This is a guest post by Jon Rhodes at HypnoBusters Blog.
Personal development is all about change. It’s about changing our habits and behaviors in order to facilitate what is deemed an improvement in one’s life.
It might be becoming more motivated, being more relaxed, or giving up unwanted habits.
Unfortunately self improvement is often not straight forward. Some people seem to struggle for years without making the changes they want. They may receive some great advice from friends or professionals, but still they persist in the same cycle, with little change or no change.
An Introduction to Hypnotherapy
Why is it that many people that want to make a change, and understand and agree with the benefits, still struggle to do so? I believe it is largely down to people not communicating with that deeper level of their mind.
I have been a professional clinical hypnotherapist for several years now, and I have personally helped many people make permanent self improvements. I am not claiming hypnotherapy is perfect, but it does have a knack of “getting through” to people on this deeper level, helping them to make permanent changes. I’ll explain how it does this.
The Role of the Conscious and Subconscious Mind
Our mind is basically comprised of two parts, our conscious and our subconscious. These two parts of the mind are quite different from each other. I’ll explain them in turn.
Our conscious part is what you use when thinking logically and rationally. The conscious part of the mind is used for mathematics for example. It is the part of our mind we use when we are deliberately “thinking” in words. It is the part of the mind that we are most aware that we are using.
Our subconscious mind is responsible for more automatic responses. It is the part that usually controls such functions as our breathing and sweating. Our subconscious mind also controls our desires and habits, and our automatic responses to things.
For instance you may logically understand with your conscious mind that there is nothing to be feared from a spider. However your subconscious mind can automatically trigger a fear response without any conscious thought. For some reason your subconscious mind has associated the spider with danger, even though your conscious mind knows that they are not really dangerous.
If someone wanted to give your conscious mind some information, this is very easy to do. They can simply tell you in words, either verbally, or even in writing. The conscious mind can easily understand this, and you will therefore understand on a conscious level.
However the unconscious part does not communicate in this way. The unconscious mind struggles with language, and can miss what the conscious mind takes in. The unconscious mind is best communicated with via visualization, metaphors, symbols, and other more graphical ways of communication.
How Hypnotherapy May Help in Personal Development
This is where hypnotherapy is so very useful in personal development. The main aim of hypnotherapy is to guide a person into trance and talk, in a graphical way to the subconscious part of the mind in order to facilitate permanent change.
Don’t be fooled by the media as to what a trance is. It is merely a daydream state of mind, where the conscious part of your mind is tuned down a little, to allow more subconscious absorption of suggestions. It is actually very similar to meditation.
When dealing with a spider phobic, a clinical hypnotherapist may for example guide the subject to visualize a spider dressed in clowns clothes, dancing to jazz music.
As daft as this may sound, it can successfully communicate to the subconscious mind the message ‘Spiders are not anything to be feared, in fact you can laugh at them instead.’
Saying this in words is unlikely to be taken in by the subconscious mind, but in a pictorial form like this, it is very likely to be understood. The next time this subject sees a spider, their subconscious mind will automatically associate it with the daft image, rather than fear, and so the subject will no longer experience automatic fear from their subconscious mind.
The Areas Where Hypnotherapy May Help
Hypnotherapy can be used for almost any area of self improvement you can think of. It can help with habits, phobias, confidence, anxiety etc. It can also help with things such as weight loss.
A person wanting to lose weight may well know what types of foods they should be eating on a conscious level, but their subconscious mind does not yet understand this, and so instead craves the tastier, but unfortunately unhealthier types of foods.
A clinical hypnotherapist can show the subconscious mind in a graphical way what foods to eat more of, and what foods to avoid. This can then significantly change the types of food the subject craves, helping with weight loss.
Are You Willing to Give Hypnotherapy a Try?
So if you have the desire to make some personal changes, but somehow struggle to ‘get through’ to yourself on that deeper subconscious level, then it is well worth you trying hypnotherapy.
I have personally witnessed many times a person who has struggled with some sort of issue for literally years, to be successfully treated in just one hour. I am really not exaggerating, this has happened many times in my practice.
Think for a moment if you will about all the changes you have wanted to make over the last few years. Now think about how many of those you have successfully managed to address permanently. Is it all of them? If not, then hypnotherapy can definitely help you with the remaining changes that you wish to make.
What are your thoughts about hypnotherapy? Have you tried it? Would you be willing to give it a shot?
Now is your chance to ask the expert. Leave your comments and questions in the comments below.
Jon Rhodes is a former professional musician turned clinical hypnotherapist. He has combined his two passions of music and hypnosis to create the ultimate therapeutic hypnosis audio sessions. Please click here for more information on his downloadable hypnosis sessions.
Photo by artic pj
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This is certainly an interesting post! To be honest, I’ve never given hypnotherapy a thought before…conscious or subconscious. Your example with the spider is helpful, and I’ll have to give this some thought.
.-= Dustin | Engaged Marriage´s last blog ..A Wedding Prayer: What Special Memories Do You Hold From Your Wedding Day? =-.
Dustin – I’d never given much thought either to hypnotherapy. However, when I first read this guest post I thought it was a thought-provoking article. I think we all need to challenge our assumptions at times. I hope people approach the subject with an open and inquisitive mind.
Can you bring in your wife and have her programmed with a few trigger words?
Bill – Funny, but dangerous comment! I imagine there are more than a few wives that would like to do the same with their husbands. However, I suspect the programming would be somewhat different.
I’ve always been scared of dogs. Even though my family owns a dog(a cute Lab whom I stand from afar and like but get all scared and run when he comes near me), I’ve never been able to get over this irrational fear. I’ve never been bitten or chased by dogs. Do you think the spider example would work for my cynophobia too?
Yes it is almost the same. We do need a hint of healthy fear of dogs, as they can actually be dangerous, but generally they are not. In some countries there are some poisonous spiders, but generally they are also very safe. All you need to do is persuade your subconscious mind that they are not all dangerous – quite simple with hypnotherapy.
I have actually made a fear of dogs audio session which has received some good feedback. It is available here http://www.hypnobusters.com/hypnosisdownloads/fearofdogshypnosis.html
.-= Jon Rhodes´s last blog ..Weight Loss Hypnosis Video =-.
Thanks for the nice post, I believe self improvement it’s all about doing whatever you can do to improve yoursel, i have been to one hypnosis therapy it was really good, because i was always curious how it feels like to be hypnotised, i did a past life regression and had really good positive results!!
I am willing to explore the power of hypnosis more!!
.-= Hubert´s last blog ..Hypnosis Mind Control–The Secrets of Using Pacing Statements To Get What You Want =-.
I know I’m biased because I am a hypnotherapist, but I do believe that hypnosis should be the very first place to look for self-help. It allows access to the thoughts and beliefs which can otherwise be hidden within your subconscious.