FAQ's
1 What is Guided Imagery (Hypnosis)?
2 What Happens in Hypnosis?
3 What does Hypnosis feel like?
4 Can Anyone be Hypnotised?
5 Is Hypnosis the same as Meditation?
6 Are any abilities enhanced during Hypnosis?
7 Would I be asked to do something against my will?
8 When I'm Hypnotised, am I unconscious?
9 What is self-hypnosis?
10 How safe is hypnosis?
11 In what areas can Hypnotherapy be used?
12 Harm Minimisation Provisions
All hypnosis is self hypnosis. Our bodies experience what are known as Ultradian Rhythms. These Ultradian Rhythms are the basis of what is known as a common, everyday trance or hypnotic state in which we may find ourselves daydreaming or just taking a break.
The following are some examples:
Have you ever been in a room full of people ostensibly taking part in the group yet mentally being far away from it?
Have you ever had the experience of driving home while thinking about an issue that preoccupied you and suddenly realised that, although you have arrived safely at your destination, you can't recall having driven past familiar landmarks? You avoided collisions, stopped at red lights - it is as if you had somehow been travelling on automatic pilot.
Have you ever been unsure whether you did something or just though about having to do it - for example, not knowing whether you either mailed a certain letter or just thought about mailing it?
Have you ever been staring off into space, actually thinking of nothing and being unaware of the passage of time?
Have you ever had the experience of reading a novel (or watching a play) and, while doing so, actually forgotten yourself and your surroundings and lived the story with such reality and vividness that it became temporarily real to you?
Have you ever been lulled into a dreamy state or put to sleep by a lecture or a concert, even though you were not fatigued or tired?
A Clinical Hypnotherapist uses hypnosis to enable the client to acheive a state of mental, physical and emotional relaxation.
When in hypnosis, the conscious mind (that busy, critical, analytical part of the mind) takes a rest. Hypnosis allows people to tap into the storehouse of information that lies in the subconscious (sometimes referred to as the unconscious) mind and make positive changes to thought patterns, habits or the effects of traumatic incidents that are having a negative impact either mentally or physically.
The feeling when in hypnosis is of being physically and mentally relaxed. It has been likened to the feelings we experience just before waking completely from sleep or just as we drift off to sleep. Some people say it feels like daydreaming. When in hypnosis, people experience a state of complete mental, physical and emotional relaxation. In itself, this is a very healing state. Dr Milton Erickson, a leading American hypnotherapist, described the process of clinical hypnosis as "a free period in which individuality can flourish".
< Virtually anyone can be hypnotised - some more easily than others. Like anything else in life, the more people practice self-hypnosis, the more easily they can slip into that wonderful relaxed state. The depth that people reach in hypnosis varies between individuals. It is not necessary to achieve a very deep level of hypnosis to bring about change to habits or conditions that are having a negative impact either mentally or physically.
A common myth about hypnotisability is when a person says, "No one could hypnotise me, and I'm too strong minded". All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. A person goes into hypnosis because they choose to. So strong-minded individuals are really good candidates for hypnosis provided they are committed to wanting it to work for them.
Scans of people in hypnosis show that the brain activitation seen in hypnosis is quite different from that seen in normal waking or sleeping or in meditation.
Yes - these are:
The ability to IMAGINE
The ability to REMEMBER
The CREATIVE abilities
Responsiveness to POSITIVE suggestions
Here are some examples:
The ability to IMAGINE - People in hypnosis respond extremely well to the use of imagery techniques, which have powerful benefits for change. Brain scans taken of people in hypnosis show increased activity during hypnosis, particularly in the motor and sensory area relating to heightened mental imagery. Under hypnosis the powerful benefits of imagery can be used to treat a wide range of conditions.
The ability to REMEMBER - People in hypnosis experienced a heightened sense of recall. For example, in some instances, hypnosis is used by the police to assist witnesses to recall car number plates or describe people at a crime or accident scene. The enhancement of the ability to remember in hypnosis enables the client and therapist to explore the origin or cause of symptoms that may be causing a client distress and take an appropriate course of action.
The CREATIVE abilities - By having access to increased creativity in hypnosis, people are able to allow themselves to be much more creative in their thinking thus enabling them to more readily explore options and solutions to issues that are troubling them. People can also utilise the benefits of self-hypnosis in all areas of their lives that involve creativity, such as painting, writing, music, etc.
Responsiveness to POSITIVE suggestions - Working as a team, the client and clinical hypnotherapist agree on what outcomes the client is wishing to achieve. Heightened responsiveness to positive suggestion in hypnosis means that the clinical hypnotherapist can reinforce the changes the client wishes to make. This reinforcing under hypnosis is at the subconscious (or unconscious) level which is much more powerful than making the suggestions to the conscious mind.
This is one of the common misunderstandings associated with hypnosis. This is probably tied in with another misconception that the hypnotherapist has control over the client. This is not the case. People will not do or say anything under hypnosis that they would not do when not in hypnosis. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis - you cannot be hypnotised against your will. This fear probably comes from the TV shows and performances by stage hypnotists. The stage hypnotists know how to select the most hypnotisable of their volunteers.
Research conducted at the University of NSW by Dr Amanda Barnier and reported in The Sydney Morning Herald on February 2, 1998, states that "Hypnotised people do not act like robots, nor are they powerless pawns of post-hypnotic suggestions planted in their subconscious". The report goes on to state that "some people genuinely experience their new persona, others talk themselves into the whole thing, while a small proportion simply fake it".
No. When in hypnosis, the conscious mind takes a rest. Hypnosis allows client and hypnotherapist to tap into the storehouse of information that lies in the subconscious (or unconscious mind) and makes positive changes to thought patterns, habits or the effects of traumatic incidents that are having a negative impact either mentally or physically.
All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The Clinical Hypnotherapist facilitates the process using a range of techniques, which may differ from client to client. A Clinical Hypnotherapist can teach you to use self-hypnosis thereby giving you a life long skill.
Hypnosis is a normal, naturally occurring, healthy state of mind. It is totally DRUG FREE. There has never been a single documented case of harm resulting from the use of hypnosis.
Hypnotherapy can help with: Smoking Cessation, Over Eating, Nail Biting, Bed Wetting, Insomnia, Headaches, Exam Nerves, Pain, Anxieties, Panic Attacks, Phobias, Bulimia, Depression, Mood Swings, Alcoholism, Relationships, Hostility, Anger, Resentments, Worry, Guilt, Grief, Asthma, Blood Pressure, Sex Dysfunction, Warts, Compulsions.
Hypnotherapy has been a great help in improving: Exam performance, Study Recall, Memory, Sports Focus, Public Speaking, Personal Growth, Pain Control, Performace, Assertiveness, Childbirth, Communication, Relaxation, Counselling, Confidence, Releasing the Past, Personal Power, Goal Setting.
Hypnosis can be utilised in the treatment of most disorders, whether mental or otherwise, where the relaxation response promotes the person's attitude.
12. Harm Minimisation Provisions
If you’re presently taking medication for mind or mood, there’s no harm in continuing that intake while implementing as many of our suggestions as possible/practical. If you’d like to stop taking your medications or start taking supplements, do so only after consulting your medical expert. And remember, if your symptoms persist you may be well advised to consult your doctor.