What Can Hypnosis Do for You?
By Phil Rosenbaum
Are you familiar with hypnosis? Do you believe it works? Have you ever wondered if hypnosis could be helpful for you? Unfortunately, many people still harbor a great deal of misunderstanding about hypnosis. First and foremost, hypnosis does work. There are now thousands of peer reviewed studies that demonstrate that hypnosis not only works, but can be very helpful with a wide variety of problems.
Since hypnosis is such a useful tool, the question is, Why is it not used more often? There still appears to be a great deal of misunderstanding about hypnosis. Let me clarify some of the myths. To begin with, all hypnosis is really self-hypnosis. A person can only voluntarily go into a hypnotic state. One cannot be put into a hypnotic trance if he or she does not want to be hypnotized. Hypnosis is not sleep. During hypnosis, the body and conscious mind are in a very relaxed and natural state. One’s concentration is much more focused. Hypnosis is not mind control nor is it amnesia. The hypnotized person is aware of everything being said, is in control, and could always come out of the trance if he or she were uncomfortable.
In the hypnotic state, you will accept suggestions as long as the suggestions are in your comfort zone or work for the results you desire. You will not do anything that goes against your moral beliefs or values. If that were ever asked of you, either you would not respond or you would immediately snap out of trance. The subconscious mind is awake and is receptive to the positive suggestions. The only thing that may be asleep is the “gate keeper” or critical part of the conscious mind that often blocks new ideas from coming in. For example, if I were to say to a smoker, “It’s easy for you to quit smoking,” the gatekeeper would normally not accept this information. However, when one is in a hypnotic state, this new information is more easily accepted by the subconscious mind. This allows one to change old patterns and habits that normally would be difficult to change.
Now, what are some of the areas for which hypnosis can be most helpful? It is very effective for eliminating unhealthy habits such as smoking, overeating, nail biting, tics, and stuttering. It can help with reducing stress, which can cause very serious health problems. Hypnosis can improve self-confidence, motivation and concentration. It can help people with anxiety, phobias, public speaking, stage freight, and test-anxiety. Hypnosis can help you achieve your goals. It can be helpful in business, and can increase your self-discipline, a key area for business success. Hypnosis can improve student performance in school and college, for example, enhancing concentration and memory, and allowing one to attain better grades. This will also raise one’s self-esteem.
For those of you who love to participate in sports, hypnosis can be very effective in improving your performance. It helps you concentrate, helps you relax when tense, and helps you to believe in yourself and your abilities. Hypnosis can even help you reduce pain.
A few other areas in which hypnosis can be of benefit include overcoming fears, such as going to the dentist, fear of flying, or fear of spiders or snakes. Furthermore it can reduce high blood pressure, lower the pain of migraine headaches, help with insomnia, reduce complications after surgery, and even make childbirth easier and less painful. Hypnosis can also improve business success and prosperity. This is just a partial list of all the possible benefits of hypnosis.
Many people decide to use hypnosis when nothing else has worked for them. Why not save yourself a lot of time and frustration by choosing hypnosis first? Hypnosis takes much less time than more traditional therapies, thus saving you time and money. People who have used hypnosis also report how relaxing it feels, and often say they would have liked to remain in the trance state longer because it felt so good.
Phil Rosenbaum
