Self Hypnosis

Self hypnosis is as obvious as it sounds and is when you hypnotise yourself. It is the “last word” in State Management and helps you to relax your body, allow hormone levels to subside, and removes the intrusion of mental chatter, and errant, unpleasant or negative thought patterns. The relaxation achieved with self hypnosis can be intense. Unlike in meditation, affirmations are often used as part of self hypnosis. These are positive statements that we make to ourselves in our dialogue with our unconscious mind . And there is always an anchoring word, phrase or script that we fire along with a kinaesthetic anchor to start the process of self induction.

Dialogue with the unconscious mind

This is going on all the time but few of us are really able to use it in a beneficial way. For example - when you have to be up earlier than normal and set the alarm, how often do you find that you actually wake up just before the alarm goes off? This is your unconscious mind doing the alarm-clock work for you. Lost your car keys? ”Where did I leave them?” you say in exasperation! Searching everywhere, or consciously retracing your steps are the usual means by which you try and locate the missing items….however, your unconscious mind probably knows the answer and will guide you there if you ask! You might ponder why it didn’t do this anyway – sadly there’s so much logical (and illogical) conscious thought going on to help in the hunt that the unconscious is well away in the background. Get to know and talk to your inner self…you are your greatest ally after all!

So, to summarise, self hypnosis is really achieving a state where an uncluttered and open dialogue with your unconscious can take place.

Applications

These are virtually endless and are only dependent upon your ingenuity and regular practice. Assuming you are happy with hearing your own voice, the process is made simpler if you are able to make your own recordings of affirmations that are specific to your needs. That way you are your own guide – plus you might be able to mix in some favourite music as well to add more flavour to the experience. For most though the use of proprietary and specific topic recordings on CD or MP3 is the best way forward. With self hypnosis to work the key is the induction – the “doorway into trance” – for without it the experience is merely one of relaxation and meditation. It is useful to incorporate into your affirmations and script some suitable post-hypnoric suggestions designed to aid and improve  the ease of induction and depth of each subsequent self hypnosis session. This might be something simple such as “When you return to a fully aware and conscious state you will find it twice as simple to come back into trance the next time…..” This positive message to your unconscious mind merely facilitates the “opening of the door” each subsequent time round.

Technique

Early routines

Find somewhere comfortable and quiet, and sit or lie down. Set your stop watch or alarm. 15 minutes is a good period of time which you can gradually build up to by practice starting from (say) 5 minutes. Also you will benefit from establishing a dialogue with your unconscious mind so you will be able to tell yourself that the session will be of a certain duration. You can ask your unconscious mind to return you to the conscious state just before the alarm.

Now breathe deeply, relaxing your body. A good way of doing this is to close your eyes and focus your attention on your breathing cycle. Next, imagine waves of relaxation running down your body from the top of your head downwards, washing out all the stress. Let the waves run in time with your breathing, first washing down over your head, then your neck, then your torso, then arms, and finally your legs. Feel the muscles in your body relaxing as the waves of relaxation wash over them. The next step is to use suggestion to deepen the state of relaxation. This can be a simple affirmation such as: “I am feeling relaxed and comfortable” or “With every breath I am becoming doubly relaxed and more comfortable…" Alternatively, you could use suggestions of drowsiness: "I can feel the heaviness in my eyelids so much so that they want to close…..”  Once you feel completely relaxed, use the affirmations you have prepared for your specific routine. Mix these in with more relaxation suggestions.

Later routines

After a while you will become more adept at switching to your desired state of self hypnosis as and when you want. This is where you can be as creative as you wish with routine applications and also the levels of trance you will want to achieve during these applications. You might want to set a routine up to help you creatively, or another for a process requiring a high level of concentration. Provided you link each instance with a different set of triggers your unconscious mind will manage the process very well.

Affirmations

Make sure you only use positive words and phrases for your affirmations – because the unconscious mind responds to positive suggestion and accepts everything in that way. Avoid any affirmations containing “don’t” or “mustn’t” or “won’t” such as Don’t think about it, You mustn’t do this, or You won’t feel that any more. If given the instruction “Don’t think of a black cat” your mind has to first process the image of a black cat  in order NOT to think of one - which rather defeats the object! 

FAQ

Will I be able to always end the session or will I be stuck “in limbo”? 

If you have asked your unconscious mind to bring you out of trance after a certain lapsed time then it should do so. You also have the alarm as a backup if this doesn’t happen. You certainly won’t be stuck in limbo because when all else fails you have just fallen asleep in the process and will awaken in due course. This will probably happen if you do your self hypnosis last thing at night.

Are there any tell-tale signs I might look for or feel to let me know I have achieved the desired “state” ?

As with normal hypnosis you will notice changing sensations in various parts of the body – especially the hands and face. The relaxing of facial muscles leading to the sensation of “flattening the cheeks” is a particularly noticeable one, and is a good convincer when your routine involves eyes-open focused concentration. Watch close-ups of sportspersons performing closed skills such as basketball free-throws, rugby place-kicking, darts players, penalty takers in soccer. If their routines are really effective then the noticeable facial signs will be there.

What happens if I get interrupted or distracted half way through?

This might happen if the phone goes, or there’s someone at the front door for instance. In your dialogue with the unconscious you might mention what to do if this were to happen. It will then manage the process as in other instances. The reality is you simply change state – return to conscious awareness. Because you aren’t asleep as such it’s just the same as if you come out of reverie or day-dreaming and no harm is ever done.

There are a lot of pre-recorded sessions on MP3 or CDs – how useful is this medium?

As mentioned above these are useful in general terms and although some of the script and affirmations may not always be specific to you, these are never going to have a detrimental effect as they are usually couched in non-specific language. Some of the voices and delivery are better than others, but if you have one or two by a particular person and are happy with them then you can build up a library to help you at any time you might need them.

Peter Wright Hypnotherapy

Online and throughout South and West England