Hypnotherapy: What is it & how does it work?
What is it? Hypnosis has been around since the late 1800’s as a recognised subject, it’s been around much longer, much like the USA existed before it was ‘discovered’.
Franz Mesmer is the father of hypnosis as well as being seen as the first person to use it with consistent results – this is where the term ‘mesmerise’ comes from.
Hypnosis was mostly known for being used in stage performances much of the time even though it was originally seen as an anaesthetic with surgery successfully being performed on patients under the influence of hypnosis, in fact ether had a high mortality rate so hypnosis was seen as a great revolution in surgery.
How does it work? Think of the brain as a computer that is corrupt or has a bug, the programmer goes into the software & reprograms the computer so that it works correctly. Hypnosis does exactly the same thing; the client has developed a bug so maybe fear of flying for instance and the hypnotherapist needs to talk to the operating system (subconscious mind) and ask it to play nicely, the hypnotherapist actually ‘reprograms’ the mind to realise the fear is irrational and not needed. In actual fact by making an appointment to get a session of therapy you are already sending your subconscious mind a message to say you are ready to make changes, that is 60% of the battle won already!
What Should I Expect? When I sit down with a client for the first time I always take the time to explain how it feels, what they will probably experience etc so that they will relax as much as possible before we start. I always dismiss the myths & images created by the media so they know I won’t be making them bark like a dog whenever the doorbell goes or running naked down the street!
Most people, including myself before I knew any better always assume that once under the influence of hypnosis we are fast asleep & have no recollection of the session, whilst this is true of a minority in actual fact for 95% of the population it is more like a lead meditation where there may be the odd gap or lapse in memory but actually for the most part there is awareness & recall of the session.
Results: The results from hypnotherapy vary from person to person; there is no ‘one size fits all’ with this therapy. If I were to take a case of a person wishing to quit smoking as an example it may be that one session is plenty but it may be that more than one is required as each person has a different level of willpower (hypnotherapy cannot give you willpower nor does it replace the willpower you already have it aids it) so be prepared to go with the flow.
Success Stories: I have had many successes with various issues that clients needed to resolve ranging from fear of spiders to alcoholism with everything in between. Some issues have a 100% success rate & others less. I would always recommend it as a good port of call, especially if you have already tried most other options. Call me if you need to ask about your particular issues.