Hypnosis - The Absolute Truth About It Article

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Hypnosis - The Absolute Truth About It

Does hypnotherapy ever fail? Once it starts working, will it keep working? Who make the best candidates for hypnotherapy? There are a lot of misconceptions about hypnotherapy. This article will give you the straight scoop.

Author: Alan B. Densky Ch

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THE DEFINITION OF HYPNOTISM:
Hypnotism is a condition of hyper-suggestibility where the conscious mind and the subconscious mind dissociate. It is a state of mind where the subject is more likely to acknowledge the operator's suggestions.

You have been in the hypnotic state many times in the past without even realizing it. If you've ever watched a sad television show and reacted with a tear in your eye, you have been in the hypnotic state. You entered a state of amplified suggestibility where you uncritically accepted the idea of grief on the TV screen and reacted with a sad emotion, your tear. In other words, your ability to impose logic, which is controlled by your conscious mind, was bypassed. You did not reason that the show was just a play; you accepted the action as being genuine. So you reacted with real emotion and shed a tear.

WHO CAN BE HYPNOTIZED?
It has been found that all normal people can be hypnotized to a greater or lesser extent. Subjects with less than a 70 I.Q. generally are not hypnotizable. People who are in an active state of psychosis usually are not hypnotizable. Most senile people are difficult or impossible to hypnotize. I have found in my own private practice dealing with a large number of retired people as old as 85 years of age, that hypnotherapy is a powerful and beneficial method for the majority of people. The person's personal motivation is the key to success.

DO I HAVE TO BE A "DEEP" HYPNOTIC SUBJECT TO BE SUCCESSFUL?
For the curative applications of hypnotherapy we most often deal with, hypnotic depth isn't required. You can be the lightest possible subject and still receive all of the benefits from hypnotherapy that the deepest subjects will receive. I believe that over the years, far too much importance has been placed on how deep a subject is. If the subject is deep, it can be of benefit. This however, is not necessarily the case. In fact, with the latest hypnotic techniques like Ericksonian hypnotherapy and state of the art "NLP" (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), the depth of the hypnotic state is one of the least imperative aspects, which create a successful outcome.

ARE THERE ANY DANGERS IN HYPNOTISM?
There are on the whole no dangers to the practice of hypnotherapy. It is impossible to "get stuck" in hypnotherapy. The most terrible thing that can happen while a patient is in hypnosis is that she might fall into a natural state of sleep for twenty or thirty minutes. She would awaken rested and out of a state of hypnosis.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT SELF HYPNOSIS:
There are many misconceptions about hypnotherapy. Most of them can be attributed to stage and TV shows. As luck would have it, it is because of the fact that the TV can hypnotize you that these misconceptions are so well-established in people's minds.

IS HYPNOTISM SLEEP?
The largest misconception about hypnotherapy is that it is the state of sleep. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are asleep, you are unconscious. If you are unconscious, you cannot hear anything. If you cannot hear anything, then the hypnotherapist cannot help you. Hypnosis is a state of keen awareness. The subject is wide-awake and aware of everything around her. This misconception stems from the stage Hypnotist's use of the word "sleep" as analogous to the hypnotic state. When the old time hypnotist swung a pocket watch in front of his subject's face, he told his subject that she was getting "sleepy." Then he told his subject to "go to sleep." What he meant was to go into a hypnotic sleep, not a natural sleep.

IS THERE A HYPNOTIZED FEELING?
The second largest misconception about self hypnosis is that there is a hypnotized feeling. There is no specific hypnotized feeling. I repeat there is no specific hypnotized feeling. Most people feel very relaxed when in a hypnotic state, as relaxation seems to be the essence of the state of hypnosis. Some people feel heavy. Some people feel light. Some people have other sensations and feelings. Other people have absolutely no feeling that they are in self-hypnosis, and believe they have not been hypnotized when they most definitely have.

CAN THE HYPNOTHERAPIST CONTROL ME?
NO! A hypnotherapist cannot make you do anything against your will. There is always an observing ego state. Should the hypnotist make an offensive suggestion; this ego state would reject the suggestion. Additionally, you will probably come out of the hypnotic state if the hypnotist makes an offensive suggestion.

CAN THE HYPNOTIST MAKE ME DIVULGE ANY OF MY SECRETS?
You will not reveal any secrets while in hypnosis unless you want to do so. The therapist does not have any control over the subject. Quite the contrary, the subject has more control over herself since at this time she can directly communicate with her own subconscious mind. The subject can easily decline any suggestion the therapist makes, no matter how simple or complicated the suggestion might be. The subject can open her eyes, exit from the state of hypnosis, and walk out of the room at any time she chooses.

MUST PEOPLE TELL THE TRUTH WHEN IN HYPNOSIS?
NO! People can lie when in self-hypnosis.

DO HYPNOTHERAPISTS HAVE SUPER NATURAL POWERS AND VIBRATIONS?
This is a common misconception. The therapist does not have any special powers, nor does he have any special vibrations with which to propel you into the state of hypnosis. In reality, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The therapist leads the subject into a state of hypnotism. In other words, the ability of hypnosis is within the subject.

WHY DO PEOPLE FAIL TO REACH THEIR GOALS WHEN USING HYPNOTISM?
Perhaps the biggest reason for the failure to reach one's goals through hypnotherapy is an insufficient amount of practice where self-hypnosis is concerned.

The largest reason for the return of a symptom or "relapse" is the premature discontinuance of hypnotherapy with the Hypno-therapist or recorded program. While self-hypnosis is important, it is generally the hetero-hypnosis with the therapist or hypnosis recording which has the greatest impact upon the subconscious mind.

This is because of the training and experience that the therapist has vs. the lack of training and experience of the client. Some people are penny wise and pound-foolish. They mentally set an amount of time or money that they are willing to spend for help. And then they prematurely discontinue their sessions because; "I didn't lose 50 Lbs. in two days, so it isn't working."

If a therapeutic method is really helping one to make their desired changes, then it is priceless and it should be sustained. It is for this reason that it is wise to have follow up self hypnosis sessions, even after a symptom seems to have disappeared completely. Self-hypnosis should be an ongoing affair on a daily basis. Ultimately, YOUR SUCCESS IS UP TO YOU!

WILL I BE BETTER OFF HIRING A HYPNOTIST, OR WILL PURCHASING A RECORDED PROGRAM WORK BETTER?
That is an excellent question. Normally I would recommend that you use the services of a reputable therapist. The reason is that by meeting with you, a good therapist / NLP'er will be able to customize his approach to your personality and your favored representational system -- the way you favor taking in information through your senses to make sense out of it and react to it.

In my opinion, 99% of the pre-recorded self hypnosis CDs available at this time are strictly Traditional Hypnosis, and are made up of only one or maybe two sessions of it at that. Traditional Hypnosis is nothing more than a set of direct suggestions: "If you eat a brownie you'll vomit." "You won't have cravings and urges," and so forth. This technology has a very poor track record of success because everyone of our generation has been educated to question everything they are told. That's why you, your friends, and your kids usually do the opposite of what they are told to do. This is called a polarity response.

That being said, having private sessions with any therapist / NLP'er who has enough experience to be able to actually help you can cost a great deal of money. There are some hypnotic programs on the market based on Ericksonian Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) that have overcome those shortcomings. They've managed this by using a mix of NLP, Traditional Hypnosis, Ericksonian Hypnosis, And the highly regarded Video Hypnosis technology.

These are all technologies that are designed to overcome the resistance factor. In fact, Video Hypnosis and the NLP technology that it's based on do not utilize post-hypnotic suggestions at all. They rely on using the thought processes that have created a problem, to eliminate it!

Look for companies that offer these technologies in multi-session products. These are programs that generally have six to eight different hypnosis sessions, so you are exposed to a broad range of techniques. It takes a lot of work to make this type of program, but the high success rates achieved are well worth the work.

Stay away from the "one size fits all" -- "do-or-die" hypnotherapy CDs and downloads. Many people are lured in by these programs because they are cheap, usually under ten dollars. But is it cheap if it just wastes your valuable time and does not work?

If you order a program and it does not work, then you get distrustful and start to expect the next approach to fail. And you get what you expect. Do you really think that the same exact suggestions will work for everyone? Do you think that they will work for you? Do you as a rule do exactly as you are told? Or do you usually feel the desire to do the opposite of what you are told?

About Author

Alan B. Densky, CH is certified by the NGH. He authored four books and dozens of articles on hypnotherapy and NLP. He is the developer of the Video Self Hypnosis Technology, which was perfected for weight loss and smoke cessation. Visit his Neuro-VISION Self Hypnosis website for FREE hypnosis articles, newsletters, and MP3s. http://www.neuro-vision.us/

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