A man swings a pocket watch as a pendulum. The observer’s eyes shift side to side as the bob swings back and forth. The observer’s eyes show a spiral pattern as he falls asleep. He does everything that the man tells him to. These are the classic portrayals of hypnosis in television and cartoons. However, there is more than humor in hypnosis with a real potential to help people.
Most people think that hypnosis is a state of non-awareness where you are under the complete mercy of the hypnotist. It’s actually the opposite: your mind is aware, but only the subconscious part of your mind is. The normal parts of your mind dedicated to your immediate surroundings and senses are dulled so that you are only focused on the hypnotic suggestion. Basically, you feel calmed and relaxed, and you would dearly love to comply with the hypnotist’s suggestion. Your imagination hyper-activates itself, and it’s quite a pleasant experience.
This isn’t fringe science. It’s used worldwide by proficient physicians and psychiatrists to combat addiction, phobias, pain and anger management, as well as anxiety!
To understand how hypnosis works, first, you have to understand how our mind is made up. Various models categorize and divide our psyche, but here’s a simple outline: the mind can be divided into two; the conscious and the subconscious. Our daily decisions and thoughts are generated in the conscious part. However, this part which is essential to our daily routine comprises only 10% of the mind. The remaining 90% is the subconscious which controls habits, addictions, emotions and subconscious feelings.
Another part called the critical mind is the gate between the conscious and the subconscious. The critical mind gets to decide what thoughts pass into the subconscious from the conscious. If our mind was a computer, the conscious would be the RAM, which executes temporary functions, while the subconscious is the hard drive, which permanently stores critical information.
Hypnosis bypasses this critical mind gate to directly allow the hypnotist to reach and modify the subconscious to bring about benefit. Imagine a smoker struggling to give up his addiction. His subconscious is hardwired to constantly order him to pick up a cigarette and smoke. No matter how much he is yelled at or instructed, it does not reach the subconscious. If this person was subjected to hypnosis, the hypnotist could plant a suggestion in his subconscious mind to quit smoking once and for all.
If done properly by a professional, hypnosis can be performed for all people including children, but it may not be appropriate for people with severe mental illness. You can directly access the subconscious to manage stress, control your weight gaining or losing behavior, access repressed memories or even get over fears or phobias that have been plaguing your entire life! It’s safe and works well in case you prefer non-pharmacological therapy. At Phoenix Hypnosis, we provide all the solutions you need to get over the problems mentioned above, through trained and certified hypnotists. Take the initiative to finally unlock your mind to defeat your inner demons.