Do you want someone to make you bark like a dog? How about cluck like a chicken? Unfortunately, this is now most people look at hypnotists. As performance art, hypnotists bring a lot of enjoyment to crowds of people on TV and at parties. However, as a practical therapeutic application, hypnosis can help you conquer everything from weight loss to smoking cessation, to possibly even overcoming fears.
The basic principle behind hypnosis is to make a candidate so relaxed that a hypnotist can help to implant positive reinforcements into the subconscious mind that the candidate is hoping to achieve. The truth of hypnosis is that no one can be forced to do anything they don’t want to do, even if the movies and television shows indicate otherwise. So, any idea a hypnotist is trying to impart upon you, it’s something that you’ve requested, and if you’re really serious about it then it has a better chance of taking hold.
How does a hypnotist do this? It’s not by swinging a watch in front of you and telling you that you’re getting sleepy, although that’s funny. It’s actually more of a series of relaxation techniques, which can include asking you to concentrate on something in the room while the hypnotist talks to you in a calming voice. More often, though, the hypnotist will have you lay down in a couch or lay back in a very comfortable chair, play some relaxing music, and then talk to you in a comfortable voice. Most people don’t actually fall asleep, but fall into more of a trance-like state of relaxation so the hypnotist can talk to you without your feeling threatened or frightened.
You will probably remember everything the hypnotist said to you, but that won’t matter. What matters is that the hypnotist reinforced into your subconscious mind what you wanted to do for yourself. People have stopped smoking, lost weight, finished projects, even just learned how to relax and sleep better because of hypnosis. What it takes it trust in your hypnotist, and if you can get past that point, then good things can happen for you.
You’re not done at that point, though. Most hypnotists will have a series of CDs with music specifically geared towards what you’re hoping to do because of the hypnosis. Some of it will have subliminal messages strewn within the music to help keep you on point. Other times, it’s the same music that was playing while you were being hypnotized, which helps you in recalling what you were aiming for while you were in a different state of consciousness.
Does hypnosis work? It works for those people who believe in it, and doesn’t work on those people who don’t. It’s pretty much like any other type of therapy. It can’t work miracles if the customer doesn’t want to participate in the process. But when it works, people feel good, achieve results, and offer nothing but praise for their hypnotist.
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