What is hypnosis?
Hypnosis has become a staple part of my mindset practice. I now prioritise this practice as part of my daily routine, and it’s often one of the key suggestions I make to my clients.
Since learning this practice, I’m often met with a range of responses. I often find mis-information and assumptions based on movies and misuse. Does this mean I’ll have no control? Is this a spiritual practice? I am also noticing a greater openness to work with the subconscious and people are recognising that often willpower and positive on purpose thinking is only one aspect to mental wellness.
Today, the agenda is to shed light on what my experience on what hypnosis is, with the hope that it will reframe and provide context to how you can use this tool daily.
I also want to preface this my saying that hypnosis is a state we enter into naturally during the day, but there are people that this practice isn’t suited for. This intervention is not recommended if you have a diagnosis of Schizophrenia or Bipolar. There also needs to be a willingness and an openness to work on yourself and face aspects of yourself you may rather keep hidden.
To summarise what hypnosis is, it is ultimately a state of focused attention and heightened suggestibility. As your mind enters the Alpha/Theta brainwave state, your mind chatter quietens down allowing you to access your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind is responsible for 90-95% of your choices, beliefs and actions.
This is a state that you enter when you are driving a car, showering, meditating, drifting off to sleep and waking first thing in the morning. The more we learn to enter this state, the easier it becomes.
During hypnosis, you are guided into a relaxed state where you are open to new suggestions and can access inner thoughts and feelings. You have control during the process and can leave, stop and redirect at anytime.
Hypnosis has been used for centuries to help address and overcome a variety of issues, from anxiety and depression to sleep, smoking, single traumas, self-esteem and confidence, performance, to addiction and chronic pain.
Ultimately, this practice allows us to accessing the root causes of these issues and reprogramming the subconscious mind to think in a more helpful way.
It's important to note that hypnosis is not a magic cure-all and should always be used in conjunction with other forms of therapy and treatment and frequency of sessions will depend on the presenting issue. Additionally, hypnosis should only be performed by a trained and licensed professional.