Self Hypnosis - So what's it all about?

Mention “hypnosis” in any conversation and ask people what picture comes to their minds almost instantaneously.  I’m pretty sure they would immediately conjure a somewhat stereotypical image of a hypnotist swinging a pocket watch at a willing victim… err patient, telling him or her that he or she is slowly falling asleep.

What happens next depends on which movie you saw that particular scene in. But as sure as I’m writing this, the hypnotic session would end with the hypnotist telling the patient that he will count to three, snap his fingers and the patient will awake from the trance, often remembering nothing of what occurred during the whole experience.

This is what Hollywood hypnotism is, as captured on film. Whether the said movie turns out to be a big hit or a major flop, it has accomplished one thing: It has convinced many people that hypnosis can control your mind. And the one hypnotized becomes a slave of the hypnotist and does everything he is told only to recall nothing of it after.

In real life, you are still completely aware of  what you are doing even when in a hypnotic trance. You will not be made to do anything you would not normally and willingly do.

During hypnotherapy sessions for counseling or therapy, whether it is you doing it on yourself or being done to you by another person, the conscious mind is bypassed to tap directly to the subconscious mind in a trance-like state. But, again, you are still fully aware of your surroundings.

Your subconscious mind processes everything that you see, hear and feel.  Sometimes we don’t always notice things with our conscious mind, but is still being recorded and taken note of by our subconscious only to be played back through weird dreams that don’t seem to make sense.

A positive use of self-hypnosis is when you communicate directly with your subconscious mind to implant thoughts or ideas that will help you achieve a goal or attain a specified effect. In reality, self-hypnosis allows you to override your conscious mind’s preconceived notions about your life and reset it to process only your desired habits. This is because your subconscious mind is far more receptive to suggestions than your conscious mind.

You can say self-hypnotism gives you a better chance at success because it allows you to program your mind to entertain only thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and habits that assure success.