Hypnosis is a "magic wand", and the Hypnotherapist
will magically "make" my problems go away:
Hypnosis is an extremely marvelous tool to help a person quickly resolve
the inner conflicts that close the door to their success.
However, it is not a passive tool, wherein, you just lay back,
close your eyes, and the Hypnotherapist magically "makes"
all your problems just disappear.
There does need to be some serious participation and willingness
to change from the person who seeks to resolve an issue or unwanted habit.
You must must first believe that the problem can be resolved,
and then you must be able to imagine yourself as living
successfully with the resolution;
Imagine your issue resolved with conviction, and expect your own success!!
*BELIEF + IMAGINATION + CONVICTION + EXPECTATION = RESULTS!!!
A Hypnotist/Hypnotherapist
puts you "under" and controls your mind:
All hypnosis is self-hypnosis...that's right! All hypnosis is self-hypnosis;
Therefore, you are in control at all times.
A Certified Hypnotherapist is merely a trained guide,
skilled in the techniques to help you to allow youself to relax your
mind enough to utilize the power of your own imagination;
so that you can resolve the inner conflicts between your
conscious & subconscious minds.
They are also there to supply the positive agreeable suggestions given to the
subconscious mind to effect the desired change in behavior.
When working with a Hypnotherapist, you are allowing the Hypnotherapist
to guide you into hypnosis. You can certainly achieve the same state on your own, however, your results are much better achieved with the assistance of a trained certified practitioner......kind of like moving a couch by yourself ~
Sure, you could do it, but it's so much easier with a helping hand.
A Hypnotist or Hypnotherapist
will "make" me do things I don't want to do:
Since all hypnosis is self-hypnosis, you are always in control ~ period!
Although Hollywood would like for you to believe differently,
a person in hypnosis is never "under" someone else's control ~
not unless they choose to be.
How you see hypnosis depicted in the movies or television is for the sole purpose of making the story more interesting, and holds little or no factual bearing in reality. A Hypnotist or Hypnotherapist can't "make" anyone
do anything that is not acceptable, agreeable, or ethical
to their core belief system - No If's, And's, or But's about it!
The stage hypnosis acts, may seem contradictory to the previous statement, however, they are based on volunteers (key word), who subconsciously agree to "go along with the act" ~ they understand "the game", and know full well
that they may be requested to do some embarrassing stuff
- like quack like a duck or bark like a dog.
If you ever catch a live show, you'll notice how the Stage Hypnotist
will scan the volunteers he's working with. He's looking for the participants
who are really allowing the hypnotic experience to happen.
He knows the volunteers who agree to go deep into hypnosis are likely
to follow his good natured suggestions more willingly and make the show fun.
While the ones who have difficulty allowing themselves to
be hypnotized will only serve to ruin the illusion, and wreck the
act, so the Hypnotist usually excuses them from the stage
or chooses not to focus on them.
In a therapeutic setting however, the goal is to ease your mind into deep relaxation in order to effect positive change - not to entertain an audience...
So, don't expect your Hypnotherapist to suggest that you quack like a duck
or bark like a dog - unless you want them to, of course...:-)
I will reveal deep dark secrets or
valuable personal information while hypnotized:
This is another common and widely accepted misconception about hypnosis. While hypnosis can help to improve recall of memories,
it cannot force you to divulge what you recall.
Hypnosis doesn't make your tongue and brain go weak, making you
"spill the beans" without your consent. If that were true, criminals would corner the market on hypnosis to obtain everyone's
bank account information and literally own the world.
Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? ~ that's because it is!
The decision regarding what you tell anyone about yourself is entirely yours. However, it may be beneficial to share this knowledge under therapeutic conditions, but again the choice is yours whether or not to tell.
The hypnotist simply cannot make you tell him/her
anything you want kept secret.
*Courtesy of Roy Hunter, M.S., FAPHP, "The Art of Hypnosis". Published by Kemdall/Hunt Publishing Company