Self-hypnosis can help with almost any pandemic worry from reducing anxiety to fortifying your immune system.
The chances are that when most people hear about hypnosis, swinging watches and “you are feeling very sleepy” comes to mind. -That’s Hollywood’s interpretation. Clinical hypnotherapy is conducted privately so you can rest assure you won’t be acting the fool.
Hypnosis calms the anxious mind, balances the nervous system, numbs pain, and induces sleep.
It may sound strikingly similar to meditation except that you are guiding your thoughts rather than letting them pass. You are in the driving seat, but unlike physically driving, hypnosis requires no effort. Once you know the foundations, you can apply it to many areas of your life, including the current situation.
So, what is hypnosis?
We all have two states of mind; the conscious, the analytical, problem solving and worry creating part of awareness, and the subconscious -the part that holds everything just below the surface. The subconscious houses our suppressed feelings, judgments, and underlying motivations. These are things we don’t always actively think about, but we could bring them to our conscious awareness if needed.
Essentially hypnosis tells your consciousness to take a break and allow your focus to turn inward to your deeper sense, your unconscious self.
Either in person, via video link or audio, a therapist is leading you with their voice. As with meditation, you are focused on their voice and are letting go of the control of your thoughts. Through listening to their voice, you become absorbed in visualising (or imaging) what they are saying and start a healing activity within that journey. This is called a hypnotic trance.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that it is done to you. The therapist suggests the visual journey, but they cannot decide your thoughts or change the outcomes of your mind. Another misconception is that you aren’t aware of your surroundings, you are. Just like how you can hear the television when you are scrolling social media-you aren’t actively listening to the TV, but you know it is on.
Hypnosis allows you to direct your thoughts without engaging your mind. This is because the hypnotic state changes which parts of the mind are activated. What’s more, a Stanford study found that during hypnosis, your brain processes what is going on in the body better than normal. It helps reduce unwanted thoughts and feelings by repeating positive ones so that they have the opposite effect. For example, instead of feeling pain and focusing on that, you focus on healing energy and ease of movement in that area which, in turn, puts less attention on pain receptors.
How do I try self-hypnosis at home?
It is important to note that hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis doesn’t work for everyone, and roughly some ten per cent are too resistant to it. On the flip side, some ten per cent are highly perceptible, making them ideal candidates for hypnotherapy. This leaves some eighty per cent where self-hypnosis is worth trying.
The only requirement to successful self-hypnosis is to cast aside preconceived notions and be open to the idea that guided visualisations and thoughts do have the power to change perception.
Here is a short a de-stressing script for you to try at home:
- Start by making a note of your initial stress level with 10 being a ‘full-blown panic attack’ and 0 being not stressed at all. Remember this starting number.
- Sit in a comfortable chair, feet flat on the ground and rest your hands in your lap.
- Sit up straight but remaining comfortable, take four slow deep breaths. Inhale through your nose for a count of 4 and exhale through your nose for a count of 8.
- Close your eyes. Imagine roots growing gently down from the bottom of your feet into the ground.
- Imagine your favourite colour entering into the top of your head and moving all the way down through your body and flowing out of the bottom of your feet and through those roots into the earth.
- Direct all of your focus to the palms of your hands and breathe for a few moments.
- Still with your eyes closed, count down from 10 to 1, saying ‘deeper and deeper’ after each number.
- Repeat the following, either in your mind or out loud, 10 times: I am safe. I am calm. I can easily complete what I must do. I am in the zone.
- Take another deep breath and imagine being productive. Visualise and feel yourself knocking items off your to-do list. Smile as you imagine this.
- After you’ve spent a couple of minutes imagining this, imagine the same colour as before flowing in through your head, down your body and out into the earth through your feet as before.
- Smile. Open your eyes and stretch your arms up over the top of your head while saying Yes.
- Note your new number on the scale from the first point. Congratulate yourself on completing this task and how quickly you have improved your stress levels.
If you would like to try hypnotherapy via video call, contact us today to arrange your session