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Most people when asked if
they have ever been hypnotised reply “No”, and are mistaken.
Everyone has and perhaps quite frequently been in a hypnotic state
without realising it. In childhood, daydreaming which is so real to
the child that the dream or imagined situation takes the place of
ordinary reality, is essentially self-hypnosis. In adult life, many
people still daydream occasionally, and most people will have episodes
of absent-mindedness or abstraction at times, in which they are, as
we say, “in a world of their own”.
For instance, when driving
down a familiar road, you may suddenly realise that you have travelled
several miles without being able to remember details of that part
of the journey. However, while driving, you were perfectly competent,
adjusting to road conditions, avoiding dogs and children,
stopping at red lights and so on, and reached your destination safely.
Yet you realise that you have no memory at all of the last few miles
and probably cannot remember what you were thinking about during that
period. Or at another time, you may be engrossed in watching a film
on TV or reading a book, when someone asks you a question, and you
answer them. Later perhaps, that answer you gave is mentioned again,
you have absolutely no recollection of it. And have you ever been
surprised to hear from a friend that he saw you in the street, even
said hello to you, and you walked straight past him? No doubt you
can think of dozens of other examples from your own experience.
In these states, much the same thing has happened as occurs in hypnosis.
The consciousness of the individual concerned separates into two streams,
which are out of touch with each other. You are actually conscious
and aware of only one line of thought and action at this time, while
the rest is being done at an unconscious level. In formal trance-work
(Hypnotherapy), which is the utilisation of those states for therapeutic
purposes, you do not cease, as a rule to be unaware or unconscious
of what is going on around you.
Working with a therapist, you may actually be aware of noises outside,
the tightness of your shoes, the background music, but your awareness
of these things is somehow slightly distant or removed, as you are
concentrating much more deeply on what I or another therapist is saying
to you, and on what you are using the hypnosis for. It is important
to grasp this fact that the Trance State is a natural, everyday phenomenon.
It can be a failure by the therapist to not make this point clear
and allowing you to think you have not been hypnotised because it
all feels so ordinary. Expectation counts for a great deal. Once a
Trance State has been achieved usually by talking for some time in
a rhythmic or monotone voice by the operator where you are pulled
along the induction path by one continuous thread of speech, you tend
to be appreciably more “suggestible" than in the ordinary
waking state and it is the use of suggestion which is the most obvious
way of utilising hypnosis. (Again, it is helpful to realise that suggestion
is an everyday event. The advertising industry would not exist if
it were (not.)
The hypnotic experience has the unusual characteristic of combining
concentration with relaxation, which allows you to focus on your problem,
anxiety or development-need and remain relaxed. It is fortunately
a fact that most people are able to achieve a much deeper state of
calm and peace in the Trance State than out of it. Once in that state
the mind is much better able to accept suggestions or other hypnotic
interventions to work with the particular area of
disturbance. Such an experience can break the link between an idea,
memory or thought
and its attendant anxiety and tension. It can help change what you
need to change and develop what you need to develop. Suggestions (direct
and indirect) and other hypnotic phenomena, therapeutic interventions,
visualisation and language structures are made and utilised in this
state, so you can achieve something you want, or something that will
benefit you, and in this hypnotic state, that acceptance goes even
deeper than it would in non-hypnotic states. The control is with you,
your own control of yourself, your mind and body.
Hypnosis allows you to control aspects of your whole being that normally
you have no direct control over. It follows then that Hypnotherapy
is well suited to the treatment of anxiety and, since anxiety takes
an array of forms, hypnosis can be usefully applied to a wide variety
of conditions. Smoking and overeating are the commonest ways of trying
to alleviate feelings of anxiety, so it is not surprising that Hypnotherapy
is best known for it's effectiveness in those areas. However, there
are many others, beginning in childhood with anxiety-induced behaviours
like bed-wetting and nail-biting, and so on into later life with perhaps
sexual and relationship dysfunction up to and including drug and alcohol
abuse (though it is important to realise that once those have taken
a hold, they present a biochemical problem as well. They have become
not only psychological). Phobic conditions are obvious manifestations
of anxiety and Hypnotherapy
has a good record in this area. Stress is also another sphere where
Hypnotherapy is so helpful where it employs techniques to reduce or
eliminate stress, promoting relaxation and reprogramming specific
behaviour patterns. Also, it has long been recognised for some time
that many physical conditions have a psychological component. Asthma
is an obvious example. Skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis,
etc. are others. It is possible for these to be purely psychological
(psychosomatic), in which case they may be cleared up entirely. And
even when the condition is physical in origin, it is often exaggerated
or even triggered by anxiety, so that Hypnotherapy can be a useful
adjunct to current medical treatment.
Hypnotherapy is also regularly
employed for Dentistry, sleep disorders, natural childbirth, self-esteem
and motivation, learning, sports and creativity. Frequently,
of course, suggestion in itself is not enough because there are underlying
reasons for the problem. Sometimes these need to be made conscious
and worked through; sometimes they can be processed at an unconscious
level. Either way, Hypnotherapy and Hypno-Analysis can be very useful
provided that the operator has the appropriate psychotherapeutic skill
to deal with the content. It is important that you choose a therapist
who is trained in psychotherapy, not merely in the induction of Trance
States.
In some areas, such as pain control, depth of trance is important,
but for most purposes the level of trance is a good deal less important
than the accuracy of the suggestions or other therapeutic interventions.
A correct suggestion given in a light trance will be beneficial. An
unsuitable suggestion given in a very deep trance will be largely
or completely ignored.
Hypno-Healing is another extremely useful application of hypnosis
where your own body`s natural resources and recuperative abilities
are harnessed to help you deal with illness. It is important to know
you can only be hypnotised if and when you agree to it. You accept,
comply and act on only those suggestions that feel right to you -
suggestions that fit your moral and value systems. You can terminate
a Trance State at any time. You come out of hypnosis just as
easily as you go in, like awakening from a daydream. Even in
the most unlikely event of the Hypnotherapist being called away or
even dying (God forbid!) during an induction, you would simply drift
into normal sleep or immediately awake.
My clients always report an elated and cheerful feeling after the
session that stays with them for the rest of the day. Hypnosis on
TV or in a nightclub appears dramatic. At a party or in a club, with
a few drinks inside you, and with your friends egging you on, you
would be quite likely to do silly or even humiliating things quite
willingly even without hypnosis. Because of the situation, and because
you, and the audience, believe that the hypnotist can make you do
things, you go along with whatever he or she suggests. If the
hypnotist is skilled and intelligent, he or she will not suggest anything
that you would find really offensive, because it would not work and
you would come out of the trance. Hypnosis cannot make moral people
behave immorally. The hypnotist will suggest only the sort of things
the person is likely to expect and accept, and so, as far as the audience
is concerned, it works.
Hypnosis is not a truth drug either; it is actually just as easy to
lie in a trance state as it is in a normal state. In hypnosis, you
know what you are saying, and you will not do or say anything that
contravenes your inner principles. Hypnosis is not anti-Christian
or the work of the Devil as some people sadly believe. All the major
religions of the world including the Roman Catholic Church (the largest
Christian organisation in the world) have investigated hypnosis, because
of the false ideas in the past about its moral and mystical character,
and have approved it as a medical technique. However, it does share
many features with mystical and religious experiences and can be very
like deep meditation. I access and utilise this side of hypnosis in
my Transpersonal, Metaphysical, Past Life Regression / Healing and
Shamanic work with clients.
The clinical side of my
work and the clinical application of hypnosis is thoroughly practical
and down to earth and I use it to treat all kinds of disorders, both
physical and psychological. Hypnosis is not new. In recorded history
the Greeks used trance induction to treat anxiety and hysteria; the
Druids called it '"magic sleep"; Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer
(1733-1815) called it "animal magnetism"; and Dr. James
Baird (1795-1860) named it "hypnosis" which is simply the
Greek word for sleep. He thought it to be `nervous sleep`, and modern
monitoring of brain rhythms indicate that it is a separate state of
consciousness somewhere in between sleeping and waking.
As a Hypnotherapist, I act
as a clinical facilitator to mobilise this natural talent in practical
and purposeful ways to improve physical and mental health, and improve
the quality of life for you. Hypnotherapy is a highly effective tool
for modifying behaviour and for healing and is undoubtedly the single
most powerful and under utilised resource in healthcare and personal
development today. No matter how special your problem is, it can be
successfully reduced or eliminated by the thoughtful application of
hypnosis. It really is an inner smile that is released from somewhere
deep inside you.
Michael G Millett Dip.CHP, MNCH(Reg), MHRS, PNLP, PLH, MNACHP
is a certified counsellor, hypnotherapist and psychotherapist associated
with The Replingham Clinic, London SW18.
He is registered with the
National Council For Hypnotherapy and holds certificates in Transpersonal
Therapy and Past Life Healing from the London College of Transpersonal
Hypnosis and Healing and is an NLP Practitioner approved by the Society
of Neuro-Linguistic Programming USA and the Association of NLP (UK).
In addition to his private practice in North West London, he works
with HIV and AIDS sufferers using combination therapy.
He can be reached at:
Tel: 07000 4 CHANGE /
07000 42 42 64
michael.millett@which.net
Website
http://homepages.which.net/~michael.millett
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