What is Hypnosis/Hypnotherapy
Hypnosis does not require a leap of faith since we experience hypnosis on different levels on a daily basis.
Hypnosis is a perfectly natural altered state of awareness and one which we encounter every single day while going to sleep and waking up. We also experience hypnosis often without realising. The following story is a good example. I new of a woman who after many years of smoking tried to stop but with no success despite her desire to do so, then something happened one day that stopped the woman ever wanting another cigarette. One afternoon the woman, who was listening to the radio while doing her ironing task, became absorbed in the topic of conversation which happened to be about stopping smoking with the help of hypnotherapy. Her ironing task served to quite the busy conscious mind leaving her subconscious mind open to receive directly all the information she heard on the radio. With her desire to stop smoking and her focused state this had a profound affect on her, she never had another cigarette in her life! She was hypnotised without realising. The important thing here is that the woman had a strong desire to stop smoking and this desire is what makes the subconscious mind obey. As with all addictions and habits it is the desire from the individual that is important to affect change, without the desire the subconscious mind will just carry on as normal as it prefers an easy life.
Many people think that hypnosis is a strange state of mind that is brought on by the Hypnotherapist who has a special power over you, but this is not so, although this appears to be the case in Stage Hypnosis (more about that later). All hypnosis is self hypnosis and no one can be made to do anything that goes against their moral or religious beliefs. You are in control all the time, all the Hypnotherapist is doing is facilitating a relaxed focused state leaving the subconscious mind open to suggestion. There are different levels of hypnotic trance from light through to deep, at all times you are in control, I am just the facilitator helping you to focus your busy mind while leaving the door open to your sub-conscious mind, just like the woman in the story I mentioned who was focused on her ironing task. You can never become stuck in hypnosis in fact if a Hypnotherapist were to leave you in trance you would wake up in your own time, and if anything happened to warrant you to wake up immediately you would do so. You are in control.
We have forgotten the art of relaxation in this busy modern world which bombards us with all kinds of stimuli on a daily basis, and since very often individuals want very much to affect change they do not know how, this is where hypnotherapy helps also teaching you relaxation techniques for use at home to benefit you enormously.
Repeat a behaviour enough times and the subconscious mind will continue to repeat it until it becomes a habit that is hard to break. Your subconscious is like a child, it knows no reason, it just wants a comfortable life at the detriment of life debilitating habits. Hypnotherapy is one of the most effective treatments in gently teaching the subconscious mind new and healthy habits with profound results.