The Wonders And Benefits Of Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a state of mind and consciousness characterized by extreme relaxing and over imagination. It may also be referred to as sleep of the nervous system. Self hypnosis also known as auto-hypnosis is a kind of therapy that is self induced whereby an individual normally makes self suggestions. Self hypnosis techniques are techniques that are used to take full control of ones mind in hypnotherapy.

Under this technique a person tries to increase suggestibility. When in such a situation, one has higher chances of taking, hearing and using suggestions. In a bid to do this, an individual has to learn to take full control of the mind. Since self hypnosis is a way of influencing oneself, learning to take full control of the mind helps one to fully influence the body muscles without straining the brain.

Before starting this therapy, there are some things that one needs to put into consideration. Firstly, one should set and plan to achieve a goal by the end of the session. Secondly, he should choose appropriate positive affirmations and select the best. Memorizing the affirmation is important to ensure it sticks in the mind so that the mind can focus. Having positive thoughts of the anticipated results is also important.

One needs deep relaxation and thus a comfortable position would be recommended. This can be done using a comfortable chair or taking a comfy position where you can sit in a relaxed manner. This aids in relaxing the muscles and this is very desirable. Also avoid as much as possible lying on your back since you might just fall asleep before you are done.

Stating the purpose of your session is also important. This simply means knowing what you want to achieve at the end of the session. This helps you to gauge yourself and to see whether within the duration you have stipulated you will be able to accomplish whatever you have set.

In this exercise, it is also important to have a schedule that will fit into your daily program. One has to know the duration of time that is to be spent during the exercise. It is important to choose a duration that will be enough for you to accomplish what you have planned. This is to ensure that you do not have to leave the exercise before you are done. Since it might take a couple of days, one can have a short daily program set specifically for the therapy.

Another important thing is to do away with any distractions. This could be in terms of electronics or any other decorations around you. It is meant to allow one to have as much concentration as possible. This level of high concentration ensures that one attains his goal by the end of the short period.

Self hypnosis techniques have been widely used as stress management tools. They are more practical and cheaper as a hypnotist does not have to be present. They are very helpful in body relaxation and stress management.

You may have seen television shows or read stories about hypnotists taking full control of people's minds. In such states, the people who become "hypnotized" are unable to break free from the clutches of the hypnotist - hapless individuals are forced to do things that they don't want to do. Well, no matter how hard popular culture enforces these negative images of hypnosis, these images are nowhere near the truth.

First off, hypnosis is not about taking full control of somebody's mind. Hypnosis, above all else, is actually a natural state of mind that each person has experienced thousands of times since childhood. Self-hypnosis is a mental state wherein a person is able to suspend his interest in other things to focus solely on a particular idea or a particular chain of ideas or suggestions.

For example, when someone watches television and becomes completely absorbed in the story, that person becomes hypnotized because he is consciously hanging on to every word and event in the television program. During this time, the subconscious part of a person's mind is busy absorbing the underlying messages in the story that is unfolding.

Self-hypnosis in our day and age is not magic nor mind control - it's a tool that everyone can use to make themselves better in every way.

There is still a lot of debate as to how hypnosis can actually help a person improve his life. If you are still worried that hypnosis may be some form of mind control, you can safely let go of your misconceptions because even medical science has accepted hypnotherapy as a viable form alternative therapy for a variety of medical issues.

To illustrate this, here is a short list of problems that hypnosis can help solve:

1. Stress management problems
2. Anxiety disorders
3. Chronic worrying
4. Self-confidence issues
5. Self-image problems
6. Weight issues
7. Negative habits
8. Destructive habits
9. Shyness
10. Insomnia
11. Lack of creativity
12. Lack of motivation
13. Memory problems
14. Concentration problems
15. Disorganization or cluttered living spaces
16. Poor reflexes
17. Chronic pain

As you can see, self-hypnosis can be used for a very wide variety of problems. Self-hypnosis is able to accomplish this because it recognizes the valuable link between the mind and the body.

That's why when you use a self-hypnosis script of your own or that of a professional hypnotist like Steve G. Jones, you will be able to make your body respond physically to positive suggestions that are being given to your subconscious mind. And the best thing about all of this is that you can easily do this in the comfort of your home. There is no need to visit a hypnotherapist if you do not want to; you can create your own hypnotic suggestions at home.

Believe it or not, hypnosis has been around for a very long time and was only formally recognized as a distinct field of human knowledge in the fifties (this is when a lot of disciplines were being recognized by powerful establishments, such as the medical field).

Through hypnosis' long and very interesting history, countless techniques and sub-techniques have been formulated - but despite the numerous theories and techniques being used, there are still specific components in the practice of hypnosis that have remained constant throughout the decades. These components include:

1. The progressive relaxation component - The subject is slowly eased into a state of relaxation so that he or she will be more open to hypnotic suggestions

2. The focus component - The subject of the hypnosis is made to focus on particular words, images, and sometimes even sounds during the hypnosis. Hyper-focus often results.

3. The immobility component - During hypnosis, the subject usually remains seated until the session has ended. (Otherwise, the subject will not be able to focus on what the guide is saying)

4. The REM component - In some cases, rapid eye movement or REM can result during hypnosis. (REM occurs when a person is asleep; though in the case of hypnotized subjects, patients are usually not asleep, but instead, are in a deep, hypnotic state.)

You may have heard of a hypnotic trance - this usually happens when the hypnotic induction has been successful and the person becomes completely relaxed and also becomes more accepting of what the hypnotist or guide is saying.

But make no mistake - a hypnotic trance does not mean that a person can be ordered to act like a chicken. A person who is under a hypnotic trance is very aware of what is happening and has the complete freedom to speak out and decline if needed.

This resistance to hypnotic suggestion is a unique feature of the human mind that prevents new ideas from gaining ground immediately. So if you wish to perform self-hypnosis to combat a bad habit, it will take some time before the positive suggestions can take effect.

Now, a hypnotic trance is by no means limited to a hypnosis session. You can enter the same type of trance when you are reading a great book or when you are listening to engaging music. It's the same thing, only you are not aware that you are entering the hypnotic trance because everything seems so natural. And a hypnotic trance is the most natural thing in the world. It's an ability that allows a person to focus intently on a particular set of ideas without being distracted by other thoughts.

Self-hypnosis can be accomplished with the use of different techniques and hypnotic scripts as well as different forms of hypnotic suggestion. Below are the four kinds of hypnotic suggestions that can be used to successfully implant positive ideas into the subconscious of a person who is being hypnotized.

Verbal hypnotic suggestions - These suggestions are formulated through sounds, words and phrases. If a guide is using music to achieve relaxation, then that too is part of the verbal hypnotic suggestion.

Non-verbal hypnotic suggestions - Physical gestures and actions can also be used during a hypnosis session. Physical actions are often used in combination with verbal hypnotic suggestions (e.g. handshakes, etc.).

Intra-verbal hypnotic suggestions - When the hypnotic guide does not make use of music or other sounds, his script is made up entirely of human language or intra-verbal hypnotic suggestions.

Extra-verbal hypnotic suggestions - When verbal and non-verbal hypnotic suggestions have been successfully combined, the guide is using extra-verbal hypnotic suggestions. This type of hypnotic suggestion is considered the most potent when used in hypnotherapy.

Once the suggestions have been given through the hypnosis session, the hypnotist must then assess the suggestibility of the subject/patient. It is common for people to be least suggestible during the first session. Don't worry though, as a person's suggestibility usually improves through time and practice.

The subconscious mind is perhaps the most powerful aspect of the human mind. At any given time, the waking consciousness constitutes only twenty-five percent of the total activity in the human mind. The rest of the activity comes from the subconscious mind. This is how potent and powerful it is - which is why anyone who is interested in creating a hypnosis script should learn more about the nature of the subconscious mind.

Here's a short comparison of the subconscious mind and a person's waking consciousness:

Waking consciousness

- Very dependent on a person's own logical thinking
- Is quick to detect whether an idea is logical/rational or not
- Continually analyzes ideas and experiences
- Is where a person's willpower manifests
- Is very systematic
- Prefers a good structure of ideas
- The nest of active learning

Subconscious mind

- Often simplistic in its response to ideas and experiences
- Is not reliant on a person's brain or logic
- This where habits are formed and perpetuated
- Often described as child-like, compared to the waking consciousness

Though the subconscious mind may seem inferior to the waking consciousness, it is actually more powerful because habits cannot be dismantled by the waking consciousness if the subconscious fully supports it.

So if a person knows that he needs to lose weight to avoid heart problems, that is not enough to create enough willpower to stop eating excessive amounts of food because the subconscious still supports the idea of over-eating. When this happens, hypnosis can help by changing the existing ideas in the subconscious so that it will harmonize with what a person really wants to happen in his life.

There has been a lot of renewed attention on hypnosis nowadays, probably because fact is slowly replacing common misconceptions about the discipline. Let's look at some of the most common questions that people have regarding hypnosis:

Question: Why is hypnosis more effective in a quiet location?

Answer: In order for the mind to focus intently on what the guide is saying, external sources of distraction must be minimized. A quiet room is the best hypnosis-inducing location around.

Question: What do hypnotherapists have to know before they start a hypnosis session?

Answer: You have to tell the hypnotherapist what particular problems you are dealing with right now as well as any goals that you want to accomplish in the near future. All this information will be used to produce the best environment to help you achieve those goals through hypnosis.

Question: What will I feel when I am under hypnosis?

Answer: You may actually feel nothing at all, as it is common for some folks to resist the progressive relaxation the first few times. This is normal - as you proceed with other sessions, you will eventually learn how to relax and focus on what the guide is saying.

Question: Why does the hypnotist "wake up" his patients after a session?

Answer: This is done to make the experience special and lasting - and this is also performed so that the patient can revert to his previous consciousness immediately after the session.