What is Hypnotherapy?
If I was to explain hypnotherapy to someone who has never heard of it I would probably describe to them the Lemon analogy - ‘’When you think of a lemon, its smell, its texture, its taste; it doesn’t take long for your body to respond to your imagination. Your mouth will start producing more saliva, and if you have a very vivid imagination you may even be able to taste it in your mouth. This is because there is a relationship between your imaginative field and your biology. In the same way that the thought of a lemon can make your mouth water, beliefs can shape behaviours. Hypnosis taps into your imaginative powers to communicate with your subconscious and change some behaviours that no longer serve you or are affecting your daily life and stopping you from getting to where you'd like to go.
Unfortunately, for a long time, Hypnosis was considered a paranormal phenomenon or belonging to the field of the supernatural. Performers have used the term ‘’hypnosis’’ to describe spectacular reactions on stage when in reality those acts involve many other psychological trickery and deceptions. This is why still to this day, a lot of people are put off by the term. What has been discovered over the years, though, and mostly through recent research, is that Hypnosis is in fact very much a natural state.
Our subconscious mind is capable of processing a lot more information than our conscious mind, this is why when you are driving in the car, although your body is remembering where to turn, or when to change gear, no conscious effort is required, your mind is free to drift, and somehow you make it home. Hypnosis is a similar sort of trance, although you are exploring your psychic field, you remain fully in control. In trance you are more susceptible to suggestions but it’s important to specify you will only allow suggestions that are aligned with your core values. Most people associate hypnosis to a state of meditation, but unless the common belief suggests, it is not always necessary to follow ‘’a path down to a peaceful beach’’ in order to get into trance; accessing memory, projecting into the future, describing emotions using metaphors, are all forms of trance that can induce a hypnotic state.
Our identity is made of many subconscious patterns, different parts, like pieces of a puzzle. Some born from coping mechanisms, others from dreams and aspirations. I like to imagine our subconscious mind is a diamond of many facets, a diamond on which the world is reflected with each facet reflecting at a different angle. It is up to us to decide which we bring into the light in order to create a prism that supports us where we are, a lens fitted to our needs.
Hypnotherapy is therapy using hypnosis to help you travel through the different facets of yourself and regain psychological mobility. This mobility will enable you to use the full spectrum of your prism in order to respond to life in a way that reflects you best.
A better understanding of your psychological, emotional and somatic field will help you overcome: Addictions, phobias, weight issues, anxiety and more.