Hypnosis: 20 hypnotherapist Secrets

20 hypnotherapist Secrets
You don't need to look onto her eyes to change.

Leading hypnotlst Ursula James explains how your brain can do everything from shrink your stomach to help your baby sleep.

1) HYPNOTHERAPY CAN HELP WHERE COUNSELLING MAY NOT

'There's a difference between knowing what you should be doing and actually doing it. Take weight loss, for example - everyone's aware they should eat less and exercise more, but they don't. Even if you've had counseling to overcome a problem, and feel you totally understand yourself, you still might not have actually changed. Hypnotherapy is the bridge between acknowledging what actions you should take and actually carrying them out It can boost your motivation and help you succeed.'

2) IT CAN MAKE YOUR SKIN SMOOTHER

‘Hypnotherapy can be used to treat skin conditions, including eczema and allergic reactions. lt’s not surpnsing, really - when we were just an egg, the outside pan of it was what became our skin. organs and brain. so everything is heavily connected, Therefore, anything that affects your brain is highly likely to affectthe nervous system and skin itself.'

3) YOU’RE THE REAL EXPERT

'As a hypnotherapist, being a good listener is essential because when you listen to people they'll tell you so much about themselves, their problem and how they feel about it. My clients are the true experts on their condition, and so they’ll teach me how to treat them!

4) THERE AR£ THREE DIFFERENT ROUTES IN...

‘You can use sound, sight or touch to hypnotist someone. If I asked you how you relax and you said by reading. I'd use eye focus and perhaps ask you to concentrate on the back of your hand. if you chill out to music. I'd request you listen to the sound of my voice. If you said you liked having a massage. I'd pick a touch-based induction. Hypnosis is about keying into your individual way of relaxing.'

6) YOU CAN HYPNOTISE YOURSELF HAPPIER

'Sit somewhere where you'll be undisturbed for five minutes. Close your eyes, take three deep breaths while focusing, then breathe out "a dark colour” and breathe in 'a bright colour', The dark colour is any irritation, and the light one is a positive feeling. Next fake a smile. After a couple of seconds you’ll break into a real grin. You may feel silly doing it, but your brain will release feel-good endorphins'

7) HYPNO-BIRTHI NG IS GOING TO BE HUGE

'I use hypnotherapy to help women conceive, during pregnancy (to cope with morning sickness) and with childbirth itself. With the birth. I teach the mother to ride the contractions. instead of tensing up. Research has found that with hypnotherapy, the use of drugs drops, recovery is faster and theres less stitching required afterwards. And if the mother has listened to hypnosis CDs throughout her pregnancy, the baby sleeps better once it's born, too.'

8) REMEMBERING YOU’RE FABULOUS HELPS!

'If l was treating you, l'd ask you to recall something you'd successfully done in the past - a moment when you felt proud of yourself. Then l'd encourage you to associate that memory with something you’ve got coming up. so that you link it with a part of you that already knows you can be successful.'

9) TRUST YOUR THERAPIST

'If you don't completely trust them, you'll  never enter hypnosis. Thats why I always talk to people on the phone first, so that I can a) make sure they're comfortable with me, b) give them the chance to ask any questions and, c) assess whether hypnosis is the correct treatment - it's not a cure-all.'

10) I WON'T HYPNOTIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY

'I know planty of people who've tried and it's unfruitful at best. They're familiar with your voice and they know you in a certain context. Plus, they wouldn't necessarily want to tell you all the information you need to treat them. For example, l always ask smokers if they smoke anything else and they may say, "The odd joint" But if that person's your cousin, they may not be 100% truthful.'

11) THERE'S NO UPPER AGE LIMlIT

‘l don't treat children under seven; when someone is that age it's often the parent, rather than the child, who needs therapy. And also it's not necessarily a good idea to go in there and tinker. There's no upper age limit, but the older someone is, the more likely they are to fall asleep, thanks to the relaxation aspect.'

12) IN THE PAST, ONLY WOMEN COULD BE HYPNOTISED

'Before the First World War, hypnosis was seen as a 'side effect' of hysteria. And only women could be hysterical, because people thought it was caused by your womb moving around your body. That all changed when men returned from the war with the same symptoms - they were actually suffering from shell shock. When hypnosis seemed to help them too, the diagnosis for hysteria and the criteria for hypnosis charged.'

14) IT CAN TEACH YOU TO BE CHILLED

'When you're in a physicaliy relaxed state, your biochemistry changes are, as a result. you can bring that feeling of relaxation into your everyday life. This is because your body learns that it's more effective for you to be calm thar anxious.'

15) MOST PAIN (BUT NOT ALL) CAN BE BLOCKED OUT

'The more acute a pain is, the more you're able to manipulate it. With intense pain, it's easier to think, "Yes, this is exactly what I don't want," block it out and focus on something else. However, pain can never completely be taken away - you’ll still feel low grade "signal pain". This is important, because you need it to tell you if somethng is wrong and it can be very dangerous to just take it all away.'

16) YOU CAN DOWNSIZE, FAST!

'Good hypnotherapy is never about losing weight, it's about getting to a healthy weight and maintaining it for good. The main difference between hypnotherapy and dieting is that clients don't get obsessed about food. They just get on with their lives and out food into context.'

17) I WORK WITH THE INNER SMOKER

‘Smokers don't smoke 24/7 - for example, they may smoke after a meal. It you want to give up, I work on the basis that 99% of you is fine. There's only a little bit of you that's a smoken and that's who I work with. Also, I never tell someone they're an ex-smoker, bocause ex-smokers are a pain in the bum. I just say, "Youre a smoker who hasn't lit up for five years.” People quite like the idea of this "rebel personality", so l let them keep thai.'

18) CLEVER WOMEN ARE BETTER AT IT

'People think you have to be weak-willed to experience hypnotherapy, but strong personalities are the best to work with. The more control you feel over the event, the more you'll participate. The worst people to treat are those who think hypnotherapy is a magic wand - that they'll "wake up" half an hour later completely fixed. Hypnosis is a therapeutic partnership. You givie me information, then l’ll give you knowledge and teach you how to use it.'

19) MAN ARE EASIER TO HYPNOTISE..

'. .but maybe that's because l'ma woman. More men have started coming in the past few years, possibly because hypnotherapy is now used as a tool for success, rather than rust as something to fix a problem. I work with actors who want to be better performers and sportsmen who want to cut their running time lt 's about saying, "You're doing most things right, but hypnotherapy can finely tune it.'

20) l CAN’T MAKE YOU DO ANYTHING

'I often get people who say, "You're not going to make me do anything stupid, are you?" I just reply. "No, that's your job.” Nobody can make you do anything. One woman got naked, but she did it before I even hypnotised her! I left the room briefly, and by the time I returned she'd started to undress, I never did find out why, l just said, "l’m going to go back outside again and you're going to put your clothes back on" l didn't continue treating her.'

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Ursula James is the author of You Can Be Amazing: Transform Your Life With Hypnosis
For moreinformation about her, log onto www.ursulajames.com.

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