What is Hypnosis and how can it help you?

In celebration and support of World Hypnotism Day, our resident hypnotherapist Marcus Matthews is going to help you understand a little more about what hypnotism is and isn't!

"I want to start this blog by telling you what hypnosis isn’t before we discuss the benefits of using hypnosis.

Hypnosis for many people appears to be shrouded in an air of pseudo-witchcraft where the person inducing the trance-like state has control over the client or subject.

This myth goes back to the 18^th century and Franz Mesmer this is where we get the word “mesmerize” from.

Mesmer established a theory of illness that involved internal magnetic forces, which he called animal magnetism.

Fast forward to modern-day psychologists like Freud who referred to hypnosis as “the tyranny of suggestion." He considered that if one could produce symptoms by giving suggestions to the unconscious, then it is also possible that the unconscious might produce illness on its own.

The fact is that both Mesmer and Freud recognised that hypnotic states are extremely powerful and that harm could be done in the wrong hands and I would agree, but a lot has changed in the world since then.

The work Mesmer started back in the 18^th Century is what we now call neuroscience.

Modern clinical hypnotherapy has very little relation to this old outdated theory of what hypnosis is, yet the rumours and fears stay in our deep subconscious.

Hypnosis has come a long way since Mesmer and Freud’s time and due to breakthroughs in neuroscience and technology, we are finally starting to get a deeper understanding of how powerful the mind and body connection is.

There are many different types of hypnosis however, the two main types are hypnotherapy and stage hypnosis which is used for entertainment.

Unfortunately, when most people think of hypnosis they think of stage hypnosis, where the stage hypnotist turns the subject into a clucking chicken and the like, this may be why people do not see hypnotherapy as a real science.

The Myth of Mind Control

Hypnosis is ultimately around suggestibility, creating an environment for the client to make changes in their mental and physical state, the scientific name for this is neuroplasticity. In essence, this is the firing and wiring of neural connections in the brain and body which then create how you experience the world.

Every experience we have is encoded in our bodies, from happy experiences to trauma.

Hypnotherapy helps you take back control of these neural connections to change your perception of your environment, both physically and emotionally.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that the hypnotherapist is in control, much like in stage hypnosis, but even in stage hypnosis the hypnotist cannot make someone do something they don’t want.

Hypnosis is a deep state of inner focus very much like meditation where you can access information and experiences buried deep in the subconscious and unconscious mind which aren’t accessible through waking states.

Even today most people associate hypnotherapy with suggestibility, where the hypnotherapist takes the client into hypnosis to force suggestions into the client to make positive changes, and whilst this type of hypnosis is still used, the science has very much evolved to blending more complex psychotherapeutic techniques with hypnosis to find the root cause to why people feel the way they do.

Imagine unlocking an old chest full of family photos that you have not seen for decades, and all of a sudden memories emerge that you hadn’t thought about until that moment.

Hypnosis is simply like putting your mind and body into safe mode so we can access the backend code of your operating system.

Once in that safe mode, we can then investigate why you are unable to move forward.

Think of a clinical hypnotherapist like a computer programmer who investigates why your computer isn’t working properly.

How to choose the right therapist for you

As a relatively unregulated field, it can be difficult to assess who can help you, but if we discount stage hypnotists then there are two types of hypnotherapies.

Suggestion Hypnosis and Clinical Hypnosis

Think of suggestion hypnosis as a guided meditation where the hypnotherapist will offer suggestions under hypnosis to invoke change.

Whilst in hypnosis the nervous system is relaxed therefore the mind is more suggestible to change.

This type of hypnosis is usually used for improving confidence or removing bad habits like smoking.

Light touch in nature can be a calm and pleasant experience.

Clinical Hypnotherapy goes much deeper and is effectively hypnotherapy that is blended with other modalities to work much deeper with the subconscious and unconscious mind, in many countries you need a license to practice clinical hypnosis, and clinical status can normally only be granted to those who have undertaken some sort of formal extended training.

When you are looking for a therapist always ask what their experience is, as Freud alluded to hypnosis in the wrong hands can do more harm than good, but in the right hand's hypnosis can be one of the quickest and most effective methods for helping with symptoms like Anxiety, PTSD, Depression, Insomnia as well helping with Addictions and Phobias.

As a fully qualified and award-winning Clinical Hypnotherapist and Transformation Coach, I have met the required standards to help people find the root cause of why they feel the way they do and my
fully supported 21-day programs get real results.

If you would like to find out how Hypnotherapy can help you then get in touch with Marcus via his profile https://centreforintegralhealth.com/about-us/our-practitioners/marcus-matthews/