HYPNOTHERAPY Explained…
An effective method to overcome limiting beliefs, childhood trauma, stress, anxiety and achieve your best life
Hypnotherapy and its Roots
The benefits of hypnotherapy (a guided practice to help improve your quality of life) do not discriminate and have been found to help many people around the world with anxiety, stress, pain relief, breaking bad habits, and more for over 60 years. Celebrities like Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone have positively benefited from this practice. According to The American Psychological Association, and American Medical Association, hypnotherapy has been a valid procedure since 1958, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recommended it as a treatment for chronic pain since 1995.
Is Hypnotherapy for me? How does it even work?
We are all human.. relaxing can be hard sometimes. Focusing can be even harder. Concentrating can be the hardest. What if there was a solution to help you relax, focus, concentrate, and function at a higher level? This higher level is also called your “higher self”. A word according to yogapedia.com described as “a state of consciousness that be accessed through meditation, self-reflection, and introspection.
Hypnotherapy puts the mind in a state of hypnosis: a state that humans are naturally in every day realizing it or not. With a hypnotherapist, you work on your breath, sit back, relax, and let your mind wander for the moment. At this moment, you experience a wave of deep relaxation, from your head to your toes as your subconscious mind is guided by verbal repetition and mental images. Sessions typically average about an hour long depending on where you live and where you go. You may be saying that’s a lot of money but this is what people pay on average to get a massage done. Although the massage may be physically relieving, hypnotherapy has a plethora of benefits, including mental, physical, and emotional improvement.
Of the people who have tried hypnotherapy, they have reported evident improvement. Dr. Alfred A. Barrios Ph.D. , the author of, “PSYCHOTHERAPY: THEORY, RESEARCH, AND PRACTICE (SPRING, 1970 ISSUE) HYPNOTHERAPY: A REAPPRAISAL” pointed out that the average success rate for hypnotherapy was 93% after an average of 6 sessions.
A Myriad of Benefits using Hypnotherapy
According to the Mayo Clinic: Hypnosis allows for improved focus and concentration.
Hypnosis also may be helpful for:
Pain control. Hypnosis may help with pain due to burns, cancer, childbirth, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, jaw problems, dental procedures, and headaches.
Hot flashes. Hypnosis may ease hot flashes caused by menopause.
Behavior change. Hypnosis has been used with some success to treat sleep problems, bed-wetting, smoking, and overeating.
Cancer treatment side effects. Hypnosis has been used to ease the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
Mental health conditions. Hypnosis may help reduce anxiety associated with fears and phobias.
Hypnotherapy does not Discriminate: Celebrities use it too!
Ellen DeGeneres (Quit smoking)
Sylvester Stallone (Rocky's role and reputation)
John Travolta (Overcome stage fright)
Robert DeNiro (Further career)
Ashton Kutcher (Quit smoking)
Bruce Willis (Stuttering)
Drew Barrymore (Quit smoking)
Fergie (Over-eating)
Muhammad Ali (Mental toughness for Boxing)
Kobe Bryant (To Become a Better Version of himself)
Tiger Woods (For athletic performance)
Samuel L. Jackson (Stagefright)
My Testimony with Hypnotherapy
(This is not an endorsement.)
I was 22 years old at the time and recommended by a family member to give hypnotherapy a try- after I was going through a difficult time of my life dealing with loss, health issues, addiction, thoughts of inadequacy, wanting to become a better athlete, and did not know my purpose in life. I was living days, weeks, and months, feeling like I was stuck in my mind and self-deprecated, no matter who I talked to or what I did, nothing was working. So much so, it was obvious to my loved ones and close friends that I could use a change of scenery. I did not want to take any medication, and I did not want to see a therapist, and a family member made an appointment for me to see a hypnotherapist in my town.
At first, I was skeptical and did not want anyone to know that I was doing this but this was my internal guard going down piece by piece and eventually accepting the fact that I could benefit from this new method of deep thinking.
My initial consultation was quite soothing, and relaxing, and felt like years of bricks were being lifted off of my chest. I was asked deep questions about my childhood, my belief system, my feelings, my emotions, and what I was striving to accomplish through hypnotherapy. The transparency, care, and attention to detail displayed by my hypnotherapist, who wanted to fully understand me, made my time in hypnotherapy therapeutic and built trust.
I’m not going to lie, in the first session, you are very much in your head and feeling things out subconsciously. Your brain is almost like, “What’s going on? Why am I so relaxed? This is great.” As sessions progressed, each session catered to the exact needs that I provided on day one. There was a plan in place and a structure, and I deeply appreciated that. And with each session, I felt more and more confident, present, and intentional post-session. While you are being guided, in each session, you go deeper and deeper. Think of it as if you are in a shell, and with every session, an old shell is shed. Pretty cool, huh?
After all of my hypnotherapy sessions and years later of reflecting, I can genuinely say that I have benefited from hypnotherapy. Whether you are a teacher, an actor, a plumber, a singer, an athlete, or a doctor, we are all human and can all benefit from this practice. Nobody is perfect and we can always improve. If you’re willing to take a leap of faith and try out hypnotherapy, even if it’s one session, I truly believe you will see a difference in how you go about life and your perspective will change for the better.