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These are some of the common questions we are asked by our clients at Chester
County Hypnosis. We find that by answering these questions, we are able
to correct almost all of our client's misconceptions about Hypnosis and
then can start informing and educating them about what Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy
really ARE and how they can utilize it in their lives to their maximum
advantage.
WHAT IS HYPNOSIS ?
Hypnosis is
usually nothing like what people have come to believe. It has
been continuously used by man from as far back as the ancient
Egyptians through the present day. It is fully researched and
documented and fully approved by the American Medical
Association. Technically, it is very accurately defined as this:
Hypnosis is a state of mind in which the
critical faculty of the human is bypassed, and selective
thinking established.
[Dave Elman, Hypnotherapy, 1964: 26]
In essence, it means you are in a state of mind
where you are open to acceptable suggestions, nothing more,
nothing less. You are not unconscious, asleep, immobilized,
controlled, manipulated, tricked or in another dimension. You
are merely very open to receiving and accepting suggestions that
you agree with and open to allowing them to become established
as your subjective thinking (generalized beliefs). For an
example, we can now see how and why millions of people have
successfully quit smoking through hypnosis.
When clients come to us to quit smoking, they
must be completely decided, determined and convinced that they
want to stop for good. Once they are committed, we have the
acceptable subjective thinking in the conscious mind. Now, the
problem we always have is getting that conscious acceptable
thinking from our conscious mind to our subconscious mind and
having that thinking accepted there too. That is where the
critical faculty works to routinely deflect any new concepts,
beliefs or thinking. It keeps us from always being in mental
conflict and gives us stability in our decisions, for better or
worse. Also, much of our subjective thinking has been with
us for many years and has been heavily reinforced by our
behaviors. In order to change that we need our belief,
commitment and motivation.
With Hypnosis, we bypass the critical faculty and
can give those acceptable suggestions directly to the
subconscious mind and establish new subjective thinking, in this
case, that you don't smoke anymore. See, even though we really
wanted to quit smoking, our subconscious mind always
subjectively thought of us as smokers and our critical faculty
and current established subjective thinking was preventing any
change in that. That is why old habits are so hard to break and
it's tough to teach an old dog new tricks. The natural function
of the mind to provide us with stability and core beliefs can
work against us when we want to make rapid positive changes.
This is why hypnosis is such an effective method
for us to facilitate quick, complete and lasting changes in our
long-standing beliefs and behaviors.
IS HYPNOSIS DANGEROUS?
There has never been a documented case of harm coming to anyone from
the use of hypnosis either by a Hypnotherapist, Hypnotist or oneself (Self-Hypnosis).
The overwhelming positive benefits of hypnosis are something
that we Hypnotherapists would very much like more people to know
about. We feel that for every client we help make positive
changes in their lives, there are probably a thousand others who
are unhappy, struggling and suffering because they either are
not aware that hypnosis can help or have inaccurate information
and beliefs about hypnosis and feel either that it can't or wont
work for them.
WHO CAN AND CAN'T
GO INTO HYPNOSIS?
Anyone with an
open mind (want and is unafraid to experience hypnosis),
reasonable intelligence (can understand what is being said to
them), and is able to concentrate (follow directions), can
achieve the states of hypnosis. At Chester County Hypnosis, we
only need you to bring your willingness and desire to change, we
can guide from there for you, because, after all, this is your
hypnosis, is a part of you and belongs to you and is there for
your benefit and welfare.
If you notice, we
all regularly go in and out of hypnotic states of mind every
day. Have you ever driven anywhere and couldn't remember the
specifics of the trip? Have you ever found yourself daydreaming?
CAN A PERSON BE HYPNOTIZED AGAINST THEIR WILL?
No one has ever
been recorded as being hypnotized against their will. The hypnotist merely assists
the subject, who hypnotizes himself. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis and a
completely natural, built-in mechanism for us to make rapid
positive change.
DOES HYPNOSIS WEAKEN THE WILL?
No, just the
opposite, in fact regular Self Hypnosis can greatly strengthen it. Hypnosis
is really working with your will, your desire to change, your
commitment and motivation to make the change happen. Being able
to make your desired changes through hypnosis usually removes a
great deal of frustration and makes you feel darn good about
yourself and what you have accomplished.
CAN I BE MADE TO DO THINGS
AGAINST MY WILL, MORALS OR VALUES?
No, absolutely not. That is one
of the most wonderful things about the nature of hypnosis that
make it so wonderfully safe for us. Svengali and The Manchurian
Candidate show us the amount of selectively misrepresented
information that has been used in books and movies over the
years. Fantastic stories about mind control sell just like
zombies, ghosts and werewolves. By reading our FAQ, you'll see
that the truth is that hypnosis is well known about, quite
thoroughly accepted and routinely used by thousands every day.
Nobody can be made
to do anything in hypnosis, it is all about your choice and what
you really want to do and accomplish. Remember, it's your
hypnosis and always belongs entirely to you.
DO I ALWAYS HAVE TO TELL THE
TRUTH IN HYPNOSIS?
No more so than in the normal
waking state. That is a good example of how much control you
really have in hypnosis. You also won't achieve the hypnotic
state of mind or accept any suggestions if you don't want to,
you are in full control. It would all be kind of silly anyway if
that happened because you pay us to help you accomplish goals.
Our business is built on our success doing that.
AM I PHYSICALLY SAFE IN
HYPNOSIS?
This is a very common question
that clients often don't ask, but have some fear about. You are
completely safe while in a hypnotic state of mind, as much or
even more so than in the normal waking state. We are fully in
control, awake, aware and alert and if anything should happen
that requires us to act, we can do so instantly. We can
naturally and automatically change states of mind very quickly
(for example when driving) and are always in possession of all
of our normal faculties. In fact, scientists have shown that our
senses can be up to 200 times more alert and acute while in
hypnosis and there are documented cases where people could hear
inaudible sounds and read from the phone book from across the
room.
AM I SAFE WITH CHESTER COUNTY
HYPNOSIS?
We believe in doing everything
possible to make our clients feel safe and secure while they are
with us. We work in accordance with the Code of Ethics and
Professionalism of the National Guild of Hypnotists, the oldest,
largest and most respected Hypnotist accrediting organization in
the world. We provide all our clients with copies of the NGH
Client Bill of Rights, which outline all of our client privacy
policies, client contact information for state and national
organizations for ethical, professional or other questions or
concerns and our outline of services and rate structure. All of
our sessions are fully documented and electronically recorded
and any information would only be released with written
authorization by the client. When clients come to us through
physician referral, we are also bound by the HIPPA laws.
ARE YOU DOCTORS OR
PSYCHOLOGISTS? IS THIS TREATMENT?
No, we are nationally certified
hypnotists, not physicians, health care professionals,therapists
or counselors. We do not do diagnosis, treatment, therapy or
counseling, we do hypnosis to help people make changes that can
help change their lives. We are not in the Medical or Health
Care field and, under most cases, are not covered by your health
insurance unless referred to us by your physician or health care
provider. Our general services are very similar to that of
consultants, personal coaches and motivational experts and we
help normal people with normal issues, such as to Stop Smoking,
Lose Weight or Reducing Stress. We have had great success with
issues such as pain relief, insomnia, stuttering, nail biting,
sexual dysfunction, however we require our clients to be under
the care of and referred to us by a physician. A referral form
for them to fill out and sign is here, or a formal prescription
with diagnosis and instructions is generally sufficient.
WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO BE HYPNOTIZED?
Hypnosis is always a very pleasant feeling of complete physical and mental
relaxation. In order to bypass the critical faculty, we have to relax
our conscious mind and stop analyzing everything. Doing that is
a wonderful feeling and is the same as daydreaming, watching a
good movie and sometimes highway driving. It is also the same as that moment between knowing you are awake
and going into the sleep state at bedtime.
WILL I REVEAL ALL MY DEEPEST
SECRETS IN HYPNOSIS?
In hypnosis you are fully awake,
aware and won't do anything that you wouldn't do normally in the
full waking state. Hypnotherapy can be utilized to help people
uncover unconscious motivations or beliefs that are preventing
positive change for them, but that is only possible with their
full cooperation and consent and their subconscious mind will
always protect them from recalling or revisiting any time or
memory that would do them harm. That is how most forms of
amnesia work.
DO PEOPLE HAVE
TROUBLE EMERGING FROM HYPNOSIS?
In some very rare
cases, a person may become very deeply relaxed and choose to
stay in that deep state of physical and mental relaxation after an experienced hypnotist
has asked them to emerge from it. The reason for this being that it is
usually such a wonderfully relaxed feeling
of peace, comfort and enjoyment that they simply prefer to stay in that
deeply relaxed state awhile longer. They are completely aware,
wide awake but just choose to stay relaxed. The state is
wonderful to remove stress, remove pain and discomfort and your
body and mind can become refreshed and rejuvenated. This is why
we like to teach all of our clients self-hypnosis, so they can
access these wonderful benefits anytime they want or need to. In self-hypnosis you have complete
control, and can even, with practice, set your own time limit and emerge
when we want. There has never been a documented case of someone
unable to emerge from hypnosis.
IS HYPNOSIS AGAINST MY
RELIGION?
Hypnosis does not go against or
is discouraged by any of the major religions I am aware of. In
fact, some of the early pioneers of hypnosis were religious
clergy and the various states of prayer, meditation and
reflection are all of the same physical nature as that of
hypnosis.
WILL I FALL ASLEEP IN
HYPNOSIS?
Usually only if you are very
tired and after a hard day and it has more to do with sitting
down in a comfortable chair than hypnosis. That is why we don't
like to schedule appointments for clients after they work. The
ideal time is earlier in the day when our mind is relatively
clear and we are physically alert. Also, the effectiveness of
the suggestions and the ability to change is increased, so I
really try to impress upon my clients is to make the time in
your schedule for your hypnosis to get the full value and
effectiveness from it.
WILL HYPNOSIS GIVE ME A
"HANGOVER"?
No, outside substances and strong
emotional reactions are the only things that I know of that
cause a "hangover". People find they emerge refreshed and
renewed from hypnosis and feel great. Most of our clients go
about their day or return to work and report that they felt much
better, more awake, alert and rested than normal. Many of our
clients use Self Hypnosis in the afternoons to remove stress and
feel refreshed.
WHAT IS SELF-HYPNOSIS?
Techniques exist by which one can attain a state of self hypnosis and
gain complete relaxation under the most stressful conditions. In this
state the subconscious mind is open to therapeutic suggestions.
WHAT IS AUTO SUGGESTION?
Auto
Suggestion is part of our Self Hypnosis and is basically
bypassing your critical faculty yourself and giving yourself
acceptable suggestion. While it is not as naturally effective
for rapid change as working with a hypnotherapist, the real
benefits come with repetition over time and the continual
reinforcement and strengthening of the desired thinking.
Meditations and affirmations are less effective forms of this
and with the teaching and guidance of a skilled hypnotherapist,
this can become a highly effective tool that can really enable you
to take control of your life and go in the directions that you
want.
WHAT CAN SELF-HYPNOSIS DO FOR ME?
Self Hypnosis can help you make a
wide range of positive changes, develop a greater understanding
of yourself, become more motivated and self-assured, remove
stress and build self esteem.
Peace of mind and
positive outlook are two of the most often mentioned benefits by
our clients and different people can certainly gain different
benefits according to their individual needs and desires. Our
clients who get the best results do it on a daily basis. With
some practice, it can be done very effectively in a very short
period of time (2 to 3 minutes), can be done virtually anywhere
without anyone else being aware of it and can be done as much as
you'd like without any danger. Instant learning and photographic memory
methods are
based on self-hypnosis and now most champions in the various sports use it to
improve their performance, training and game concentration. You
can overcome
your undesirable habits, such as being messy, disorganized or
overly worrisome with self-hypnosis and regain
your self confidence. You now know that success is actually within
your easy reach, and
erasing harmful emotions leads to a happier and healthier life.
HOW DOES
SELF-HYPNOSIS DIFFER FROM HYPNOSIS WITH A HYPNOTIST?
Self
Hypnosis is fantastic for positive thinking, reinforcing desired
thoughts and behaviors and making changes that are just beyond
your normal reach. It also helps you to relax, reduce stress and
be more efficient. Working with a Certified Hypnotist, you can
accomplish rapid change for your most pressing issues, uncover
the obstacles that are holding you back and learn the correct
techniques for effectively using Self Hypnosis. Self Hypnosis is
also wonderful for strengthening and reinforcing the rapid
changes accomplished with the hypnotist. In that way you can
insure that your new way of thinking becomes permanent.
WHAT IS THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND?
The American Heritage Dictionary
of the English Language defines the mind as follows: "The
collective conscious and unconscious processes in a sentient
organism that direct and influence mental and physical behavior."
The conscious mind is
basically anything we are aware of, such as knowing that someone
is sitting next to us, knowing what is happening in the TV show
we are watching and the ability to reason, both inductively and
deductively. Our will power is also part of our conscious mind,
which explains some of the inherent weaknesses of it. We can
view the conscious mind as our "NOW", allowing us to function in
our environment safely, yet lacking the permanency of experience
and learning. The subconscious mind is everything else of what
we are in fact well over 90% of who we are. It controls our
bodily functions (unconscious mind), it stores every experience
we have ever had and holds our values, morals and beliefs. It
acts subjectively and only in agreement with established
concepts, values and beliefs. Most of this thinking is
established when we are between 5 and 10 years old and stays
with us our entire lives. This thinking and these beliefs and
values become very strong over time and act as the guiding force
in our lives. These concepts, beliefs and values can only be
changed when the subconscious mind accepts the new thinking as
stronger than the current thinking. Remember, it can't evaluate
or analyze, only accept or decline. When this established
thinking is acted upon, it becomes stronger and more ingrained
in us. That is why old habit, having been constantly repeated
and reinforced over the years, are so difficult for us to break,
where relatively recent ones are much easier. The critical
faculty that we spoke of is really part of our conscious mind
and acts like a filter to the subconscious and measures the
relative strength of new thinking as it is presented by the
conscious mind. It rejects over 99.9% of our new thinking,
unless it is completely acceptable and stronger thon our current
thinking. So, you can begin to see now how that with hypnosis we
bypass the filter and bring the new thinking directly to the
subconscious mind. However, even though it is better thinking
and totally acceptable, such as not smoking versus smoking, the
subconscious still needs it to be stronger to fully accept it
and act on it. That is where the skills of the Hypnotherapist
come into play in insuring that the suggestions are worded in
such a way that they are impressed so strongly on the
subconscious mind, that the new thinking replaces the old.
Always remember that you must always thoroughly want and accept
this new thinking, so any suggestion that the hypnotherapist may
give you that you don't really want or accept is instantly
rejected. That is how your mind protects you from harm. Thinking
therefore established in the subconscious mind must from that
point be acted upon. It is a rule of the mind and never varies,
the subconscious will always act in accordance with established
thinking.
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