Hypnosis is a very popular complementary therapy useful for changing the way we feel. Hypnosis has many benefits and is very powerful, hypnosis can change people’s lives and make them feel better than they have ever felt. Many wealthy successful people enlist the services of a hypnotherapist to enable them to be the best they can be, this can be anything from performing well in an important presentation at work to improving their golf swing. Hypnosis is useful for a huge range of psychological and medical conditions, it is excellent for breaking bad habits, addictions and phobias, and can provide outstanding results in personal improvement of all kinds. Highly educated people often use hypnosis as they know it works, they of not fooled by any old fashioned notions of losing control, they understand hypnosis is about taking control of your life and choosing to be the best version of you.
If you wish to use self- hypnosis successfully and want to be sure that it will work for you and perhaps also you want to feel that you haven’t wasted your money on purchasing that CD or download then the guidelines that follow may be of interest.
1. Finding a Self-hypnosis Session
2. What Do You Want to Achieve - Be Realistic
3. A Positive Attitude
4. An Effort is Required
5. Necessary Preparation
6. A Quiet Setting & Getting comfortable
7. Using a Focal Point Learning to relax
8. Learning to Relax
9. Is This How I am Meant to Feel?
10. Reinforce the hypnosis
1. Finding a self hypnosis session
How are you going to facilitate your self-hypnosis? There is a plentiful range of self-hypnosis downloads available on the Internet at reasonable prices but be cautious before buying! Can you listen to a sample? It is important you hear the voice of the hypnotist first as some voices are going to be more acceptable to you than others. Purchasing without this knowledge is risky. The recording may be very different to your expectations.
Alternatively there are self-hypnosis guides in books and on the Internet try http://www.advancedhypnosis.org.uk It is not essential to listen to a recording but many people find it easier as you can completely relax and enjoy a more passive experience with no need to remember anything or actually think about anything much. Without a recording to guide you, you can successfully achieve self-hypnosis and effect change through this but it will take practice to get it right, much more so than with a recorded session.
2. What do you want to achieve - be realistic
What are you hoping to achieve through hypnosis? Is your aim realistic and achievable? Hypnosis is not magic. If you are using self- hypnosis to lose weight you can expect to feel a greater motivation to stick to a sensible healthy eating plan with low calorie food and ideally some exercise to help you lose the excess weight. It will make it easier for you to achieve this but you have to do the work. Taking in more calories than you use causes obesity. Hypnotherapy will help you achieve your goals but it will not do all the hard work for you. Remembering to select realistic achievable goals will get you where you want to be. Hypnosis reinforces your desire directly to the subconscious mind making your goal feel more connected to you, more within reach, making you feel extremely motivated and clear in your intentions, much less vulnerable to failure or self-sabotage, much more confident in your ability to get what you want. Ensuring you choose an aim that is realistic will bring you success more rapidly and greater satisfaction in the results of your efforts.
3. A positive attitude
A positive attitude is essential whether you are seeing a hypnotherapist in person or are using a self-hypnosis recording or technique. If you approach the experience with a negative mindset you are inviting failure. If you are researching hypnosis and thinking to yourself “this will never work” then save your money and time and do not proceed, as your negative attitude will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Some may approach the idea of hypnosis feeling very enthusiastic at first, sometimes pinning unrealistic expectations on it but if they allow there enthusiasm to wane, they too might be disappointed with the results.
4. Effort is Required!
Like many things that are worthwhile there is a degree of effort required. There is a certain investment of time necessary for self-hypnosis to be successful. One to one sessions with a hypnotherapist also require effort. The hypnotic subject is not passive, they have to choose to ‘let go’ to let themselves be hypnotised. They are passive in that they don’t have to do very much but you have to want to be hypnotised and you have to try to relax. It will not happen against your will. The same is true for self-hypnosis. It may be the first time you try self-hypnosis you feel that nothing happened, or that you got bored before you got to the suggestions (the point of the hypnosis such as stopping smoking, anxiety etc). Again this suggests you are not serious in your intentions. You have to invest the time in getting relaxed and drifting into hypnosis for the hypnotic suggestions to work. If you feel it is all too much effort, then perhaps your goals or desires are not actually that important to you. Perhaps self-hypnosis isn’t for you.
5. Necessary Preparation
Preparation is everything. Imagine now you have started your self hypnosis session and got nicely relaxed, very deeply relaxed feeling really receptive to those suggestions that will be coming really soon. The suggestions that will directly influence your subconscious mind to facilitate you achieving a goal that is very important to you. You are ready to receive the positive suggestions and suddenly your phone rings! You can persevere if you choose but that relaxation becomes suddenly much less deep. You have spoilt it through not preparing properly. This is a very common problem. So you need to make sure that you will not be disturbed before you begin. Get someone else to answer the phone or door. If you are alone, take the phone off the hook, put a do not disturb notice on the door. Is there a nagging worry on your mind, an important chore that you are worried you might forget? This is another potential problem for your self-hypnosis. Do the chore first so it is out of the way, then you can properly relax and get a better result from your self- hypnosis.
6. A Quiet Setting & Getting comfortable
Where to do your self-hypnosis? If you are using a recording you may need to choose a room where you have a CD player if you are using a CD. Many downloads are sent in MP3 format, you can play these on your computer, burn them onto a CD or if you have an MP3 player you can add the file and use it anywhere.
You may choose to sit in a comfortable chair, perhaps with your feet on a footstool or you can lie down if you prefer that. Remember that whichever position you choose, you will need to remain in the position for quite some time so make sure you are comfortable. Warmth is another consideration. It may feel pleasantly warm before you begin but sitting very still for a long time can make you feel rather cold so a blanket might be required. If you are facing a window, shut the curtains or blinds so the light does not disturb you and make sure any pet’s needs are looked after before you start so that they do not bother you during the hypnosis. Obviously you will have ensured you will not be disturbed by the phone or doorbell during the self-hypnosis, and have put your mobile/cell phone on ‘silent’. How comfortable do you feel? Perhaps you need to slip your shoes off, loosen your tie, or put a pillow or cushion in the small of your back, take time to get really comfortable, as it is best not to move during hypnosis.
7. Using a Focal Point
If you are using a self-hypnosis session from a book or other resource, you may wish to use a focal point to begin the self-hypnosis. This is akin to meditation. Using a focal point helps quieten the mind, focus the thoughts and ultimately achieve a state of meditation or self-hypnosis. If you are using a recorded hypnosis session you may prefer to just close your eyes and follow the instructions, but a focal point is very useful if you are not being guided with a recording. What to use? It can be a dot on the wall, a picture, an ornament, any simple item or an inspiring one. Focussing on the item looking directly at it whilst sitting completely still is the beginning of your hypnosis session. Continuing to look only at the focal point, thinking of nothing but that object, will bring you to a point where thoughts will drift by disturbing you less and less, allowing you to experience a quietness of mind that you may have never experienced before. With this method you can continue through the whole hypnosis using the focal point or you can use it until such time that you feel you would like to close your eyes and continue the hypnosis from there.
8. Learning to Relax
Relaxing sounds easy but it does take some effort. We have a lot of tension in our bodies and it is not easy to let go just like that. Learning to really let go and relax brings a better hypnosis experience and almost without exception you will find that the more you practice self-hypnosis, the better you will become at it and the deeper you will relax. Relaxing deeply can bring many benefits to the hypnosis experience having some similar effects to a good nights sleep. If you find it hard to relax, simply persevere. It will pay off and you will be enjoying deep relaxation during your hypnosis. This practice has the additional benefit of enabling voluntary relaxation at other times such as when feeling tense or stressed at work. You may then find that you are more able to relax and let go of tension just by choosing to do so.
9. Is this How I should feel?
Hypnosis is a state of relaxation (although physical relaxation is not a prerequisite) whereby the conscious mind is distracted and the subconscious is influenced with your chosen goal or change in behaviour you wish to achieve. People experience the state of hypnosis differently, some feel that nothing really happened and may find the experience under-whelming but are often later surprised by the successful results they get. Some find the experience lives up to their expectations and they enjoy it as an incredible experience as well and enjoying the results. Some of these factors depend on your preconceptions before trying hypnosis and some depend on how hard you try and whether or not you choose to persevere through any difficulties. The notion of having to ‘try’ to be hypnotised is hard for some people to grasp and this may ultimately result in them abandoning the idea altogether. The state of hypnosis may feel like being about to fall asleep. There may be sensations of falling or floating but not everyone experiences this. Many people find their body feeling heavy and really not wanting to move. Your thoughts might drift. You may visualise things or recall memories or images from the past. You may find yourself very involved in your thoughts and feel that you have not heard the recording or the therapist’s voice. This is perfectly normal and the hypnosis will work.
10. Reinforce the hypnosis.
If you make an appointment with a hypnotherapist you could expect in most cases to see some results from that after a single session. Self-hypnosis is a bit more trial and error and may require more effort to get the results. How much success you get from doing the hypnosis once only will depend on many factors including how well you relaxed. If you feel disappointment with the results it is important to persevere and try again and again. If you are serious in what you want to achieve your aim then this investment of time will not be too much for you. If you feel reluctant to practice self-hypnosis then perhaps you should question how serious you are about successfully achieving your goal. Are you looking to get an easy way out? Are you practicing bad faith?
If you want to use self-hypnosis successfully to improve something about yourself, change a bad habit, overcome a phobia, or to be a better version of yourself, think for a moment how many months or years you have been experiencing these feelings or displaying these negative behaviours. How deeply has this become rooted within your psyche? Persevering with the self-hypnosis can bring you the success you seek and the results you are hoping for but you may need to practice the hypnosis again and again to really reinforce the changes. Some self-hypnosis books and resources will tell you to listen to the session every day for 30 days. This fits well with the well known idea that it takes 21 days to break a habit, 30 to fully ensure it is effective. This would be a wise consideration if you are truly serious in what you want to achieve, and if you really want that success approximately 30 minutes every day for 30 days would be worthwhile wouldn’t it?
Suggestions Ideas:
1. I have no desire to eat chocolate
2. My desire for sugar is gone, I am free
3. I have an unlimited ability to succeed
4. I love to exercise every day.
5. I feel great in the morning when I wake up
6. I am Super confident
7. My memory is improving every day, I can remember easily.
