All About Hypnosis

Why Hypnosis? Hypnosis is an interesting form of therapy. It sometimes gets a bad rap because of the sideshow acts that make people cluck like a chicken or make out with a pillow, but in reality hypnosis is a treatment that can work wonders for many individuals with all kinds of illnesses. Sure it is fun to laugh at the people on stage that are jumping around like monkeys and doing other nonsense things, but this is not real and this is not what hypnosis is really about. Hypnosis can be used to cure over-eating, to stop smoking and even to recover and heal trauma from childhood or a past life. A real clinical hypnotist will not make you do stupid things and they will not plant crazy things in your head, what they will do is give your mind a different way of thinking. And also unlike the sideshow act, you will remember everything that is said to you and that you say during your hypnosis session. Your memories are not erased. Real hypnosis is as professional as going to your family doctor.

Hypnosis was practiced in ancient civilizations, including Greek and Roman times, but the idea of modern hypnotherapy was brought about by a man named Franz Anton Mesmer in the eighteenth century (Micozzi, 2006). Although it was not yet called hypnotism when Mesmer discovered this practice, he did pave the way for what is used now. The name hypnosis comes from the Greek God of sleep, Hypnos. Although when one is put into the hypnosis trance they are not actually asleep, they are still aware. Hypnosis was coined by an English physician named James Braid, in 1880's. Over the centuries hypnosis has become a widely used and widely accepted form of therapy. Hypnotherapy is used to treat issues ranging from chronic pain to childbirth and dental procedures to phobias. It is used a lot in the mental health field, also.

One important thing about hypnosis is that you must be able to clear your mind of outside things. You can not be thinking about the grocery list or concentrating on the conversation in the other room. During a hypnosis session the patient will lead into a trance state, where they will focus only on the voice of the person hypnotizing them, or whatever that person tells them to listen to. Sometimes there will be music involved, sometimes devices like a metronome are used to help trance come along and to help with deep concentration. You will be unaware of your surroundings and will become highly responsive to suggestion (Micozzi, 2006). It is also important to mention here that you can not be hypnotized against your will and without your permission. No one can make you sit and become relaxed to the point of which the trance will come on without your being alright with it.

Prior to having a hypnosis session with a practitioner they will sit you down and ask you some basic question. If they do not do this then you may want to find someone else to hypnotize you. It is important that they know your expectations from the session and some medical history. It is usually not recommended that people with mental disorders be hypnotized. They will also talk to you about what you want to by hypnotized for and what steps they will be taking during your hypnosis. They will also go over myths about hypnosis, like the fact that they will not be hypnotizing you to fall in love with them. The next step in the process is for the practitioner to induce the hypnosis. They will do this in various ways. Most will talk you into the trance by having you close your eyes and leading you on a bit of a visual journey in your mind. This is usually how most of the session will go also, them calmly talking to you and leading you on your way to a better and healthier you. At this point hypnosis is much like guided meditation. Guided meditations can be found on audio cassettes and compact disks, or be done by an individual, and use visualization to lead a person into a trance. Guided meditations are used more for relaxation than for treatment of a disease or illness. After a person has been induced into trance it is then time to add in suggestions. Suggestions depend on what the patient is being hypnotized for and is usually created on an individual basis. If you are being hypnotized for weight loss it may be suggested that when you get a sweet tooth you will only eat fresh fruits. When the session is over the practitioner will slowly bring the patient out of the trance-like state, somewhat the way they put them in, but usually quicker. This step usually goes something like this, "now that you have learned ways to avoid overeating, it is time to wake back up. You will remember everything that I have told you during this session and you will be able to bring yourself back into this state anytime you need to. When I count to three you will slowly start to open your eye. One... Two... Three..."

Here is a short list, by all means not including everything, of diseases and illnesses that can be helped with the use of hypnosis: Irritable Bowl Syndrome (IBS), Pre/Post-operative therapy, pain control, dentistry, pregnancy/childbirth, anxiety, allergies/asthma, weight lost, quit smoking, phobias, and more. One of the more interesting hypnosis sessions that can be done is a past life regression. It is believe, in some cultures, that people live many lives. Things can happen in past lives that stay with us when we are born again. This hypnotherapy can take you back to past lives where you may see people you know now. You can find out what troubles you may have and how you died. Past life regression can cause such things as mood swings, anger and even depression. Once a past life is found and worked through the troubles that may have happened in that life can be let go. A great book I read on this subject is 'Many Lives, Many Masters' by Brian L. Weiss, M.D. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in this type of therapy.

Did you know that only 90% of the general population can be hypnotized, and that is only to some degree, they may not be able to go into deep trance (Cassileth, B., 1998). Children are said to be easily hypnotized because they are still more easily able to use their imagination than adults are (Cassileth, B.,1998). It is also said that if you are not easily hypnotized when you are younger you never will be. People who start out being able to go into a mild trance can usually go into a deeper trance after a few sessions though. I have been hypnotized two times now. The first time it was hard for me to block out all of the outside stuff and all of the thoughts that were running through my head at any given moment. What I did to try to help myself with going into a deeper trance was to meditate at home. Practicing meditation can help you be able to clear your mind as needed for hypnotherapy. With my second session I was able to block everything out except what the practitioner was telling me to hear. I was even able to forget about my nose itching!

When looking for a hypnotist it is important to look at their credentials. This person is going to be putting you in a trance where you are suggestible to things so it is wise to have a professional that you know you can trust and that you have met with and can feel comfortable with. The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) is a great place to get certification for health care professionals. Someone with a certification from ASCH will no doubt be trustworthy. There is no law that says that a hypnotist has to be certified, but just like with your family doctor you want to know that this person has the training needed to perform their job correctly and the only way to know this for sure is to see their credentials. ASCH is not the only place that someone can get their certification from and the other places are just as acceptable, like the American Board of Hypnotherapy and the American Academy of Hypnosis. Most certified practitioners will have their credentials proudly displayed in their office for all to see.

I did an interview with a local alternative health care practitioner who just so happens to be certified in hypnotherapy. I also got to have a past life regression session with her. The following is the interview I did with Dawn Davarn, owner of Head To Toe Wellness in Fremont, Michigan. I am including my questions and her answers.

What attracted you to hypnotherapy?
"What attracted me was the fact that the mind is a very powerful tool. You can heal yourself with your mind. It's an amazing thing."

How did you get started?
"I went to school through the American School of Hypnotherapy."

What reaction do you get from the mainstream?
"People just aren't educated enough, they think it's manipulative, like we're going to make them cluck like a chicken. It's portrayed as fun rather than as a serious healing tool."

What other challenges have you faced?
"People think smoking and weight loss is it, but there is more that can be done with this therapy. It can help depression, help build more white blood cells for cancer patients and even help with bed wetting."

What are your credentials?
"I am certified through both the American Board of Hypnotherapy and the American Academy of Hypnosis."

Who are some of your most memorable patients?
"One of my weight loss patients was able to get off diet coke and lost about 30lbs. In just a couple of months."

What are the most popular things people get hypnotized for?
"Those would be stop smoking and weight loss."

What is the cost of a session?
"$85, which usually includes a CD of the session so that they can go back and listen again when they are at home."

Do you need to get more than one session?
"For weight loss there are numerous sessions needed."

Why does hypnotherapy work?
"It works because the changing thought pattern can be reprogrammed through the subconscious, giving the mind a new belief system. And because the people who get hypnotized want it to work, if they don't then it doesn't work."

Dawn also added that one on one sessions are much better than group session, which only have a 25% success rate. This came up because I had asked about a rash of "quit smoking" and weight loss seminars that were coming into our area where you meet in a hall and everyone goes through the session together. I had that of attending one of these seminars, but thought that it wouldn't work because of the set up, and this was before I had even met Dawn. I am glad I chose to wait. It seems that only a 25% success rate would make the entire concept a waste of time, though they claim it is free. I have learned with any of those types of group seminars, whether it's for hypnosis or about selling stuff on your computer, it always ends up costing something, even if just the wasted time you spend there when you could have been doing something productive.

REFERENCES
Cassileth, B. (1998). The Alternative Medicine Handbook. New York, NY. W.W. Norton & Company.

Introduction to Clinical Hypnosis. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2009, from http://www.csh.edu/hypnosis/cert

Micozzi, M. (2006). Fundamentals of Complimentary and Integrative Medicine. St. Louis, Missouri. Saunders Elsevier.