Chances are, you’re experiencing a battle between the conscious and subconscious mind. Subconscious mind wants to keep that habit because When it brought that habit first mind thought it’s the only way to keep you safe. Mind’s number 1 job is to keep you alive as long as it can, and moves you towards pleasure but dopamine can create problems when triggered in the wrong context. The conscious part of our mind is logical, rational decision-making, and willpower. But did you know that this part of our mind makes up only about 12% of our total brainpower? The remaining 88% is ALL happening on a subconscious level.
If you’re struggling to change a behavior or habit, it’s because on some level there is a subconscious motivation to keep it it must be activating the reward centers Dopamine triggered in wrong context in your brain where it doesn’t care about the result but the process of comfort and pleasure.
Let’s say you know smoking hazards but almost every night before bed you want to light a cigarette. You may consciously understand that this habit isn’t supporting your health goals and it’s very dangerous but, your subconscious mind (whose job is to keep you safe at all times doesn’t wants you to experience discomfort and pain) it says in essence: “But this makes me feel happy , gives me comfort and pleasure.”
In order to change an unhealthy habit we have to build positive associations to a new behaviour by creating new neural pathways and disrupt old patterns. Mind only learns new things through repetition.
Accessing alpha or theta state of brainwaves leads us to the state where we surpassed the critical faculty of brain and operate in more suggestible way… imagination always wins in front of logic.
Hypnotherapy is a fantastic tool to “reprogram our software.” By making mind understand what it no longer need.
So what is hypnotherapy?
Many people are curious about it, but hesitate because of what they’ve seen on television or stage shows my job start by explaining to people that hypnosis is a very normal, safe and natural state.
What if I told you that you already go into hypnosis several times a day — would you believe me?
Have you ever cried in the movie theatre because you were zoned out and felt the same emotion though you knew you are watching movie and it’s not real? You know that relaxed state right before you fall asleep at night? If you answered yes, then congratulations! You’ve already been hypnotized. Typically, a client comes to a hypnotherapist for assistance with personal development goals, childhood trauma, increasing confidence, focus, breaking a habit, improving health, wellness, weight loss, stress relief, etc. Whatever the goal, hypnosis is an incredibly affective tool to assist with reprogramming the subconscious mind by reaching to the root cause and eliminating those limited beliefs.
Here are the five most important things you should know before seeing a hypnotherapist:
- Hypnotherapy sessions are different from what you’ve seen onstage.
Yes, the stage shows are real, but they are for entertainment purposes only. You are in control and highly aware of your surrounding. - Hypnotherapy is a tool to reach to the subconscious mind by surpassing conscious mind. Subconscious conscious both works to keep us safe. Bring conscious subconscious on same page now both are working in collaboration and that’s the goal.
The good news is that hypnosis is safe, effective, and works very quickly compared to other types of surface therapy. But, hypnosis is not a magic wand and in most cases, results won’t happen overnight.
Remember, it takes 21 days to create a new habit and then a minimum of 1-3 sessions.
- Everyone can be hypnotized.
It’s important to remember all hypnosis is self hypnosis. You cannot be hypnotized against your will, and working with a hypnotherapist is a co-creative process.
The most common reason for failure to induce a hypnotic state is a lack of rapport and trust with a hypnotherapist, or working with someone without proper training.
Always check into the education and background of a new hypnotherapist before committing to a session, and choose to continue working with someone with whom you feel a sense of trust and rapport.
- Hypnosis is not about being asleep.
Hypnosis is a heightened state of awareness where the body is deeply relaxed and the mind is alert.
On occasion, a person may drift into sleep, but this is not the goal of the session. It is the hypnotherapists’ job to make sure the client maintains a relaxed awareness during the session, and remains awake.
Although the mind may drift, you should still be able to hear everything that is being said to you during the session.
- Hypnotherapists are not doctors.
Hypnotherapy is not meant to replace medical care; rather, it is a self-improvement tool to enhance the healing process.
