What To Expect After A Hypnotherapy Session
Your first session of hypnotherapy can feel a little intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Taking the first step towards positive change and growth can be scary but hypnotherapy is a powerful tool that will help you in this process.
While it’s normal to feel a bit apprehensive during your first visit and at the start of your individual session, most people find that they quickly settle into the experience and are able to relax and enjoy the process.
A good clinical hypnotherapist will take the time to explain the session’s purpose and how it will be conducted, as well as answer any questions you might have.
It’s true that people respond to hypnosis in different ways. Some people experience a deep state of relaxation. Others may feel less relaxed and still have a positive response to hypnosis.
Your first hypnotherapy session will last anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the complexity of your issue.
What Exactly Is Hypnosis?
Most people know about stage hypnosis – in which a performer puts volunteers into a trance in front of an audience – but hypnotherapy is nothing like that. It’s actually more akin to guided visualization or meditation, and it involves the client and the therapist working together in order to reach a certain goal.
You can actually think about hypnosis as cognitive behavioral therapy. It works by replacing negative thought patterns and behaviors with more positive ones. The therapist does this by guiding the patient into a relaxed, trance-like state of deep concentration.
While in this state, the patient is more open to suggestion and can focus deeply on their goals.
One of the most important things to remember is that today, hypnosis is used by certified professionals. These sessions involve the use of visualization techniques and positive affirmations that are designed to bring out the best in each individual.
Hypnosis is not the same thing as sleep. When hypnotized you are actually in an enhanced state of awareness with heightened suggestibility.
Hypnosis is not something that happens to you — it’s something that you do with the help of a certified hypnotist. It can be an incredibly calming and powerful experience, helping you to access your own inner wisdom and tap into resources you didn’t know were there.
Benefits Of Hypnotherapy
There are many different things that a good hypnotherapy session can help you with. Unhealthy habits, suffering with negative emotions, traumatic memories and much more.
I have seen hypnosis help people to make powerful lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking, losing weight, and managing stress. It can also help people gain more control over their emotions, thoughts and behaviors.
Some patients have even benefited from hypnotherapy when they have to undergo dental procedures.
I have used it successfully to help some patients who suffer from panic attacks, phobias, anxiety or depression.
Hypnosis is an excellent therapeutic method that can be used in conjunction with other forms of therapy. It can help when treating a mental condition or a medical condition.
During hypnosis, a person’s attention becomes more focused, their level of awareness increases, and their ability to respond to suggestion is strengthened. This altered state of consciousness can allow for powerful and positive changes in behavior and habits as well as physical symptoms.
The use of hypnosis can help people overcome fears or phobias, become more confident or assertive, or quit bad habits such as smoking or overeating. It can be used to reduce stress, improve sleep, and even assist with pain management.
In general, hypnosis is considered a safe and reliable form of therapy that can provide powerful results for those who are committed to the process. It is important to speak with your doctor beforehand if you have any health concerns prior to undergoing hypnosis therapy.
What Is A Post-Hypnotic Suggestion?
A post-hypnotic suggestion is a suggestion that the hypnotist gives to the client during hypnosis, which will stay with them after the session is over. This can be anything from a simple task or idea to something more profound such as a behavior change or achieving a new habit.
Post-hypnotic suggestions are positive in nature, as they help the person reach their goals. They can help to reinforce new habits and behaviors, or aid in breaking old unhealthy patterns.
Ultimately, hypnosis is about finding new ways to approach situations in life— whether that’s to reduce stress, help with weight loss, manage chronic pain, or make changes in your life. It is a powerful tool that can help you reach the goals you have for yourself and open up new opportunities.
Hypnosis can be a great way to make lasting changes in your life and that can be done through post-hypnotic suggestion.
What Hypnosis Cannot Do
Hypnosis can be a powerful tool, but it is not a magic wand. It cannot make you do something against your will, and it won’t solve all of your problems automatically.
Hypnosis should never be used to try to force someone to do something they don’t want to do or go against their ethical values. The power of suggestion works both ways, and it’s important to use it responsibly.
Additionally, hypnosis is not a substitute for traditional medical or psychological treatment. It should never be used as the only form of treatment for serious mental health issues such as depression, addiction, or other psychological disorders.
It can be used in conjunction with these treatments, but it is not meant to be used as the only form of treatment.
Finally, hypnosis cannot make you forget something that happened in the past. It can help you to process and accept a traumatic event and move on from it, but it cannot erase the experience from your memory.
Similarly, hypnosis won’t suddenly make you forget a fear or phobia that has been present for a long time. It is useful in helping to manage the emotions associated with these fears and reduce their intensity significantly and possibly all together.
Hypnotherapy opens the door to bring that goal into reality through visualization and manifestation.
Hypnosis as defined by the American Psychological Association is a “state of consciousness involving focused attention and reduced peripheral awareness characterized by an enhanced capacity for response to suggestion.”.
Through hypnotherapy we can change the state of consciousness to bring forward unconscious experiences and look at them in a different more effective way. Thus changing the way we experience our reality.
Hypnosis has been used as a part of the healing arts dating back thousands of years. As we move further along in history, we begin to see the importance of the relationship between the mind and the body and how thought has a big impact on how we live and experience our lives.
This has now allowed us to place more responsibility on our health which is paving the way for alternative therapies.
Because each person has a multitude of experiences, the mind process will be different for each individual due to the perceptual filter and inner components that exist in each of our worlds.
Therefore the past, present, and future are big determining factors of what leads to change and transformation.
According to Dr. Alan Chips, hypnotic regression is perhaps the single most powerful intervention for creating change in a person in the shortest amount of time. It is done by increasing awareness about yourself and your world through new perceptions and understandings both consciously and unconsciously.
Through transpersonal hypnosis, a modality that has been described as spiritually centered hypnosis, your spiritual beliefs will be incorporated to meet the earthly world for change and healing. NATH
After a hypnotherapy session you can expect to feel a sense of peace and calm in your body and mind, as well as a new perspective on previously presenting problems.
Through emotional clearing in hypnosis and levels of somatic healing, you will find a state of wholeness in mind, body, spirit, and be moving towards enlightenment and healing.
How Will I Feel After Hypnosis?
After hypnosis you will feel relaxed and peaceful. You will have an overall sense of calm and understanding about your life and the interconnectedness of everything that has brought you to this point.
You will have new tools and insights on how to move forward in a more grounded and centered way.
Can You Feel Weird After Hypnosis?
Hypnotic or altered states of consciousness are entered into automatically and voluntarily on a regular basis. Some of these can include sleeping, daydreaming, driving, watching television, and reading a book.
People normally go into self-hypnosis at least twice a day, falling asleep and waking up. During an applied altered state of consciousness, like hypnosis, we utilize a combination of mental and physical procedures to enter this state.
Other examples of using the applied state are meditation, yoga, prayer, and creative visualization. The only distinguishing factor with applied altered states is the method that is utilized.
The applied altered state in hypnosis is one that is much deeper but still allows you to go into states of theta which are used as a gateway for learning, memory, and intuition.
In theta, the senses are withdrawn from the external world and focused on signals originating from within. Theta is where we hold all our “stuff” such as fears, beliefs, history, and patterns.
Even after entering into a hypnotic state once awakened, you will easily be able to acclimate and adapt normally to the outer world. Just like waking up from sleep you may feel a little groggy and need a few moments to get grounded and get back to normal activities.
After a session we allow for time to talk and center so that you can easily adjust and be ready to continue through the day.
What Happens to The Brain During Hypnosis?
In an article published by Stanford, evidence was shown that by scanning the brains of subjects while they were hypnotized, one can see neural changes happening.
This shows physical evidence that there are specific regions of the brain that are affected, shifted, and changed, during a hypnotic session.
Hypnosis is generally characterized by alpha and theta brain waves. The quickest way to increase these waves are to close the eyes. In hypnosis the conscious mind detaches from the subconscious mind to transfer information as the brain goes through these waves.
It is a very powerful tool in making positive changes in destructive patterns and beliefs at the subconscious level, that will suit the needs and wishes and therefore be accepted by the conscious mind, with the old ways of behaving no longer applying.
Dr. Jan Philamon
Thomas Edison, the inventor of the lightbulb discovered that his most ingenious inventions were those that came across in this altered state.
In order to re-create this altered state he would hold two metal balls when he was about to go to sleep. He would do this so that when he reached the level of relaxation that would indicate he was in the hypnotic and creative state the ball would drop to the floor.
During that time whatever he was thinking at that time he would record and document. This was how that he came up with the idea of the lightbulb!
Hypnosis continues to prove a powerful method to changing the physical and mental bodies.
Suggestions during hypnosis can cause dynamic changes in brain activity. Areas responsible for processing cognition and emotion show greater activity during hypnosis, as well as hypnosis-induced changes in functional connectivity between anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the large neural network.
National Library of Medicine
How Long Does It Take To See Results From Hypnotherapy?
Because each person is unique there is no one size fits all to hypnotherapy.
Some people can get help for their presenting issue in one session, while others may have more layers that need to be addressed before they see a complete shift. Think of it like the layers of an onion, peeling away each layer to get to the center of love.
The beauty about that is that even with one session you are taking a step in the direction of change. There will always be a benefit to that no matter what. Results are also dependent on how willing and open you are to release and receive.
Typically, whatever is blocking you from what it is that you desire will come up to cleared during the session. You can think of it like clearing files on a computer, we go into each file and release and change the beliefs and energy that are stored inside your mind and body.
These are the things that are keeping you from being free to live in your energy and follow your soul’s purpose. Once they are surrendered and shifted then you will be able to step into alignment and see the outer world in a new light.
How Long Do Hypnosis Effects Last?
Spirit is the Life, Mind is the Builder, and the Physical is the Result.
Edgar Cayce
Hypnosis is a tool that can be used for everlasting change in your life. Positive effects of hypnotherapy often allow changes to happen in your life permanently.
Since the roots of many of the characteristics and physical manifestations in our lives are often unconscious, we can utilize hypnosis to illuminate those areas and change the programs that exist from the past instantaneously.
Once these are illuminated through the assistance of the client and the hypnotherapist, with the power that two minds work better than one, an effective healing which will last a lifetime will take place.
By changing the old files into new and updated versions, we change the brain and create new neural pathways to live upon permanently.
How Do I Know If My Hypnosis Is Working?
“Like an ability or a muscle. Healing your inner wisdom is strengthened by doing it.” Robbie Gass
The more you explore your inner world and experience the benefits of tapping into yourself and the wisdom you possess inside, the more you will be in tuned with the feeling of peace within your mind, body, and spirit.
As you do this, things will become easier and old symptoms will start to fall away. You will start to notice more synchronicities.
Doors will begin to open, and the pathways will become clearer. It will become easier to see and hear when something is in alignment with your path and the knowledge of what is helping you achieve your greater good and your goals will be evident and manifested in the physical form.
After time, once the subconscious knows that a problem is resolved, the mind becomes open and free to the possibilities of seeing through new eyes. You will then experience the feelings of lightness and freedom in areas of your life where you felt heavy and held down before.
It can also be helpful to see studies where hypnosis has been utilized over time and a positive effect has been documented. A study done by Gut journal involved 204 people suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
The treatment involved 12 weekly sessions of hypnotherapy that were each one hour in length. Fifty percent of the men and seventy five percent of the women reported that they experience immediate relief after this treatment.
In a follow up on that study eighty percent of those people were still improved after six years. Gut Study
Conclusion
The shift in taking care of our health is one that continues to be of most importance in our world today. Hypnotherapy is an incredible tool that has been proven to be effective and everlasting for growth, understanding, and transformation in this arena.
The transpersonal approach which is defined as the crossing of mind, body, and spirit, utilizes the understanding that as human beings we operate on each level and these components affect one another.
Hypnosis then becomes the bridge for linking our physical and spiritual selves to create positive and impactful change. With this dream like state we gain access to a greater sense of self awareness, self-understanding, and a holistic connectedness within the triad so that we can experience wholeness.
