During hypnosis a state of consciousness is indicated in which the client is deeply relaxed and completely concentrated. Hypnotherapy can be used by a hypnotherapist to change a feeling, behavior or even to find out what happened in the past. Hypnotherapy can be an aid in quitting smoking or with pain in the body. Can I also use self-hypnosis? The answer is: Yes!
What is Hypnosis?
Every day we enter a hypnotic trance state when we read a book, sleep or dream away for a moment. We are so concentrated that you don’t hear certain things that happen. This is a very mild form of hypnosis. Many people view hypnosis in the wrong light. They perceived it as a form of witchcraft or something to do with the unnatural. This image is completely misplaced.
During hypnosis you are completely relaxed and concentrate on a specific point, sound or light. Suggestions are given in a monotone that the client should implement. By this I do not mean that the client is instructed to imitate a chicken, as you see in many programs on TV, but the suggestion to, for example, tense and release a body part. This creates the relaxed feeling. So it is the client himself who develops the trance and allows it to exist. It’s all about focusing on yourself, your body and the dream you will be in.
A hypnosis session will first start with a conversation. The therapist will first have to assess what the problem is and what the client’s character traits are. The character is very important for a subsequent session, because if, for example, the client has a dominant character trait, it will make no sense at all if the therapist gives ‘orders or commands’ in a dominant voice. The suggestion or ‘command’ will then be stated in an interrogative sentence if the client wants to accept suggestions during hypnosis.
Zelfhypnose
With self-hypnosis you put yourself in a hypnotic state. This is quite easy, because we actually do this every day, without being aware of it. You must have a reason why you want to do this. Do you want to fully discover yourself? Do you want to remember what you have experienced in the past, are you looking for peace in your life, do you want to stop smoking or do you just want to be in a fantasy world for a while? This is all possible with self-hypnosis.
You can start by closing the doors and windows to prevent noise from outside. If you feel comfortable with calm music (by which I mean yoga music), you can turn it on. Make sure you don’t get cold so that the hypnosis cannot be disturbed. It is also important to first ask a doctor’s advice if you have heart problems, asthma, pregnancy, etc. You lie down on a comfortable couch or bed with your arms along your body, so not diagonally or in a strange position, but straight on your back. The trick is to learn to listen to the voice in your head. (you can also record your voice on a tape in advance and play it back). First, tense your feet for about 5 seconds and then release them. You will feel your feet getting heavier. You will also do this with the rest of your body, starting from the bottom. It will end with the tightening of your head and facial features. You will then feel very relaxed and a bit heavy, as if you are very tired.
Your voice will tell you that you are very tired and getting more and more tired. If you do this often enough, you will believe in it and it will happen! You will believe all the suggestions you give below. For example: ”I can’t lift my arm. My arm is too heavy, I can’t do it! I’m not going to succeed, it’s very heavy.” If you try to lift your arm, it won’t work either! You can now imagine in your thoughts/dreams an environment that is only accessible to you. Many people imagine that they are lying in a wooded area, in the green grass, with flowers around them and in the background they hear the sound of the sea. A clear blue sky with a beautiful sunset and a breeze of wind. If you are in this phase of hypnosis, you have found peace and can come to yourself during hypnosis.
You may be woken up by noise or an alarm clock that you have set in advance. You can also do this if you have trouble sleeping, because this phase of hypnosis will help you sleep like a baby! Before you fall asleep or during the initial stages of self-hypnosis, you should give yourself suggestions so that when you wake up, you feel good and have rested. You can also keep repeating in your head: When I wake up I feel perfect, I feel good about myself, I am fit again and reborn.
If you do not give these suggestions, you may feel lethargic or even completely exhausted after hypnosis.
The purpose of self-hypnosis is to discover yourself. The point is that you feel good about yourself again and feel reborn. You need to feel vital and banish all problems, stress and other negative factors. You have to spend a lot of time for this, because to reach a certain phase of hypnosis it sometimes takes an hour or more. It’s all about concentration.
Different phases of hypnosis
There are different stages of hypnosis, from light, such as a light daze, to a very heavy hypnotic state with a total loss of (self) consciousness and where even a blockage of sensory and pain stimuli may occur. I will not discuss these phases now, because they can be dangerous. If you have heart problems, asthma, infections or suffer from shortness of breath, these phases can be fatal because the heart will beat slower and breathing will become heavier. (This is also called a coma state)