Stuart Taylor Hypnotherapy

What is Hypnosis?

For many people hypnosis still conjures up images of shadowy figures in Victorian melodramas, the very word synonymous with mind manipulation and loss of control. Films, television and sensationalist headlines all add to the seemingly supernatural power of the hypnotist.

However the truth behind hypnosis, what it is, and its potential uses reveals a far more rational yet still fascinating area of interest which encompasses superstition, science, and entertainment as well as self improvement and goal achievement.

Explaining Hypnosis

hypnosis
n. a sleep like state, artificially induced in a person by a hypnotist, in which the mind is more than usually receptive to suggestion and in which memories of past and apparently forgotten events may be elicited by questioning.
Oxford Medical Dictionary

Although the dictionary entry quoted above comes close to explaining current opinion, there is no single agreed upon definition as to the nature of what hypnosis is. The area is confused all the more perhaps by the fact that there is certainly no such thing as a standard hypnotised feeling. People react as differently to hypnosis as they do to any other life experience. However, a trained hypnotist does have pointers to look for in order to be sure their client is moving into this altered state of awareness.

A good starting point when trying to describe this altered state is to compare it with a daydream. This is something we have all experienced and happens naturally. When we are in our daydream state we are awake and conscious of what’s around us but in a comfortable detached way and this just about sums up how we feel when in a hypnotic trance.

Is Hypnosis the same as sleep?

NO - a hypnotised person is not asleep, they do not lose consciousness and they are aware of their surroundings. They DO NOT hand over control to the hypnotist, or lose any ability to think for themselves. In actual fact a hypnotised person will be able to think much more clearly about their concerns, goals and ambitions and this is because they are bypassing those past subconscious patterns of thought that trigger unwanted patterns of behaviour.

A way of making permanent positive change

We master a new skill through repetition. We have all heard that ‘practice makes perfect’. The complex skills required to play a musical instrument, for sports, to drive a car, in fact every skill you’ve ever learnt becomes second nature once you have practiced and practiced some more. This is because the conscious effort soon passes into subconscious response. You don’t even have to consciously think about it to do it.

By relaxing the subconscious and practicing this new way of thinking we can create for ourselves extra rehearsal time. The more we do something the more we believe in our ability.

Clinical Hypnotherapy

Clinical Hypnotherapy utilises this natural learning ability that we all possess to help create and reinforce these positive changes. For example: scoring a goal in our imagination sends exactly the same signals to our brain as actually doing so. It could be described as a trance state whenever we focus on an idea or thought and it is this positive learning ability that we can harness through hypnosis. By beginning to believe in ourselves and our potential to achieve those goals and ambitions we have we can make many far reaching changes in our lives and create for ourselves a positive future.