30 Aug How Hypnosis Works

You are getting very, very sleepy…

Surely you’ve watched hypnosis videos on YouTube or elsewhere. The digital matrix is teeming with ways to induce a hypnotic state, whether through guided hypnosis journeys or instructions for self-hypnosis. But does hypnosis work, and is it safe?

Research is beginning to satisfy the many questions surrounding the suspected placebo effect of hypnotherapy. For example, according to Irvine Kirsch, Associate Director of the Program in Placebo Studies and a lecturer in medicine at the Harvard Medical School, hypnosis is a useful and effective adjunct therapy, especially for weight issues.

But some of the finest research perhaps is from real, lived experiences…

How Hypnosis Helps: Maria’s Story

A long time ago I had a client, Maria, who grew up on a farm. After our Reiki sessions, she would often recount stories from her childhood, complete with visual descriptions of the land, the surrounding hills, and her favourite tree. From one of that oak tree’s thick gnarly branches hung a swing––one of those homespun versions made with hefty corded rope and a plywood seat with hairline cracks and a weathered surface.

Maria could have talked about that swing for hours. Swaying the afternoons away on the swing of that beloved tree was obviously her favorite childhood pastime. When I asked her what about it she loved so much, she became stumped (no pun intended!). She couldn’t recall any definitive details, only a feeling of joy and delight. But something curious happened whenever we talked about that tree and its swing at the end of our sessions. Following her initial joy, her eyes would momentarily cloud over, and I’d sense something was missing from her story. Some detail overseen, much like a slender shard of glass from a shattered vase left on the floor, unnoticed. So slight yet so troubling to a vulnerable naked foot.

Maria admitted that in spite of the joy she’d felt as a child, she often felt overcome with grief whenever she recalled that swing, often to the point of weeping. So, one day, I asked her if she would like to try a hypnotherapy session in an attempt to uncover the source of this mysterious grief.

The therapy revealed some troubling but eventually healing information. As it turns out, Maria had had a dog for a short time when she was a child. One afternoon while she was touching her toes to the sky and watching the world from upside down, Maria saw her father approaching. She clearly remembered his drawn face and his heavy, tired gait as he walked toward her. Maria turned herself upright, and her dad delivered the news: her little dog had been hit by a car and died that morning.

The loss of her dog was Maria’s first acquaintance with grief. Although her mind could not recall the memory, her body had held it for many years. Our Reiki sessions were effective in bringing her repressed grief to the surface, and the hypnotherapy exposed it. Now, she could process that grief from decades past on a conscious level and eventually clear it for good.

It’s incredible what hypnosis can reveal about our past. But perhaps more fascinating, is what it reveals about our bodies’ unique and individual responses to past events. Emotions often get held and stuck in particular parts of the body. Other times, these difficult emotions contribute to immutable behaviour patterns over the course of our lives in somewhat mysterious fashion: relationship issues, procrastination, disordered eating, and more. In Maria’s case, her joy in simple activities was shadowed by an undercurrent of grief, which might have been impossible to uncover without the help of hypnosis. Exposing this past loss helped Maria to heal and access her inherent joy without the accompanying burden of grief she’d experienced most of her adult life.

What Is Hypnosis?

Hypnosis is the process by which an altered, trance-like state of consciousness is induced. It results in loss of voluntary action and makes the recipient vulnerable to suggestion or direction. As a therapeutic tool, hypnosis is used to recover repressed memories and modify behaviour.

How Hypnosis Is Done

Once a person has been guided into a hypnotic state by a trained therapist, they experience intense concentration that resembles sleep. However, the recipient is fully aware of their surroundings and able to work with the therapist to meet their therapeutic goals. The therapist makes suggestions, proposals, or provides advice in alignment with goals that the recipient may otherwise be unable to accept during their normal state of consciousness. Being in a trance-like state encourages those suggestions to stick, so to speak, and eventually manifest.

Hypnosis can supplement many types of therapy, and help treat various issues including anxiety, depression, obesity, trauma, and repressed memories. Multiple sessions may be required to clear mental clutter that prevents the processing and acceptance of emotions, so your mind can receive suggestions. For this reason, it’s critical that a trained and trusted therapist lead you into a hypnotic state.

What’s the difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy?

Hypnosis is a tool; hypnotherapy uses that tool with therapeutic intention.

If you’re interested in learning more about hypnosis, I invite you to learn more here, or contact me for a consultation. I’m located in Durham Region, serving clients in Clarington and surrounding areas. I look forward to hearing from you.