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A lot of people have a
misconception of the word hypnosis, the magical pendulum
watch, being swayed side to side and handing over you're
your money, or even the stage hypnotists making you go in to
a DEEP SLEEP and make you do some ridiculous or funny act.
But hypnosis is being
more and more accepted in the medical world of today. It's a
fact that you can only do things that your willing to do and
you would soon dismiss suggestions which are harmful and
your unconscious minds prime directive is to keep the body
safe, you safe and would once again reject any harmful
suggestions.
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Everyone has an
unconscious mind and it does many things for you for
example:
The unconscious serves
as a memory bank or computer: With the help of billions of
tiny inter-connecting nerve cells, everything we have ever
seen, heard, smelled, tasted, felt or experienced in any way
is permanently stored in the brain, which when activated
feed back information back into the conscious mind,.
The unconscious
controls and regulates the involuntary functions of the body
example: Such as breathing, circulation, fight or flight.
The unconscious carries
out our habitual conduct: It manages and controls the
activity we have reduced to habit. After you have learned
such customary activities as driving, walking or dressing
yourself, you no longer have to direct them with your
conscious mind, as it lets you unconscious mind take over.
The unconscious is the
dynamo that directs our energy, that energy that drives us
to fulfill our goals in life.
The unconscious is the
seat of our emotions and imagination
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Everyone has
experienced a trance many times, but we don't usually call
it hypnosis. All of us have been so absorbed in thought -
for example while driving a car on a motorway and not
realizing that you have driven the car for 10 minutes
because your mind has wondered off on what you have to do
that day, but you were kept safe and did not crash because
your unconscious mind took over to keep you safe. Or it
could be while reading a book, or riding the bus to work-
that we fail to notice what is happening around us. While we
were zoned out, another level of consciousness, which we
refer to as our unconscious mind, taking charge in looking
after us. These are very focused states of attention similar
to hypnosis.
Hypnosis is a state of
inner absorption, concentration and focused attention. It is
like using a magnifying glass to focus the rays of the sun
and make them more powerful. Similarly, when our minds are
concentrated and focused, we are able to use our minds more
powerfully and achieve our goals. Because hypnosis allows
people to use more of their potential, learning
self-hypnosis is the ultimate act of self-control.
Clinical hypnotists do
essentially three things with hypnosis. They encourage the
use of imagination. Mental imagery is very powerful,
especially in a focused state of attention. The mind seems
capable of using imagery, even if it is only symbolic, to
assist us in bringing about the things we are imagining. For
example, a patient with ulcerative colitis may be asked to
imagine what her distressed colon looks like. If she
imagines it as being like a tunnel, with very red, inflamed
walls that are rough in texture, the patient may be
encouraged in hypnosis (and in self-hypnosis) to imagine
this image changing to a healthy one.
Another basic hypnotic
method is to present ideas or suggestions to the patient. In
a state of concentrated attention, ideas and suggestions
that are compatible with what the patient wants seem to have
a more powerful impact on the mind.
Finally, hypnosis may
be used for unconscious exploration, to better understand
underlying motivations or identify whether past events or
experiences are associated with causing a problem. Hypnosis
avoids the critical censor of the conscious mind, which
often defeats what we know to be in our best interests
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People often fear that
being hypnotized will make them lose control, surrender
their will, and result in their being dominated, but a
hypnotic state is not the same thing as gullibility or
weakness. Many people base their assumptions about hypnotism
on stage acts but fail to take into account that stage
hypnotists screen their volunteers to select those who are
cooperative, with possible exhibitionist tendencies, as well
as responsive to hypnosis. Stage acts help create a myth
about hypnosis which discourages people from seeking
legitimate hypnotherapy.
Another myth about
hypnosis is that people lose consciousness and have amnesia.
A small percentage of subjects, who go into very deep levels
of trance will fit this stereotype and have spontaneous
amnesia. The majority of people remember everything that
occurs in hypnosis. This is beneficial, because the most of
what we want to accomplish in hypnosis may be done in a
medium depth trance, where people tend to remember
everything, so you know what you've learned.
In hypnosis, the
patient is not under the control of the hypnotist. Hypnosis
is not something imposed on people, but something they do
for themselves. A hypnotist simply serves as a facilitator
to guide them.
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