What is Hypnotherapy

There is a lot of misconception and misunderstanding of hypnotherapy. Many of us think of hypnotherapy as being the same as hypnosis and those stage acts.
Will I be made to do something I don’t want to?
Will I lose control?
Will I be made to do an Elvis impression or dance like a chicken?

“I just allow you to get out of the way of yourself in order for you to make the change that you want to, now.”

Leave aside the word “hypno” and you are left with therapy. This is exactly what I do, therapy. Hypnotherapy is just a way of allowing you to bypass your own conscious mind.  By conscious mind I mean that every day chatter or voice in your head. It is that part of you that has to deal with work, home, money, family, school runs, servicing the car, etc. Hypnotherapy is just a deeply relaxed state of being where all the distractions, noise and things we see and have to deal with everyday are left in the background. It is a deeply relaxed state that can be experienced with your eyes open or closed. It is similar to that wonderful feeling just before we fall asleep or just before we wake up. That point where we are not quite asleep and not quite awake but somewhere in between and very calm and relaxed. It is when we are in this state that we can access our inner self our core being or our unconscious mind. I don’t mind what name you want to call it by. It is that part of you that spends most of the time in the background and it is a vital and important part of us and the part of us that allows us to make profound and lasting change
Hypnotherapists refer to the hypnotic state as “Trance”. Trance state is just a relaxed state, you are always in control and you will always be in control. You can not be made to do anything against your own will.

Hypnosis works by using your deeply relaxed state. Your unconscious mind stores an enormous amount of information and emotion, something over which you will probably have no conscious knowledge. However, although you have no conscious knowledge of it,  it still causes your conscious mind to think and react in the way it does. Sometimes, there are conflicts between the way these parts of the mind see the world, and this can give rise to problems. To give an example: phobias. The conscious mind knows that there is no logical reason to be afraid of spiders (for example), but the unconscious mind has attached a fear to the spider, and the unconscious fear over rides it. With Hypnotherapy the hypnotherapist sets out to give the clients unconscious mind beneficial suggestions, which aim to change the way it deals with events or situations. This can be very helpful where a situation is just about to present itself, for example, to help someone stop that smoking habit or biting their nails , or with a fear of flying .

Every experience you have had as a person is locked within your unconscious mind. You may not remember or recall it from your conscious mind but that does not mean it is not still there within you. Many issues that we no longer desire or like can be unlocked from your unconscious mind.

So who can benefit from hypnotherapy? The answer to this question is virtually anyone. Hypnotherapy can be utilised to access a person’s inner potential. Given that probably no one is performing to their actual potential, then this answer is literally true. However it is not just potential which hypnotherapy is well placed to address but also one’s inner resources to affect beneficial change. In this regard it is the innate healing capacity of your own body that may be stimulated by hypnotherapy. The list of problems which may be amenable to hypnotherapy is far too long and varied to list here but certainly includes;

Anxiety
Panic
Phobias
Unwanted habits & addictions
Disrupted sleep patterns
Lack of confidence
Low self esteem
Examination nerves
Skin disorders
Migraine
Sporting & Artistic performance enhancement
Anger management

Curious? Then call me.