Visit thespencepractice for Hypnotherapy Sussex
Although the word hypnosis comes from hypnos - the Greek for sleep - hypnosis is not a sleep state. Hypnosis is a natural state that you experience on a regular basis throughout your life, when you become absorbed in your own thoughts, sometimes described as a daydream or a trance state.
It might occur at any time of the day – perhaps while watching TV, reading a book, driving a car or when engrossed in your favourite pastime. During these periods we are able to absorb information from what we see or hear around us, often without realising it. In other words, we are learning unconsciously. This is a much easier way of learning than using the conscious part of the mind, which has a tendency to question and analyse information. The General Hypnotherapy Standards Council defines hypnosis as follows:
Hypnosis is a state of mind, enhanced by (although not exclusively) mental and physical relaxation, in which our subconscious is able to communicate with our conscious mind.
During a hypnotherapy session, instead of being hypnotised by a television set, you are focused on the therapist's voice, the words used and the images created by your imagination. This creates a deep state of relaxation known as hypnosis, similar to a meditative state. You are still aware of what's happening even though your mind is sometimes thinking about other things unconnected to what the therapist is saying.
During this state of deep relaxation and inner absorption your critical/analytical conscious mind drifts into the background, which means that your subconscious mind has full attention on the suggestions and questions being put to it. However, you are able to resist suggestions which are not acceptable to you, so you can't be made to do things against your will.
While your conscious mind is preoccupied with logical thought, processing information analytically, your subconscious drives the behaviours which have been learnt through repetition, responding more instinctively. The subconscious stores your emotions and memories, and one of its primary functions is self-preservation. Although the conscious mind shuts down completely when we are asleep, the subconscious mind never shuts down because the body still has to function and it is then free to dream without any interference from the conscious mind.
The subconscious mind is responsible for our habits and behaviours, whether they be positive or negative, and stores memories and emotions - it makes sense that this is the part of the mind that needs to re-learn or be re-programmed if you want to change a behaviour permanently.
Hypnotherapy is a highly effective way of communicating directly with the subconscious and training it to deal with deep-rooted personal issues such as smoking and other addictions, phobias, stress, and anxiety. Take a look around thespencepractice web site or contact us for more information on how we can help you deal with these, and many other, problems.
