Hypnosis-What is it?

Today's blog is about hypnosis.  There are a large number of misunderstandings about what hypnosis is...that it is some sort of mind control by the hypnotist or mind reading, for example. Or the act of hypnosis is somehow cavorting with evil.   Defining hypnosis is really very simple.   Shelley Stockwell-Nicholas, PhD in her book Hypnosis: Smile On Your Face, Money In Your Pocket  defines it as "a natural state of heightened awareness where you easily accept suggestions, listen to inner wisdom,  replace limiting imprints and (meet) with your higher self" (p. 19).  We all enter into various levels of hypnosis throughout the day, while we are watching TV, a  movie, or reading a book, while we are driving down the freeway passing the exit signs without noticing them, and even while you are sitting in a church listening to the pastor give the message you are in a state of hypnosis.  When you intentionally engage in practices like meditation or yoga that involve deep breathing and a sense of inner calm you are practicing self-hypnosis.

I've given examples how hypnotic states happen to each person during everyday events.   Now I will discuss what happens during intentionally induced self-hypnosis.  Here I will be talking about what I do when I go into hypnosis.  This is the same process that I teach others when I am guiding them through the process.  First, I make sure that I am well hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids and that I have gone to the bathroom before starting.  Also, I make sure that I have 15 to 20 minutes or more of free time to spend in a relaxed state and turn down (or off) any phones or other distracting noise.  Here I find that soft music or white noise playing in the background can be very soothing; however, music with words can be very distracting.  I find a place in the room to either sit or lie down that is comfortable.  Then I take a relaxing deep breath.  Hold for 5 seconds and let it out.  I take another deep breath and let it out.  I continue to deep breathe.  In my head, I'm telling myself with each breath, I'm going five times deeper into relaxation than I was before.  For me, personally, it takes 5 to 7 deep breaths before I am relaxed enough to move onto the next portion of the hypnosis.

At this point I would think about the pathway to my favorite place to make the journey in my mind.   When I was first learning hypnosis, it was soothing to me to have a longer trek because I was nervous and it helped me relax more.  Now that I've been doing hypnosis for a while, I found that my trip down the path does not need to be as long to have the same purpose.  But in the beginning, I would think about every detail of the path: the sites; the smells; what I felt on my skin; what I tasted; everything down to the last detail.  This makes for a vivid experience.  My favorite place happens to be a rock below a waterfall on the South Fork of the American River so my trail goes through the forest in the woods. 

Once I have arrived at my favorite place, I can sit on my “rock” and enjoy the view in my mind for a while, relaxing.  There is no tension in my muscles; my breathing is calm and even; to an outside observer I may appear to be asleep.  While I am meditating on the rock I can give myself positive affirmations and reverse negative statements. (Note: the subconscious doesn’t hear the negative in negative statements, so if you tell it not to do something…it hears just the opposite.) 

The main "business" that I do while I am in hypnosis, besides positive affirmations, is go to my "control room."  This is a location that I have created at my favorite place that has door on it with a lock and key that only I can open.  Inside this room is a control panel to all the parts of my body including my mind.  Everyone's control panel looks different, but in explaining it to clients I compare it to the knobs on radio.  The volume on the dial or lever can be turned up or down to increase or decrease the sensation being felt.  For example, if I'm feeling highly anxious, I can go into my control room, see what number my anxiety knob is set to and turn it down to a number that I'm much more comfortable with.  This can be done with any sensation being felt. Any issues of concern can be taken care of at the same visit, each with it's own control, dial, knob, or lever.  

To bring myself back to room awareness I count to five.  1, slowly, calmly, gently.  2, everything is relaxed.  3, I’m feeling great from head to toe.  4, it is like I have splashed my face with fresh spring water.  5, my eyes are open and everything is fine (Stockwell-Nicholas, 2009).   That is the basic extent of what happens with hypnosis.  There really is nothing mystical about it. 

It is my hope that this explanation has clarified for the readers what hypnosis is and isn't.  Of course, if anyone has any questions, please feel free to post them in the comments section and I will answer them either there or in future blogs.

References: Stockwell-Nicholas, S. (2009). Hypnosis: Smile On Your Face, Money In Your Pocket. Creativity Unlimited Press. Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.

New beginnings

I  have recently been able to get a new job as a registered Marriage and Family Therapist Intern at Life Practice Counseling Group.  This is a private practice facility with low rates in order to better meet the needs of the private pay community.  The counseling group works with MFT trainees and MFT interns as the primary counselors and does not accept insurance.  This is an important step for me because this is my first paying job since 2002.  Needless to say, I am very excited and happy about the prospects this job holds for me.  I am a little nervous about the private practice portion of the position because it means I will have to find my own clients (so if anyone reading this knows of anybody that needs counseling, my rates are $65 per session and I have two offices in Sacramento).  I can be reached via my cell phone at 916-949-6517.  My official start date is July 2.  Okay enough of the shameless advertising, on with the rest of my post.

So, I have entitled this post new beginnings as this is a new start for me, but also because I wanted to talk about how important new beginnings are in people's lives.  As I'm sure we have all observed in our day-to-day living, when we have something new come up in our lives it creates in us feelings of excitement, nervousness, maybe exhilaration, and upon completion helps us to feel good about ourselves.  Think, for example, about the first time you went to school.  You probably felt nervous, anxious about meeting new people, and excited about the prospects of what you're going to learn or what was going to happen.  Once that first day was over, the might have felt a mix of emotions such as happy with all the new friends you've found, sad that the first day is over, and a release of anxiety now that you knew what to expect from school. Of course this is just an example of what you might have felt.  There is a broad range of emotions possible. 

New beginnings give us a chance to start over.  For many of us this is an important step in our lives, the chance to begin again with a clean slate.  Sometimes this is all a person needs in order to get back on their feet after making a mistake.  Or maybe it is a chance to try something new after learning about it in a book.  The important thing is allowing ourselves to have new beginnings.

In the future, my blogs will be psychology/MFT related postings on various topics from emotions to theoretical orientations and multiple topics in between.  I look forward to the opportunity to share some of my information with you.