About Hypnosis

Defined by the Mayo clinic

Why it's done

By Mayo Clinic staff

Hypnosis is intended to help you gain more control over undesired behaviors or emotions or to help you cope better with a wide range of medical conditions. Hypnosis isn't considered a treatment or a type of psychotherapy. Rather, it's a procedure typically used along with certain treatments and therapies to help a wide variety of conditions.

Hypnosis may be used for:

Pain control

Smoking cessation

Reducing stress related to medical procedures

Mental health conditions

Allergies

Asthma

Surgical preparation

Childbirth

Weight loss

Athletic performance

Dental procedures

Coping with chemotherapy

Skin conditions

Gastrointestinal problems

What you can expect

By Mayo Clinic staff

There are a variety of techniques for hypnosis. The approach you choose depends on what you want to accomplish and your personal preferences. Your hypnotherapist may make a recommendation about the best technique for your situation. In general, a hypnotherapist explains the process of hypnosis and reviews what you both hope to accomplish. The hypnotherapist typically induces you into hypnosis by talking in a gentle, soothing tone and describing images that create a sense of relaxation, security and well-being. When you're in a deep trance-like state, the hypnotherapist suggests ways for you to achieve specific goals, such as reducing pain or eliminating cravings to smoke. The hypnotherapist also may help you visualize vivid, meaningful mental images in which you picture yourself accomplishing your goals, such as shooting baskets accurately. When the session is over, either you are able to bring yourself out of hypnosis or your hypnotherapist helps you end your trance-like state. A typical hypnosis session lasts about 30 to 60 minutes. You may benefit from just one session or several sessions of hypnosis. You can usually resume normal activities immediately. Contrary to how hypnosis is sometimes portrayed in movies, on television or on stage, you don't lose control over your behavior while under hypnosis. Although hypnosis makes you more open to suggestions, you can't be forced to engage in behavior involuntarily. Also, you generally remain aware of who you are and where you are, and you typically remember what happened when you were under hypnosis. You may eventually be able to practice self-hypnosis, in which you induce a state of hypnosis in yourself. You can use this skill as needed — for instance, after a chemotherapy session. Benefits of Hypnosis There is significant scientific evidence that suggests that hypnosis can be a powerful aid to weight loss. A scientific review compared a series of weight-loss studies with hypnosis & without hypnosis, found that adding hypnosis significantly improved weight loss. The average post-treatment weight loss was 6.0 lbs without hypnosis and 11.83 lbs. with hypnosis. In a further follow-up period, the mean weight loss was 6.03 without hypnosis and 14.88lbs with hypnosis. The benefits of hypnosis increased over time. Hypnosis can help people to learn positive eating behaviors and create healthy long-term patterns of intake. It also helps people to identify eating triggers and extinguish them. In addition, hypnosis has been found to be helpful to decrease stress, anxiety, insomnia, pain and negative thinking patterns, all conditions that increase the potential for weight gain.

Hypnosis Therapy –

Can anyone be hypnotized? Hypnosis therapy, also called hypnotherapy has been shown to be more successfully experienced by people with a particular personality type. Dr. Herbert Spiegel, Psychiatrist and leading expert in the field of hypnosis, has grouped the population into three categories according to their “hypnotizability” and ranked them with a numeric score to indicate their susceptibility. Those scoring lowest (scoring 0 to 1) are termed “Apollonians.” Apollonians are generally not responsive to hypnosis or make very poor subjects. They are rational, guarded, and inhibited; they will not suspend critical judgment and are not trusting. At the other extreme are the “Dionysians.” Dionysians will score 4 on the hypnotizability scale. These persons are trusting, imaginative, and creative. They are ruled by the heart and make the best hypnosis candidates. Dionysians may also score a 5, which is the highest rating; these individuals have been known to slip spontaneously into a “trance” state. In the middle are the “Odysseans,” who score a 2 or 3. They make fair hypnosis subjects. In personality, they tend to vacillate between head and heart. Dr. Spiegel has also associated one’s ability to roll his eyes upward as another indicator of hypnotizability. Those scoring 0 to 1 have a very low eye roll; those scoring 4 and 5 can roll their eyes upward quickly until only whites will show. Those in the mid-category, scoring 2 to 3 have a moderate ability to roll their eyes. Spiegel has asserted that one’s hypnotizability cannot be improved; people are born with the tendency to one of the three levels and will remain so for life.

What is Heart Centered Hypnotherapy®?

Heart Centered Hypnotherapy® combines hypnotherapy with developmental, behavioral, and humanistic (gestalt; transactional analysis) psychologies as a powerful way to assist people in accessing the source of problems, helping them to reconnect with dissociated emotions and disowned parts of themselves. In trance, clients directly access the body's memories and associations, re-experiencing then reframing prenatal, perinatal, and childhood events. The session ends with self-acceptance and identification with the most loving part of oneself. The corrective experience for the client includes a heart-centered connection and, at times, a personal transformative experience of great clarity. HCH was developed by Diane Zimberoff, MA, founder of The Wellness Institute in Issaquah, Washington.

What You Might Experience in an HCH Session

You will be gently guided into a deeply relaxed state, in which both ego strengthening and memory regression are facilitated. HCH uses specific techniques to assist you in releasing whatever emotion may arise. You then have the opportunity to change the limiting beliefs and decisions you make unconsciously to heal from within. After several hypnotherapy session you may feel a sense of discovery and a release of unconscious limitations that would be nearly impossible to identify by other means. Your session ends with suggestions of empowerment and healing affirmation all centered in your heart chakra. The purpose of Heart Centered Hypnotherapy® is to activate the self-healing force which is inside each individual to form healthy choices and healthy relationships. HCH is useful for healing shock and trauma, post traumatic stress disorder, abuse, anxiety, depression, addictions, anger issues, creativity blocks, mind/body issues, unwanted relationship patterns, and confusion about life direction and purpose. Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool to use in conjunction with a weight loss program. It helps correct limiting beliefs and negative associations around food and helps with emotional eating. Hypnotherapy also includes the positive reinforcements to help clients with their weight loss and body issues, such as ego strengthening, stress management, healthy coping techniques and enhanced motivation.