If you are looking for help to manage anxiety or depression, to conquer a phobia or addiction or to improve your business or sports performance, you may be surprised to know how effective hypnotherapy can be as a solution.
Most people’s first point of reference for hypnotherapy may be a stage hypnotist; a dark and enigmatic character who puts people under their spell for the amusement of audiences. Although this idea can intimidate people, it shouldn’t. Stage hypnotism shows the power of trance and suggestion, but think of Hypnotherapy as a distant cousin. We use trance in a relaxing way that the client is completely in control of and the results can be staggering.
The success is a lot to do with a part of the brain called the ‘Conscious Critical Faculty’ – think of like a gateway to the brain. If we have a belief about something then the conscious critical faculty will block out any information that conflicts with it. This is a logical programme our brains have. If we have a belief that a viper is poisonous, our brains will block out any ideas that say otherwise causing us to back away from it and not to pet it!
But what if some of these beliefs are false or damaging? What if we have beliefs that we are worthless? That we cannot achieve our goals? That we will never be happy?… Then our brains can block out any positive information that might conflict. Hypnotherapy bypasses these systems and allows some of these positive messages through without being blocked by a fear of threat or danger.
The hypnotherapist can play with this communication by encouraging the mind away from limitations and negativity and towards positive goals and success.
But changes in our mind-set are only the start. Scientists are now fully aware of the physiology of our bodies and the interconnectedness of all of our systems. The brain and the body are so closely aligned. Negative emotions are often the root cause of physical symptoms. This is why hypnotherapy can have such an impact on a range of physical conditions – tiredness, memory, focus, digestion, fertility, skin conditions, digestion, sleep… the list seems limitless.
Hypnotherapy, in some form or another, is one of the oldest forms of therapeutic repair, dating back to the days of emerging human awareness. Very few therapies have stood the test of time in quite the same way suggesting that it is one of the most effective treatments that people can use to help support them with a range of goals or conditions.
