What is Hypnosis About?
All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The hypnotist is simply the GPS in your car that guides you, while you maintain complete control throughout the process.
Hypnosis can simply be defined as a state of heightened suggestibility in which you’re able to reprogram your mind and body for success. It’s an integrative process of rebuilding habits and behaviors, as well as emotions, beliefs, and feelings.
Have you ever found yourself completely immersed in an activity to the exclusion of everything else? That is a natural trance state. Common examples of this are while watching a movie and becoming transfixed in the plot. Or in working intently and finding that the last four hours have flown by without your conscious awareness. Perhaps you’ve been reading a book and been so transfixed that you did not hear someone come in and speak with you. Perhaps you’ve been in the shower where ideas simply flow to you due to the level of relaxation you were experiencing.
Hypnosis is a naturally occurring state you’ve already experienced thousands of times. It is not manipulation, mind control, or magic. It simply is a tool that will allow you to tap into the power of your mind and take control of your life.
By definition, hypnosis is NOT a state of relaxation, but as many issues are related to stress or anxiety, we often create a profoundly relaxed state to assist in making the changes. Most people report feeling very relaxed or pleasantly lethargic. Many clients are surprised at how “normal” the experience feels, as many have been conditioned by movies or television to think there is a “magic feeling” that suddenly washes over you, preceded by being lulled into a trance with a pocketwatch.
Your mind will be alert and perceptive of the suggestions it is receiving. Your focus will be directly on your experience or the words of the suggestions you are receiving.
Rapid change is possible with hypnosis. Sessions are scheduled for 60-90 minutes. You will probably have a distorted sense of time. You will feel like you have been hypnotized for just a couple minutes, even though the hypnotic process is just a fraction of the entire session length. Most people begin to experience benefits from the very first session, though hypnosis is a process over a number of sessions as discussed by the hypnotist and client.