Despite what you may have seen on TV, hypnotherapy is not about swinging a fob watch in front of your face until you feel verrrrry sleepy. Nor is it about making you cluck like a chicken for the amusement of your friends.
Hypnosis is simply a naturally occurring state of concentrated attention coupled with relaxation. Have you ever been so engrossed in a book that when someone calls your name, you don’t hear? Or ever driven home and then realised you don’t know how you got there? These are natural occurrences of trance that we all experience on a regular basis.
Hypnotherapy is a safe, therapeutic way of using trance to treat a range of issues. For more information see 'How can Hypnotherapy and EFT help me?' Because it explores the root of the issue at an unconscious level, it's a more rapid and healthier alternative that treats the cause and not just the symptom.
How does it work? Well, your brain is a powerful tool. If I asked you to imagine biting into a lemon... go on imagine it now. You may feel a shudder or perhaps you'd screw your face up and your mouth would start to water. In reality there is no lemon, but your brain doesn’t need something to be real to react in the same way.
Perhaps just thinking about that important presentation you have to give, literally brings you out in a cold sweat. Or the thought of being in the same room as a spider sends shivers down your spine. The thought of something can be so strong that it creates a physical reaction just as if it were real.
Hypnotherapy taps into existing resources that we all have, to provide relief and ultimately, control over our mind and body. Using relaxation and other hypnotherapy techniques, phobias can be overcome, anxiety reduced and habits changed.
Hypnotherapy is not a magic wand though, it cannot make you do something you don’t really want to do, you won’t stop smoking if you don’t really want to. Instead it's a collaborative technique and an organic process that evolves by working together. Part of this process is moving towards your goals by using techniques on yourself between sessions. I always encourage self-help by teaching self-hypnosis. It's my role to simply guide you in taking the steps to live the life you’d like.