Self-hypnosis doesn’t have to be hard work. It is actually a lot easier than most people think and can provide almost anyone with a tool to create big changes in their lives. There are many uses for self-hypnosis, including weight loss, quitting smoking, improving self-esteem, or other habits that you may want to get rid of. Self-hypnosis is not limited to a select number of people. Almost anyone can do it with a little practice.
Hearing the word “mind”, most of us immediately think of the brain. Well, there are actually two parts to our mind, the conscious and the subconscious. Approximately 75% of all our brain activity is subconscious, that is, tasks completed by our brain without our knowing it. It continues behind the scenes all day. We all have certain things that we like and don’t like, habits or views of life in general. As we embark on adult life, these traits tend to remain unchanged because they have been programmed into us from our earliest years. The people we’ve met, the skills we’ve acquired, the experiences we’ve had – all of this has influenced our core programming and made us who we are today. Most of us like who we are in general, but we might feel that if we made a few changes (lose weight, quit smoking, stop biting our nails, etc.) things would be much better.
Our biggest challenge is that although we would like to consciously change things, it does not mean that our subconscious allows us to do so. Think of a smoker for a moment. They consciously know that smoking is not very good for them and will most likely shorten their life dramatically. Still, does this mean that because they know quitting is smart, they will? No, because our subconscious mind will always take over in times of struggle (and changing our old ways IS a struggle) and most of the time the subconscious mind says “keep smoking”, so smoking is. Self-hypnosis is the key here. Why? Because it gives you access to your subconscious mind and the tools to reprogram it.
The first thing you will learn in self-hypnosis is to simply close your eyes, relax, and count down from 10 to 0 as you exhale. As a result of doing this, most people will fall into a mild hypnotic state. This does not mean that you lose control and do not know where you are. It simply means that you have found a state of rest and relaxation in which you are slowing down and closing your conscious mind. This state of tranquility can be taken a step further by visualizing a peaceful place, such as a beach, a forest, or perhaps on your mother’s lap. The main idea here is that you find a place where you feel safe and secure. Through visualization we can have a great impact on the emotional, mental and physiological states of our body, to the same extent as if we were there. When we are in this state of relaxation and visualization, our mind cannot distinguish between what is real and what is not.
I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that self-hypnosis is very easy and that five minutes of practice makes you a master. What I will say, however, is that it is a skill like any other, and with good practice it can be developed and perfected. When you go to see a hypnotherapist, he or she will act as a guide to help you through your mind. With self-hypnosis, you are the hypnotherapist and provide your own therapy. That way, you choose when to start, how far to go, and when to stop. This is a very important point and should be repeated. Before starting any self-hypnosis session, you need to decide what it is that you want to achieve, how you are going to achieve it, and also how you will feel after it is done. It can be helpful to simply write a script or map the journey through your mind. Once in a hypnotic state, he will repeat the script over and over as he follows his map. This way you will stay on target and not get lost.
The vast majority of us do not even realize that we fall into this state of hypnosis many times a day. This can happen while enjoying a book, playing a computer game, or just working. This state allows you to limit the focus of your attention and makes your brain absorb information much better. The ultimate goal of self-hypnosis is to create an access point for you to the part of your brain (subconscious) that controls the behaviors, habits, or attitudes that you want to change.