linguistic programming ( NLP ) trainer who has been practicing in New York City since 2005 .
What is hypnosis anyway ?
Hypnosis is a technique that enables people to experience a heightened state of attention and focus that can aid them in changing their behaviour . While often described as sleep-like , people in a hypnotic trance state aren ’ t asleep or zombie-like at all . They are actually highly focused and hyperaware . Hypnotherapy — or guided hypnosis — is a form of psychotherapy that uses relaxation , hyper-focused attention , and intense concentration to achieve a heightened sense of consciousness that allows access to parts of the mind that are generally left untapped and under-utilised , making real change possible . The idea is to utilise one ’ s mind to alleviate or reduce a variety of issues , from
phobias ( generally defined as irrational fears rooted in anxiety ), debilitating habits like smoking , overeating , and other unhealthy behaviours .
While myths and misconceptions about hypnosis persist , it has real medical and therapeutic benefits and has even been shown in some studies to reduce the symptoms of dementia . 3
How does hypnotherapy work ?
Hypnotherapy involves speaking to a person ’ s unconscious mind to facilitate and encourage positive behavioural change . The type of hypnotherapy I use helps people use their unconscious mind to look at the “ how ” instead of the “ why ” behind a problem behaviour . For instance , say you ’ re
depressed , rather than ask why you ’ re depressed , I ask how you do that thing called depression so we can examine the underlying behaviours . By carefully observing how a person communicates — their tone , tempo , body language , etc — and examining the internal representations of what is being shared , that individual ’ s experience and process are revealed and together we ’ re able to create new neural pathways to address the presenting problem . Hypnosis is NOT mind control . Believe it or not , you are far more in control of your mind than you may think but remember it wasn ’ t so long ago that literature on the topic was relegated to the witchcraft section of bookstores !