Balk like a chicken, one trick pony, voodoo therapist. These are just some of the stereotypes that surround us Hypnotherapists. As fun, as it would be to get you to balk like a chicken, Hypnotherapy isn’t about relinquishing control, it’s about you gaining mastery over your mind. Hypnotherapy is this subtle yet impactful tool that brings to the forefront your personal evolution through your subconscious. No need to talk for hours in talk therapy. Hypnotherapy allows for your conscious and your subconscious mind to decide what is needed to work on. Once established, your subconscious mind diligently works on it for you in the background. Learn in this article what the subconscious mind is and what Hypnotherapy can do for you.
So What is The Subconscious Mind?
The subconscious mind is the reservoir of your thoughts, feelings, memories, and automatic processes that operate below the level of conscious awareness — which influences your behavior, emotions, and perceptions. The subconscious mind, which is often explored in the context of Hypnotherapy, can be likened to an orchestra. The orchestra represents the entirety of your mind, with your conscious mind being the conductor on the stage, and the subconscious mind as the musicians below. Hypnotherapy allows you to tune into this symphony to create a new narrative like a composer would, rather than unconsciously allowing the musicians to play without direction.
Let me explain further.
The Conductor aka The Conscious Mind:
The conductor stands at the center stage, guiding the orchestra and interpreting the sheet music. The conductor is your conscious mind—the part of your awareness actively engaged in decision-making, logical reasoning, and day-to-day activities.
The Orchestra Musicians aka The Subconscious Mind:
The orchestra musicians, seated below the conductor, symbolize your subconscious mind. This vast ensemble comprises your beliefs, memories, emotions, habits, and automatic responses that operate beneath the surface of your conscious awareness. These musicians play a significant role in the overall “music” or tone of your life.
The Sheet Music (Life Experiences):
The sheet music represents the accumulation of your life experiences. Every note, rhythm, and melody on the sheet music corresponds to an event or learning in your life that has been absorbed by the subconscious mind. Fun but scary fact, the subconscious mind remembers everything that has ever happened to you.
The Symphony (Behavior and Responses):
Now, the collective sound produced by the orchestra, following the conductor’s guidance and interpretation of the sheet music, represents your overall behavior, reactions, and responses in life. This symphony is the result of a dance between the conductor (conscious mind) and the orchestra (subconscious mind).
So what can Hypnotherapy do for you?
Breaking Deep-Seated Patterns & Limiting Beliefs
We all have ingrained patterns in our lives, some good and others not so good. Often they are tucked away in the recesses of your subconscious. Hypnotherapy is a tool that assists in rewiring the unconscious associations that perpetuated the bad habit, thereby breaking the pattern. It shines a light on the patterns that are no longer serving you and helps your subconscious mind find more optimal ways of interacting with the world around you.
Hypnotherapy also illuminates the shadows where limiting beliefs lurk. For example, I’ve had clients come for a fear of public speaking, as they progress in their careers. They are in positions where they need to chair larger more important meetings. Through targeted Hypnotherapy sessions, being in a hypnotic trance allows their minds to rewrite the script, transforming that apprehension into confidence.
Navigating the Complexities of Pain & Stress Management
Pain, whether physical or emotional, often has roots in your subconscious. Hypnotherapy can guide you toward the source of pain and provide tools for resolution. By identifying the emotional underpinnings of your physical discomfort you can relieve much of your pain. In recent years there has actually been a resurgence of HypnoBirthing along with Pain Management through talk therapy.
Stress management is another big topic here. How many times have you gone to the vitamin aisle at your pharmacy picking up the ‘stress’ vitamin and wondering if it’ll work? Spoiler, it doesn’t. It’s unrealistic to say that we can live stress-free lives. What is more realistic, is to find tools that you can use on a daily basis to minimize your stress reaction. Hypnotherapy offers a way to guide yourself into a state of deep relaxation. Imagine unwinding after a hectic day, listening to a 10-20 min soothing waves of hypnotic suggestion gently erasing tension and promoting a profound sense of calm, similar to a guided meditation. Works as quickly as a glass of red wine (arguably better), without the calories or hangover.
Behavioral Change and New Habit Formation
The use of suggestions in Hypnotherapy allows for the ability to plant seeds of positive change in the subconscious. Clients have often come struggling with anxious tendencies in their work or personal lives. Between 3-6 sessions, they find newfound confidence through hypnotic suggestions that gradually transform their self-perceptions. These hypnotic suggestions all guide behavioral change. Whether breaking free from smoking habits, conquering procrastination, or embracing a healthier lifestyle, the power of suggestion in a hypnotic state can foster lasting transformations. Think of the Red Car Theory. How your focus shapes your reality. Once you begin to look for the red car, it pops up everywhere, but if you aren’t looking for it, you don’t see it anywhere. This is how your subconscious mind works for you in the background, rather than your conscious mind having to do all the work.
Understanding Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy involves guiding individuals into a trance, which is basically a fancy way of saying a heightened state of focus and relaxation. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t involve mind control or a loss of consciousness. Instead, it taps into the power of suggestion to help you overcome a range of challenges as mentioned above. It’s an opportunity for your subconscious mind to assist your conscious mind. When you are in a trance state, you’ve got billions of brain cells at your service that ordinarily you don’t use. Since our brains can’t process if something actually happened to us versus us merely thinking about it, this process allows you to bypass the critical mind and access the suggestible subconscious, paving the way for profound change.
You can also think of it like this:
Hypnotherapy as a Rehearsal
In Hypnotherapy, the process can be seen as a rehearsal for the orchestra. The hypnotic trance is akin to a state of focused concentration, allowing the conductor to communicate more directly with the musicians. Similarly, we work with you to access and influence the subconscious mind, aiming to reshape the music of beliefs and responses.
Revising the Sheet Music
During Hypnotherapy, together we collaboratively review and, if necessary, revise the sheet music. This involves exploring and adjusting ingrained beliefs, habits, and responses that may no longer serve your overall well-being.
Harmony and Integration
The goal of Hypnotherapy is to create harmony within the orchestra, fostering a more cohesive and balanced symphony. By addressing the subconscious elements, the therapist and you work together to integrate positive suggestions and bring about a more harmonious and desired way of being.
Just as a skilled conductor can bring out the best in an orchestra, a good Hypnotherapist can guide the subconscious mind toward positive change and personal growth.
To Finish Off
Ultimately what makes hypnotherapy so great, is its quiet artistry. It subtly nudges your subconscious towards long-lasting change. Offering tangible results that extend beyond mere anecdotes. It invites you to explore the uncharted territories of the subconscious only at a rate and speed that your conscious mind is comfortable with. Allowing for exploration, understanding, and positive transformation as you uncover and address aspects of your mind that may not be readily apparent in your everyday conscious awareness. If you like what you read, book a hypnotherapy session with me here!