HOW HYPNOTHERAPY WORKS
The typical client who comes to a hypnotherapist is a well functioning
person who wants to change or improve something in their life, but hasn’t been able to affect that change on their own. There are hundreds (and counting) of applications of the process of hypno-therapy. Let’s use procrastination (of doing paperwork) as an example of a
common hypno-therapy client. The process is basically four steps:
1) The hypno-therapist explains the client’s behavior to them. What this
really means is that the hypnotherapist exposes the sub-conscious motiv-ators of the client’s behavior. In the case of pro-crastination (of paperwork), the subconscious explanation would be to recognize that we all (as humans) operate on what’s known as the Pain/Pleasure Prin-ciple. Freud was the first to recognize this. This principal is that we all (as humans) seek things that are pleasurable and we avoid things we find painful (or fearful). Especially if if the perception of the activity is painful. So a behavioral, or subcon-scious, definition of procrastination is that it is AVOIDANCE, due to some perceived pain or fear. It’s human nature to procrastinate.
2) The hypnotherapist then creates or describes a strategy for change. This means a real plan in which the client is an active participant. In observation of Einstein’s definition of insanity (doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results) this plan is to do something dif-ferently. In the case of procrastination, a new strategy would be to alter or change the perception of the pain (or drudgery of paperwork). We could do this by agreeing to limit the amount of time the client actually does the paper-work. For instance, if the client used a simple kitchen timer, sets it, (say for 20 minutes), and then takes a break, their perception of the drudgery would change and they would more likely to actually do some paperwork. The strategy becomes “chip away at it, you don’t have to do it all at once.”
3) The third step involves the hypno-therapist helping the client become sug-gestible, or re-ceptive to the new strategy. Hypnosis is something that is little understood by the general public. That it is misrepresented in film, media and by stage hypnotists further distorts the general public’s unde-rstanding of what it really is. An ac-curate way to think of what hypnosis is, is that it is a state of mind of increased sug-gestibility, or receptivity to the verbal suggestion given by the hypno-therapist. The client remains consciously aware. Hypnosis is also a very natural state of mind. For instance, anyone who falls asleep has to enter a light state of hypnosis in order to attain uncon-scious sleep (we drift into sleep). The hypnotherapist guides the client into this state of mind by suggesting that the client experience a series of body changes (such as the breathing growing deeper, a little dryness forming in the mouth and throat, and a little fluttering of the closed eyelids). Once the client ex-periences those body changes, the hypnotherapist will then help the client relax the muscle groups of their body (still very conscious). When the client is relaxed in their body yet still alert in their mind they enter that state of mind of increased suggestibility. At this point the
hypnotherapist will verbally repeat the important parts of the new strategy,
such as “we want you to make short periods of paperwork a priority in you’re life. Knowing that you will limit these periods to just 20 minutes, makes it easier and more doable than in the past.” Visualization is another sug-gestive technique. The hypno-therapist may have the client visualize doing the paperwork while feeling relaxed, hearing the timer ding, and feeling a little grin or smile beginning to form on their face. That type of suggestion is called an inference. It implies (or infers) that the client will follow through and get some paperwork done.
4) Evaluation. In a subsequent session, the client and hypnotherapist evaluate what change has occurred. Was the client successful by doing some
paperwork? If so, the strategy becomes reinforcing the change (or new behavior), and making it stronger and stronger. The ultimate goal (in this case) is to create a new automatic habit of doing paperwork.
This modality, or process, has hundreds of ap-plications. Just a few are better study habits, test anxiety, fears and phobias, sales techniques, ass-ertive commun-ication, preparation for childbirth, pre-paration for surgery, relationship enhancement, happiness, anger management, the list goes on and on, including procrastination.
Marc Gravelle, CHt.
© 2007.MarcPGravelle.
All Rights Reserved.
Did you ever notice that sometimes, if not often, you arrive late, even when you have carefully planned to arrive on time to a meeting, date, or appointment? Possibly, you are among those who are chronically late.
One reason for constant tardiness is that it’s extremely difficult to arrive on time, especially in large metropolitan areas. Unexpected traffic congestion, taking that last minute call, running back to the office or home to grab forgotten articles, are all impediments to being on time. Even the most time-conscious, careful planners can be undermined by these factors.
While this seems obvious at first, it’s really not that simple. One thing that makes this difficult is simply human nature: we simply don’t like waiting. We’re even trained to avoid any kind of waiting. We live in a world of instant, and any kind of waiting becomes unacceptable We often go to great lengths to avoid waiting of any kind. Many businesses advertise no waiting.
Some people associate waiting with anxiety, so they avoid waiting of any kind. Some may worry that they are wasting valuable time doing something else, others may be afraid that the person they’re meeting won’t show up. One way to overcome this associated anxiety is to have something productive or enjoyable (such as reading or crossword or soduku puzzle) to do while waiting to be on time.
Another impediment to punctuality is handling the last minute call. Did you ever notice that just as you’re about to leave for an appointment you often receive a phone call? How you handle that call can make the difference between being late or on time. Some don’t have the assertive skill it takes to simply say “I’m so glad you called, we need to talk, so Ill call you right after my appointment.” That skill takes control of the situation. If you find it hard to extricate yourself once you’ve picked up the phone, you also have the option of not answering. The bottom line is that you cannot get hooked into taking that call.
Yet another obstacle to punctuality is doing just one more thing before leaving. Often though, that task, however small, can wind up taking longer than estimated, causing one to leave later than planned and arriving late. Conclusion: it’s a good idea to factorin an additional time cushion for leaving. In other words, be ready to leave before it’s time to leave. Sometimes we underestimate the amount of time it will take to get ready to leave. It often happens, telling ourselves we’re all ready to go, so that we have time for the one last thing – and then it turns out that it actually took longer to get ready – gathering papers together, closing computer files, grooming for men, and for women, make-up, finding the purse and keys. All those invisible activities actually take time.
Punctuality requires time management, and many of us have real misconceptions regarding time. An ancient philosopher, Theophrastus, said, “time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” When we waste other people’s time by forcing them to wait for us, we are doing them the great disservice of wasting their time. And when we arrive late for meetings, concerts, shows or other activities, we are sabotaging our own participation in valued activities. . we need to use it carefully. Many people are not consciously aware that a clock can be a symbol of authority. No matter how quickly or slowly a person wants the clock to go, it follows its own pace. So if a person rebels against authority, they’re likely to rebel against time constraints and wind up being chronically late.
Some people use making others wait as establishing a one-up position. It’s like they’re communicating “I’m one-up, or more important than you.” Doctors offices are notorious for this.
So what are the payoffs of punctuality? Two important ones are that it’s an indicator of professionalism, and it’s respectful to the other person. These are certainly important in business. Another payoff is that it’s moral and ethical. As someone once said, ,“A man who has taken your time recognizes no debt, yet it is the only debt he can never repay.”
The solution? There is really only one guarantee that you arrive on time: factor in a time cushion to leave, and a cushion to arrive early and wait to be on time. The time cushion is actually an anxiety reducer.
Marc Gravelle, Certified Hypnotherapist
© 2008. MarcPGravelle.
All Rights Reserved
By Marc Gravelle
Did you ever stop to think that the words you use can a positive – or a negative – impact in your everyday life? Simple little words can profoundly affect you, especially when you overuse them.
One of our biggest enemies is one of the smallest words we use: try.
An old proverb says, “trying is lying”. I’m not referring to lying in the sense of deliberate deception. Rather, I am suggesting that when people tell themselves and others “I’ll try” or “I’m trying,” they are subtly deceiving themselves.
Has anyone who said they would try to call, actually called? Has anyone who said, “I’ll try to be there.” (at your party or other event) actually shown up? Answer: very seldom.
The wise Yoda, from the “Star Wars” movie series, said, “There is only doing or not doing, there is no trying.” Often we hear family, friends, and acquaintances say things like “I’m trying to lose weight,” or “I’m trying to kick a bad habit,” do they actually do it? Very few might, but the vast majority does not. Imagine how much more commitment they would show if they said, “I’m losing weight.” or “I’m quitting smoking.” What is the antidote for this form of negative thinking? The first step is to simply hear ourselves say try. Once we become aware of saying it, we’ll start catching ourselves saying it. Once we start catching ourselves, we will alter our thought process. Then we will really start doing more.
Another culprit from the world of words is that nagging word should. We often innocently say that we should do this or that (lose some weight, get more exercise, eat less sugar, study more, make more money, save more money- - the list could go on and on). The effect of using the word should is to prolong our avoidance of the very thing we probably need to do.
The good news is that there is a solution. Like try, the first step is to hear ourselves saying should and then start replacing it with the word need. When we tell ourselves we need to do something, we are more likely to actually do it. Need is a more powerful word. Need also imparts a sense of urgency to the activity that would benefit us, and we become more likely to do it.
Remember: Words create your perception of yourself and the world around you. Make sure your words are positive. As I’ve said, the first step in transforming your thoughts is always to consciously hear what we are saying. This is how effective hypnotherapy works: the hypnotherapist brings into conscious awareness what is motivating our behavior from a subconscious level. Once those motivators are exposed on a conscious level, we have a much better chance of changing something that will improve the quality and value of our life experience.
Marc P. Gravelle, C. Ht.
©2008. MarcPGravelle. All Rights Reserved
