How Does Hypnosis Work?

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What Is Hypnosis?

Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation online about what hypnosis is, how it works, and what it can and cannot do. If you're interested in hypnotherapy, you need to know the facts about hypnosis so that you can make an informed decision. As a Board Certified Hypnotherapist with many years of experience, I know the key hypnosis facts as well as anyone. Let me help you understand what hypnosis is—and is not!

Hypnosis Facts

• Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness, like meditation, in which you connect with your subconscious mind.
• Hypnosis is a natural experience that happens to most of us each day, when we become absorbed in something like driving, day-dreaming, reading, rhythmic exercising or watching a "screen" of any kind.
• Think of the two parts of our mind like an iceberg. The 10% of the iceberg above the surface represents the conscious mind, which guides us when we are awake. The 90% below the surface represents the subconscious mind, where one’s entire life is recorded.
• The subconscious mind is the control center for the mind/body connection and regularly sends messages (habits) to the conscious mind, telling it what to do.
• As you enter into hypnosis, you bypass the conscious mind and access information in the subconscious mind.
• All your senses are awake and alert while you are in hypnosis.
• You are in control at all times.
• You only say or do in hypnosis what you normally say or do in the conscious state.
• You process information in hypnosis the same way you primarily do so in the conscious state: 60% of people are primarily visual; 20% are primarily auditory; and 20% are primarily kinesthetic (they sense and feel).
• You can return to full consciousness anytime you either want to or feel the need to.
• In hypnosis, your subconscious mind is usually very willing to respond to questions and help you resolve habits and issues.
• The use of hypnosis gives you the opportunity to make changes that last.
• Hypnosis does not involve mind control, magic, unconsciousness or sleep.
• You cannot be made to enter hypnosis against your will.

How Does Hypnotherapy Work?

• Hypnotherapy—the practice of clinical hypnosis—entails the use of trance and suggestion to adjust habits of thought, feeling and behavior.
• Hypnotherapists use trance and suggestions to help normal people cope with everyday problems of living, such as issues related to jobs, hobbies and recreational activities.
• Hypnotherapy can also aid in general self-improvement through strategies such as non-clinical stress management.
• Hypnotherapists work in complementary ways with physicians and other health care providers to help optimize the care patients receive.
• Hypnotherapeutic results can be restorative, rehabilitative, curative and, seemingly, miraculous—all by harnessing the untapped power of the subconscious mind.

The Hypno-Health Method: "The Four Rs of Hypnosis"

The unique ways of helping people transform themselves at Hypno-Health have fluidly evolved over the years. Three have been the core of the practice since 1991. The fourth became obvious more recently. Together they represent the basics techniques that enable people to take control of their lives and achieve optimal mental, physical and emotional well-being.

1) Recognize the Roots of your Issue

After a thorough discussion of the issue a person wants to resolve and especially the influence of possible factors early in her/his life, we ask the subconscious mind about the experiences, messages, and influences that contributed to the issue taking hold as a habit. The subconscious mind is usually very willing to help and will suggest a number that represents the causes. The person is then guided to ask for information about each cause.

2) Release the Impact of the Roots on You

The person gathers up in the subconscious mind all aspects of each of the roots and releases them so completely that their influence on the issue is gone for good. Each person is encouraged to make sure there’s no possibility any aspect of the root(s) can return.

3) Replace the Roots with Positive Thoughts, Feelings and Images

After the release of each root, the person projects ahead and, with help from the creative subconscious mind, creates positive replacements that represent the ways the person expects to be. By doing so, each person establishes their own list of positive outcomes.

4) Reinforce Everything with Your Personal Affirmation

Once the outcomes are all in place, the person brings forward from the subconscious mind a word(s) that represents everything they have on the list. The repetition of that affirmation, in both the conscious and self-hypnotic states, and especially while listening to a personalized recording in hypnosis, reinforces the new program becoming the new habit.

The Hypnosis Experience at Hypno-Health

Hypnosis enables you to connect with the 90% of your mind that is subconscious, where your whole life is recorded. That's where habits take hold. Think of it like riding a bicycle. When experiences, messages, and influences in our lives are repeated, they tend to result in the formation of habits. Habits can be very positive, very negative, or anywhere in between. Hypnosis can help you get rid of unwanted habits by removing them from your subconscious mind.

On the other hand, if you only address negative habits with the 10 percent of your mind that is conscious, the chances of success are significantly reduced. The conscious mind is where willpower resides. Willpower is like a rollercoaster: strong and weak, strong and weak. It's difficult to maintain a strong will long enough to remove negative habits. Even if you manage to do so, the "roots of the habit" will still be connected in the subconscious mind. That means they might be triggered at any time, and the habit could then return.

Yo-yo dieting is a good example. People may, using their conscious minds and various weight-reduction programs, lose huge amounts of weight. But because their overeating habit still has subconscious roots, it could easily come back. The result: a re-gaining of the lost weight – and perhaps even more!

The most effective way to get rid of habits is to pull out those subconscious roots. As you enter the hypnotic state and bypass the conscious mind completely, you are able to access the information stored in your subconscious mind. Then you are ready to do the "four Rs" of hypnosis: Recognize, Release, Replace, and Reinforce. Once you completely Recognize why the habit took root, you can Release its influence on you from that moment on. Then you Replace the released habit with a new, positive way of being. By repeating and Reinforcing that "new you," it becomes your lasting positive habit.

When you come to Hypno-Health, we'll talk about the issue you want to resolve, and I'll explain all about hypnosis so you get a good understanding of what it is, what it isn't, and what it's like to be there. Basically, it's a very comfortable, peaceful state. Your body is deeply relaxed, like when you're asleep, but all your senses are awake and alert. You are aware of everything and remember everything. You only say or do in hypnosis what you would say or do in the conscious state. You only accept suggestions that are acceptable to you. You are in control at all times and will return to full consciousness whenever you want or feel the need.

I will also teach you how to go into self-hypnosis so you can powerfully reinforce the new habit. During your final session, I'll make a personalized CD or mp3, which, when listened to in self-hypnosis, becomes the most powerful way of reinforcing the new habit and making it last.

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Quotable Quote

"In general, I believe that no condition is out of bounds for trying hypnotherapy on."

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