All communication is hypnosis!  

In the popular imagination hypnosis is something exotic and out of the ordinary.  However, in reality, the truth is rather mundane.  Hypnosis is the name given to those states when:

• our attention is focused on our inner experience rather than on whatever is going on in the world around us (like when we daydream);
• our attention is intensely focused on something or someone else - as for example when we are watching television or deep in conversation with a friend.

These states of focused attention are also known as a “trance”.  You may recognise that you have experienced these states yourself and that you have observed them in others many times.

Hypnotherapy is the name given to the process of using hypnosis or trance to help others gain new positive choices in the way they feel, think and behave.  Since that is the aim of all therapy, coaching and education, you could say that ALL successful therapy, coaching, education - and in fact all successful communication - is an application of hypnosis!

So, if we are all going into trance regularly throughout the day, it follows that  enabling someone to go into a trance is the easy bit of Hypnotherapy:  the interesting and challenging bit is knowing HOW to use hypnosis to help someone overcome a problem or achieve a goal.  That will vary from person to person and will depend on what they want, their experiences, their hopes, dreams, fears, habitual ways of thinking and the myriad other things which make us all unique.

You may be curious about Hypnotherapy because there is something that you want to change about the way you feel, think, or behave - for example, to get over a fear or anxiety. 

Whenever I see a new client for a Hypnotherapy session, I like to invite them to experience a relaxing trance early on in the consultation because it helps them to feel at ease for the rest of the session and to have a better understanding of hypnosis.  People almost always find this a pleasant experience and are usually keen to have some more!  It is also helpful because it is much easier to explore issues and imagine new ways of being when we are relaxed.  

However, the trance state in the consulting room does not have to be relaxation: it could equally be any positive emotional state like curiosity, excitement, determination, delight or humour.

Hypnosis can be helpful for many issues like:

• developing confidence
• enjoying public speaking
• managing stress
• stopping smoking
• phobias and anxiety
• sleeping better
• exam nerves
• pain management
• negative emotions
• hypnosis with cancer patients (eg needle phobia, nausea, anxiety).

If you would like to book a Hypnotherapy session or discuss whether Hypnotherapy can help you, please call me on 07903 462 715 or email me.

PS  You may be wondering how this all relates to stage hypnosis shows - where people are induced to eat an onion thinking it’s an apple, or to fall in love with a mop.  Does that mean that any 

problem can be sorted out in a matter of minutes in a Hypnotherapy session?  Well, no it doesn’t!  Stage hypnosis is a form of entertainment which uses a range of techniques to encourage people to behave in outrageous ways for an evening, but it is a totally different activity from hypnotherapy.  Changing long standing habits, thoughts and behaviours in every day life can be challenging.  If making positive changes were always easy, people would not seek help but would simply make the change!