and skip the trance induction. They don't always tell you that, but the signs are clear!

There are two stages to the process of hypnosis. The first is the induction, the part that takes you into a trance state. If you think about that time when you are just waking up, and are half awake half asleep, perhaps being aware of what you were dreaming and not quite ready to let go, then that is a trance state. Its a space where reality and fiction are blurred. Your unconscious mind actually doesn't know the difference, its a function of the conscious mind to know what is actually real. So the importance of the trance state is to suspend that judgement your conscious mind brings. The suggestions are all about talking directly to the unconscious mind, which is where the change needs to take place.

The history of hypnosis is long and has been known and shown to have many benefits to emotional and physical health. It is an entirely natural complementary therapy that sits comfortably with modern medicine, and other interventions. If there is a change you want to make, then take the time to find out more about how hypnotherapy can help you too.