Understanding Hypnotherapy
What is hypnosis?
Before we have a more direct 'look' at hypnotherapy, it's important to try and define what hypnosis is. Hypnosis is a relaxed state of mind that most of us seem to experience at one time or another, often occuring quite spontaneously and typically it can happen while daydreaming, dropping off to sleep at night, or when simply absorbed in a good book or film. It is simply a very relaxed state, during which time the critical factor of the mind is often reduced or suspended - although the mind itself and the thought processes therein, can often be found to be very active indeed.
Hypnosis at work in the subconscious mind
Hypnosis works by recognising, and making use of the unconscious (or subconscious) parts of the mind. The unconscious mind stores an enormous amount of information and emotion, something over which the individual is unlikely to have any conscious knowledge.
However, although a person doesn't normally have any conscious knowledge of it, it still causes the conscious mind to think and react in the way it does.
Sometimes, there are conflicts between the way these parts of the mind see or feel about things, and this can give rise to problems all too easily.
We can use phobias as an example here:
The conscious mind knows that there is no logical reason to be afraid of (say) spiders, but the subconscious mind has attached a fear to the spider, and the subconscious fear overrides it.
What is hypnotherapy - what it's all about?
Hypnotherapy is the process of using hypnosis as a tool to unlock the capacity of the unconscious mind to bring about a beneficial and therapeutic change.
A hypnotherapist usually brings this about by helping the conscious mind of the individual to relax and giving them situations to imagine and 'experience' in their ‘minds eye'.
There are two main types of hypnotherapy used at the practice to bring about beneficial help and change and these are as follows:
1. Analytical hypnotherapy, or hypnoanalysis.
Analytical hypnotherapy, or more precisely, hypnoanalysis, is effectively a psychotherapy, a talking therapy that simply uses hypnosis as a tool.
Analytical hypnotherapy works on the basis that every symptom (which is the 'effect' of an individual's psychological problem, or emotional issue) has a cause.
Hypnoanalysis (or analytical hypnotherapy) seeks to find the root cause of an individual's problem. When the root cause of a problem is revealed, (usually some kind of bottled-up emotion which 'fuels' the problem), the symptoms can just disappear and the change is for lasting good. It is usually used for the more deep-seated problems.
Problems treated with hypnoanalysis vary widely, but can typically range from anxiety, fears, phobias, panic attacks, blushing and social anxieties - although it should be noted that this is only a very generalised list and not at all exhaustive.
Underlying anxiety
It is widely accepted among hypnoanalysts that symptoms such as the aforementioned anxieties, fears/phobias and panic attacks, are all just different symptoms caused by an 'underlying' anxiety which has found an outlet.
Symptoms will tend to differ simply because people handle situations differently, and so one person's 'underlying' anxiety might cause one set of symptoms and a completely different set in someone else.
One of the biggest benefits of analytical hypnotherapy, is that once the 'underlying' anxiety (the 'cause') is reduced, ALL of the associated symptoms (the 'effects') can reduce accordingly.
This means that hypnoanalysis can often help a far wider range of issues than the person having the hypnotherapy would ever have imagined.
A course of therapy
Analytical Hypnotherapy is a course of therapy and it should also be understood that hypnoanalysis is not a 'quick-fix'. It takes a certain amount of commitment in terms of time, effort, self-discipline as well as in a more general financial sense. The average amount of sessions people undergo is around eight therapy appointments. However, it should still be considered a brief therapy.
Hypnoanalysis is a very 'involving' process and should be viewed as being a very cathartic journey into self-discovery and personal development.
It is possible to learn more about the 'self' and the way someone thinks about their self than they might ever have thought possible. It can be very rewarding and the benefits gained can be immense.
2. Suggestion hypnotherapy
Suggestion hypnotherapy is a very relaxing type of therapy and is normally used to treat those issues that don't really have any deep underlying anxiety causing them. It should really be considered as a therapy which is of shorter application and duration. Typically, just one or two sessions will be employed.
When using suggestion therapy, the hypnotherapist offers the unconscious mind a series of beneficial ‘suggestions’ and this is usually done while imagining, or visualising, very satisfying and pleasant ideas and thoughts. The purpose of this iis to 'change' the way someone looks at events or situations in such a way as to make them less fearful.
These suggestions, when absorbed by the unconscious mind, can enable a person to find it easier to do something they would like to do, or easier to stop doing something they no longer wish to do. When the mind is relaxed, it is much more likely to accept the idea of the changes that someone wishes to make in their llife.
Suggestion therapy is most suited to situations where its effects are needed to overcome a habit. For example, if a person wants to use hypnotherapy to give up smoking, the suggestions are used to help get the person through those first stages and back into becoming a non-smoker again (which they would have been originally). Of course, for a few people, their smoking is more of a symptom of an underlying anxiety and in cases such as this, hypnoanalysis would probably be the better choice.
It can also be used very effectively for nail-biting, or for when time is short, for public speaking and the fear of flying.
An added benefit of suggestion therapy is that some very good relaxation techniques get learned or taken 'on-board' and can be used later in every-day life.
Quick comparison of the two therapies.
To give a quick insight into the difference between the two therapy techniques, the metaphor of a cracked wall can be used: suggestion therapy could be said to 'paper over the cracks', whereas hypnoanalysis looks to see why the wall is cracking in the first place and helps the 'householder' to release any hidden pressures to correct the problem.
Of course, analytical hypnotherapy and suggestion hypnotherapy both have their parts to play in helping people resolve their personal issues.
But where the two types of hypnotherapy differ so greatly, is the way in which they are used to deal with the problem.
While suggestion hypnotherapy works on the symptom, seeking to relieve the symptom for a while, analytical hypnotherapy looks at the root cause of the problem to release the bottled up emotions which further 'fuel' the problem.
Additionally, hypnoanalysis can also be thought of as that absorbing journey into personal development and self-discovery. The one thing that can become obvious with this type of talking therapy, is the progress that can be made. It can be very rewarding and the gains can be vast.
It's also important to remember too, that modern hypnotherapy is a million miles away from the 'swinging watch' stereotypes of TV and the movies... it's a real, psychological tool that can work wonderfully well!
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