Hynotherapy: no magic, but lasting results

By Jean Conway

I am pleased to report that hypnotherapy has come a long way since I began my practice in 1999. Thank goodness images of swinging watches and Freudian looking men are primarily gone.

Generally the most common requests for hypnotherapy are these: weight loss, smoking cessation, and fear and anxiety reduction. It is certainly not limited to these. In my practice the issues I am presented with range from fear of public speaking to fear of poultry, from chronic illness to addictions and beyond.

Hypnosis is a relaxed state, not unlike meditation but with a focused awareness. The hypnotized person will converse normally and have a recollection of the session. There’s a sense of timelessness, and often a sense of detachment from the body. It is reported that we actually go in and out of hypnosis 15 to 50 times a day. Whenever we go within, or daydream, or become emotional, we are in a state of hypnosis. A person cannot be hypnotized against his or her will, nor can they be made to do anything they do not want to.

We each have a conscious mind, an unconscious mind, and a subconscious mind. The formal definition of hypnosis is: the bypass of the critical faculty and the establishment of selective thinking. In hypnosis we bypass the conscious part of the mind — the thinking part of the mind — and work primarily with the subconscious mind, which is the feeling part of the mind. For example, a phobia is often irrational and emotional. If it could be changed by using the intellectual part of the mind, it could easily be eradicated.

Stage hypnosis has little to do with therapeutic hypnosis. I cannot tap someone on the forehead and permanently remove a long-held problem, no matter how much I’d like to. And neither can anyone else! Stage hypnosis is simply a form of entertainment and the participants’ willingness to perform makes for a good show.

Hypnotherapy is an interactive dialogue while under hypnosis to get to the root of the problem. Interestingly, there often isn’t a direct correlation between the problem and the presenting issue. A fear of flying could present itself seemingly out of the blue, but may actually have begun as a lack of safety as a child. Similarly, a man who had a fear of vistas (views) nearly experienced a car accident as a young boy. He noticed his mother falling asleep at the wheel and pulled the car to safety — and at that very moment he saw a vista. The fear had become cemented with the view – hence the long held fear of vistas. To explain in simplified terms, when the event is revisited in regression, emotions are released, and as perceptions change, often the problem disappears.
I very often use Emotional Freedom Technique in my sessions. It has proven to be a fast and easy method to help one move through unwanted issues, beliefs and habits.
Because obesity is such a problem, it is no surprise that “Virtual Gastric Band” method has surfaced. It is making quite a splash in the press as the newest modality for reducing weight. While I am not opposed to this methodology, I am skeptical of it being a permanent solution. My theory is that one needs to thoroughly clean the surface before applying a clean coat of paint, or else the paint will peel. As long as the hypnotherapy is done before the Virtual Gastric Band method, see no reason why it shouldn’t work for the long term.

There are many methodologies to address the personal difficulties we face in life. Hypnotherapy is an amazing art form when done correctly. I have experienced some amazing results, and witness miracles nearly every day. What more could I ask for?

Jean Conway’s practice, Blue Moon Hypnotherapy, is based in Greenfield. Her website is BlueMoonHypnotherapy.com.