Self Hypnosis
What Is Self-Hypnosis?
What you might not know is that ALL hypnosis is self-hypnosis! Even when you go to see a professional therapist, you are the one who controls it. Hypnosis is like a daydream, it like when you’re lying in bed and you’re half asleep, half awake. One of the best examples of hypnosis is when you are driving somewhere and you might go the wrong way for a few miles before you realise. Of course you drive to that point safely, and still awake etc but it’s as if you did it on ‘auto pilot’. These are examples of what professional hypnotherapist’s call hypnosis, you might know it as something else but you know it. In fact, we all know it. This is self-hypnosis.
Hypnotic states have been around as long as mankind has been around. One of the best explanations for this is that when we were more like animals than we are now, we had to assess a mate for reproducing. There were and are so many subtle signs that showed a potential partner that we needed a part of us to assess this whilst we were still capable of doing other things. Today, we know that we still subconsciously both give and receive signals even though in a more sophisticated way than our animal relations. The pupils dilate when we see someone we find attractive, this is completely automatic and just a mentioned to help us assess a potential mate.
So now you know that you too are capable of producing a hypnotic state, you can start to work on yourself. Self-hypnosis is seen everywhere we look. When we see an athlete in ‘the zone’ and often going through the pain barrier- that is self-hypnosis even if they don’t know it. Been engrossed in a book or a film and not really hearing what someone is saying to you is the same thing too. Someone who is really focused on achieving their business goals or even achieving success in their personal lives can be said to be using self-hypnosis. When we are really angry or upset, this is often like a trance state, although of course this is not a positive trance like trying to win a race. So, you can see that self-hypnosis is everywhere.
Did you know – that even for a brief second when we are confused, that is, and can be used to initiate a hypnotic state?
Uses For Self Hypnosis
Stress, anxiety are the 2 most common uses, but its certainly not limited to that. Nerves or preparations for tests or exams are just a few of the things self-hypnosis can be used for. As long as what is bothering you is not too deep seated then you have a chance to improve it with the power of self-hypnosis.
How To Use Self Hypnosis
Self hypnosis is easy once learned. It doesn’t take years to learn, the effects wont necessarily be immediate but they will come. Its like anything, the more you put in the more you get out. You too YES YOU! can learn to make things better in your life. You want more confidence? yes its possible. You want to achieve more? Yes its possible. Using self-hypnosis can help you find strengths and abilities you didn’t know you had. It can’t make you a millionaire overnight or be the best singer in the world but you can go beyond what you are doing now.
NOTE: As hypnosis is such a natural state (self-hypnosis is an altered state of awareness – not sleep) you might wonder when you first start to try it out if you are doing it correctly or not. You might not feel any difference, but that is completely normal. A lot of clients do not think anything has changed during therapy, some find that are almost on a different plane of existence. Your experience is as individual as you. However, when the results of whatever you are trying to achieve start to occur then you will know something has caused those changes, right?
Firstly; if you can afford it to visit a registered hypnotherapist and get them to show you in 1 or 2 sessions what a trance state is actually like. Make sure they are registered and check them out if you need to. Once you have seen what your experience of hypnosis/trance is like you know what to expect. Then you can practice by yourself at home. A good therapist might even give you a cd to play at home for practising self-hypnosis.
Self-hypnosis Method:
Find a nice comfortable place to relax and turn off all the phones so you wont be disturbed. I feel that some gentle music is best as it will help drown out any annoying sounds like the washing machine or neighbours. Do not practise when you are completely tired out as you are likely to fall asleep. This is not as much a problem as you might think, but for self-hypnosis it’s not what we want.
1- Beginning Get the music playing and take some comfortably deep breaths, the more deep breaths you take the more you will automatically start to relax.
Use whichever of these strategies you feel suits you best.
Tell yourself that you will start to feel relaxation starting in the tips of your toes. The more you tell yourself these things, the more they will occur!! When you start to feel some relaxation in your toes, let it spread into your feet, feel your feet relax. Let your calf muscles relax, feel the warmth spreading through these muscles if possible. Continue this with your upper legs, your torso, shoulders, arms down to your fingertips. Dont forget your back and neck even face muscles. You have to play around and see what suits you best. You are now experiencing self-hypnosis.
You might like to visualise more than you feel things. If you prefer to visualise, you can see yourself on a nice warm beach , or walking through a forest on a day of your choice. You can feel the wind, smell the damp leaves etc The choices are limitless.
2- Remember, keep telling yourself you will relax more, or that the deeper you go into the forest the more you relax. It’s vital to ensure that this scene is as enjoyable as can be. It can be real or imagined; your brain can make either as real as the other.
3- Deepener. When you are starting to feel quite relaxed (don’t expect too much just yet) you need to deepen it. This can like counting from 10 down to 1, walking down some steps to the most wonderful places you could ever be or taking 5-10 deep breaths and telling yourself that on the X breath, or step that you will enter a hypnotic state. A comfortable and enjoyable state of relaxation where your inner mid can help you understand both your problems and the solutions you are capable of.
4-Problem Solving This can be the hardest bit. Often you might know what the problems are, but you have to be realistic and know that things take time sometimes. You might want to learn more confidence. That doesn’t mean you can steamroller in and just expect to be more confident. Whatever the issues are: work out how and why you feel like this, when you know what broken, it’s easier to fix. See the techniques page for examples of how to help yourself.
This can be a very complex thing to resolve. There are not always easy answers, but you can always improve things when you try hard enough.
5- Finish You cannot get stuck in self-hypnosis ! FACT! There is NOTHING TO FEAR from hypnosis as long as you follow these guidelines. To close the session, count yourself up from 1-10 and tell yourself that with each number you will be become more aware, when you open your eyes you will feel refreshed, relaxed and positive. Give yourself lots of positive messages. And always give yourself post hypnotic suggestions i.e from today i will feel a little more calm, I will cope better with X Y Z.
Open your eyes and keep the determination in yourself that you will get things sorted better for you and enjoy your day.
Power Of Self Hypnosis
Many of the worlds successful people have got where they are by believing in themselves, but also by being focused on what they want and not letting anything or anyone get in their way. That is in my opinion a form of self-hypnosis. They had to believe first, they then had to carry out actions to fulfil that belief. Determination is a state of mind, so you can learn to crank your own states up, to fulfil your own ambitions/dreams.
When Not To Use Self Hypnosis
DO NOT EVER try to use self-hypnosis for issues such as serious abuse, near death experiences, or other similar issues. You are not qualified to use it and you wont make things any better, maybe even worse! Leave it to a professional. If you have these types of things that are bothering you, self hypnosis should be left aside. Instead, contact your doctor or see a professional, qualified and registered hypnotherapist. I know from experience how people can change and you are no different.
Add your thoughts to the discussion… or read about conversational hypnosis