What is hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a natural state and one that we often find ourselves in everyday. It is simply an enhanced state of awareness, whereby the conscious mind is distracted or relaxed and the subconscious mind is open to positive suggestion and change.
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How long is a session and how many sessions will I need?
RTT sessions are 1.5 to 2 hours long. Most other initial sessions are one and a half hours long as they include a consultation. After that sessions take one to one and a half hours long. The Virtual Gastric Band Programme for weight loss consists of 4 sessions, which take place over a period of 4-6 weeks. The Alcohol Reduction and Sugar Reduction Programmes both consist of 3 live sessions which take place over a period of 3-4 weeks. For stopping smoking one hour and a half session followed by a follow-up if necessary are needed. For confidence, anxiety, stress performance, insomnia, phobias and other issues, using RTT normally only one session (or at the most 2-3) are needed. With normal suggestive hypnosis 1-6 sessions are sufficient. The audio recording that you will be given is also an important part of the therapy and will reinforce the mindset change that you want, both in between sessions and afterwards.
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Are the sessions confidential?
Healthy Habits Hypnosis has a Privacy Policy and information discussed during sessions is completely confidential. Client’s contact details are kept on file for contact purposes only and are not passed on to any third party for marketing or any other purpose. Clients have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold (session notes and details). A small administration fee would be applicable in this case.
What are the differences between the conscious and the subconscious parts of the mind?
The subconscious mind is the deeper seated, non-analytical part of the mind where habits, thought patterns, beliefs, memories and fears are stored. It is responsible for up to 90% of our thought processes and nearly all of our automatic life choices. The conscious mind is the analytical and critical part of the mind responsible for logic, reasoning and voluntary bodily actions, such as moving an arm or leg. Freud compared the mind to an iceberg, with the conscious mind being the small area above the water and responsible for only 10% of our thought processes. Whereas the vast area below water represents the subconscious mind and is responsible for our beliefs, emotions, habits, values, protective reactions, memory, imagination and intuition. The subconscious is powerful and this is why we work directly with this part of the mind in hypnosis.
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What is the difference between hypnotherapy and hypnosis?
Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis for therapeutic purposes with a client to create positive change.
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How does Hypnosis feel?
Hypnosis is such a natural state that we enter often in our daily lives, without really knowing it!
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Have you ever been watching the TV and don’t hear someone calling your name because you’re so focused on what you’re watching?
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Have you ever been involved in a really good book? Almost as if you’ve entered the world in the story?
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Have you ever been at school or work and started daydreaming?
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Have you ever been driving on the motorway and got caught up in your thoughts? The next moment, you notice that you’ve somehow already arrived at your destination without any recollection of the last few miles.
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If you have experienced any of the above situations, then you have been in hypnosis. In all of the above situations, you have allowed your conscious mind (the logical, analytical part of your mind) to relax and enabled your subconscious mind (where your imagination, emotions and all of your automatic behaviours and habits are housed) to take over.
During a hypnotherapy session you will be totally aware of everything that’s happening and you may also experience different bodily sensations such as a dry mouth, tingling sensations, heavy or light limbs. Most people just feel wonderfully relaxed. Sometimes there will not be any real feeling to hypnosis but when you come out of it you’ll realize how deeply relaxed you were.
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Am I in control during hypnosis?
Yes, absolutely. In a hypnotherapy session you are always aware of everything that is happening and are not controlled in anyway. All hypnosis is really self-hypnosis, the therapist simply helps you by giving you positive suggestions. You choose whether to accept them or not. It’s really about empowering you, not the opposite.
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How will I feel directly after the session?
Hypnotherapy affects everyone differently, you may feel nicely relaxed or some people feel totally energized. It is a good idea to allow an hour or so after your session to take it easy and allow the positive change to assimilate and settle.
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Can anyone be hypnotized?
Yes and no! Everybody in theory can be hypnotized, there is no physical reason why someone can’t be put into a hypnotic state. It does help though if you want to be hypnotized. Some people may have psychological reasons that make them resistant to hypnosis. For example a fear of losing control, (although you are actually fully in control whilst in hypnosis), could prevent someone from relaxing enough to get into a hypnotic state.
Interestingly, the higher someone’s IQ the better hypnotic subject they tend to be. The better one is able to concentrate and focus, the easier it will be for them to enter hypnosis.
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What is NLP?
NLP (Neuro- Linguistic Programming) is an approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in California, United States in the 1970s. It is a based on the connection between the neurological processes ("neuro"), language we use ("linguistic") and behavioural patterns learned through experience ("programming") and uses techniques and processes to change these enabling you to achieve specific goals in life.
What is EMDR?
Traumatic or stressful memories are often stored in a different place in the mind to other less distressing memories. These isolated memories become "locked" and continue to affect us negatively because they haven't been properly 'processed' due to the stress at the time they occurred. During EMDR we release and let them go, so that they no longer limit us and we can move forward positively. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing) was initially developed to treat post-traumatic stress but is also very effective for treating deeper-seated anxiety, fears, trauma and stress.
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Is success guaranteed?
These techniques are powerful and have worked successfully for improving many people’s lives. However they may not work for everyone and so, unfortunately no guarantees can be given. An important aspect of this therapy working is using the power of repetition to change your mindset for the better. This is the reason that an audio recording is provided to every Healthy Habits client to support and reinforce the positive changes that we are making. This short recording should be listened to every day for a while to really embed these new thought patterns into the subconscious. If you really want the process to work and are ready for positive changes in your life, there is every reason for the therapy to be extremely effective. Hypnotherapy has helped many people, just like you, to change their lives for the better!