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What is Hypnotherapy?

In the page about NLP I have talked about everyone’s life experience and filters being very different, subjective and unique to the person, therefore everyone’s ‘map of the world’ will be different too. This map is created outside of our conscious awareness, in your subconscious or unconscious mind. Hypnosis is a great tool to bypass our logical, critical mind and access the subconscious mind where we store all our inner wisdom and excellence, which was created by us throughout our life span and life experiences.

Hypnosis, like NLP, works with the theory that within us we have the solution to our problems, answers to our questions and all the resources we need. It can, however, be a little tricky to access them. And this is what hypnosis and hypnotherapy can help you with.

Therapist performing hypnosis - Hampshire NLP and hypnotherapyWhat is Hypnosis?

It is an altered state of consciousness where your body and mind can relax and your subconscious will be opened to positive suggestions that will allow you to make positive, lasting changes in your own life.

How do I know it’s safe?

We know it is safe, because we use it every single day. Yes, you do too. We all experience everyday trance many times throughout each day. E.g. when driving, watching telly, ‘daydreaming’, or as a friend of mine described it: ‘going to my empty box’.

For example: Have you ever experienced that you drove from A to B and when you arrived, you did not remember how you got there? You spaced out while driving and didn’t remember the journey. What happened then? Your conscious mind had an issue to deal with and while thinking about that, your subconscious mind did the driving. You got there safely and without any accidents. Some people call it autopilot, we call it trance which effectively is a form of being in hypnosis.

The difference between naturally going into this state of trance or it being an induced trance is that in the latter version, the hypnotherapist has a clear outcome that was set by you, and guides you to your own solutions, goals and answers. This can be described as a hypnotic focus.

‘While meditation clears the mind with the aim of relaxing it,
hypnosis does so with the intention of changing it.’

What is Hypnosis used for?

Hypnosis is used as a treatment for various long-term conditions and for breaking certain habits. In general hypnotherapy can be applied to a wide range of medical, dental and psychological problems.

In my practice it is used to

  • reduce anxiety and stress conditions and the physical impact it has on the body (e.g. anxiety triggered tremor with Parkinson’s),
  • increase confidence, self-esteem and self-belief,
  • increase motivation and/or enhance performance in different areas of your life. For example: formal or informal situations such as public speaking or networking, social engagements, role as a family member or friend, role as a professional (at work), etc..
  • change a habit or behaviour
  • remove a fear or phobia
  • and so much more…
Hypnosis behaviour change mental health Southampton

Let’s recap:

Hypnosis is a guided trance to an altered state where you can access your subconscious. Your subconscious is where you store all your life experiences and where your inner excellence and wisdom is based. By accessing it via hypnosis, you are bypassing your logical, critical mind and you are able to make positive, powerful and lasting changes to your own life. You are making all the changes that you want to make and the hypnotherapist acts as your ‘tour guide’.

Interested and want to learn more?
Let’s have a chat!

Frequently Asked Questions

Intelligence, Imagination, Concentration.
As long as you have those three, anyone can be hypnotised to different levels.

This misconception comes from movies. There has been no record of anyone ever getting stuck in trance. If your subconscious drifts into this lovely, altered state of relaxation too deeply, the only thing that can happen is that you fall into sleep. (Maybe because your mind or body actually needed that time to rest…) And after a few minutes you will wake up naturally like you would in the morning, feeling relaxed and well rested.

Absolutely not. Quite the contrary.

In a hypnotic state you are aware of everything that is happening around you and you are in full control over your body and mind. IF, at any point, your mind did not feel comfortable with something that was happening, you would come around straight away, open your eyes and come back to here and now. What happens most of the time is that our mind chooses to stay in that altered state, because it knows, that it is a lovely, relaxing and very useful state to be in.

But if, for example, there was an emergency while you were in hypnosis, your mind and body would respond immediately, you would come around straight away without any prompting from the practitioner and your body and mind would function as normal.

The simple answer to this one is: I can’t.

This misconception comes from movies and from stage shows. I cannot make you do anything you don’t want to do. A hypnotist certainly cannot make somebody do something against their will, their moral or religious beliefs. So what about those people on the shows? Those people want to be on the stage, want to perform and want to be part of the show. A hypnotherapist cannot make anyone ‘dance like a chicken’ unless it is congruent with their subconscious and their beliefs.

The tools and techniques used in both stage and clinical hypnosis are the same, however the outcome is completely different. Stage hypnosis is usually used for entertainment whereas clinical hypnosis has a therapeutic outcome. You may see clinical hypnosis being used in front of many people, sometimes even on a stage, however it is not for entertainment but for demonstration purposes to increase awareness and show people how it works.