Action Step Four: Success with Self hypnosis

If you’ve been reading my posts in the last few weeks, you know that one of the goals I set for the New Year was to provide useful information for people who want to stop the distress of anxiety, fear, worry and panic.  

Each post starts with information I think you’ll find helpful.   It is followed by an Action Step you can take immediately.   I hope you are already finding the step-by-step guidelines useful in your journey to finding peace, calm and serenity in your life.

ACTION STEP FOUR:  Self-hypnotic techniques are easy to learn.  For today your Action Step is to gain an understanding of hypnosis.   

Classical hypnotic and self-hypnotic techniques consist of three identifiable parts:

Part 1 is called the induction: Using certain language and suggestions the mind is led to an inner focused state, or altered state of mind.  This is what hypnotists call a trance state.  There are many ways to go into the inner focused state, in the weeks to come you’ll be given a number of easy ways to create an altered state of mind. Some will take just seconds and others can take up to 20 minutes.  The longer inductions are useful for relaxing the body,  for sleep issues and for gaining a deeper level of trance where it is possible to release negative emotions..  

Part 2 uses positive suggestions or visualizations.  Once in an inward focused trance state the mind is open to suggestion.  Suggestions can consist of images, thoughts or feelings.  The suggestions are designed to help you create a positive outcome for whatever issues you are dealing with.

The unconscious mind will only accept suggestions in alignment with you values.  If they are not acceptable to you then they won’t stick.

Part 3 consists of Post Hypnotic Suggestion as you are coming back to the outward focused state of mind.   They are given as you are coming back out of the trance state towards the conscious waking state.  In this part of the process, ideas are presented to the unconscious part of the mind, and as you gently bring yourself back to the present, the unconscious incorporates the suggestions that are acceptable to you.  They serve to give you a glimpse of a positive future.

Remember:  Your mind will only accept suggestions that are in alignment with your values. When they are in alignment its like all systems are set on “go” and changes can happen almost in the blink of an eye.

The language and words used while you are in an altered / trance state, are different than they way you might speak, in the regular conscious state of mind.  So be aware that reading the words might not always make sense on the conscious level.  The unconscious mind interprets things in its own way.  When powerful hypnotic “languaging” fits with your inner needs, you’ll be surprised  to notice the changes that take place.  And any relaxation in your body and mind happens without any effort on a conscious level.

For more ideas about hypnosis and what it can be used for go to:  What is hypnosis?

REMEMBER:  Before trying a skill or technique out in a stressful situation, it is so much easier to learn the technique in a quiet spot you set aside for practice,.  

1. In Action Step One, we used a series of questions to get a baseline of distress on the  the issues you are struggling with.

2. In Action Step Two,  we talked about creating a quiet spot where you can practice. Somewhere in the comfort of your own home or office.   This is a space where you can practice each technique, to experience how it works for you.    

3. Practice the mind calming technique in your dedicated space for doing this work.
     a. And in 60 seconds you can feel the difference of using the calming breath. 
     b. Most people feel the calming change with the first practice.
     c. Within 2 – 4 weeks of practice, a positive habit it developed.  Stress relief tools can help in any situation where you want to bring down stress.

4. This calming breath is one of the tools used to bring down stress – in the physical part of the stress cycle.  

5.  With each step you’ll be delighted with how differently your body reacts.  Having a toolbox of stress relief skills gives you back control of your life.  

6.  Action Step 4, was to read about hypnosis and self-hypnosis.   Make sure to read the first Four Actions Steps, and if you haven’t already watched the calming breath video you can do this first before going on to the next technique.

Bonus:  You’ve gotten to the end of another Action Step.  If you’d like to treat yourself to another experience using a hypnotic technique, go to the Standing Meditation technique.

The Standing Meditation Technique is one we use with our private clients who want to release negative emotions.  It uses a combination of skills from all three parts of the stress relief cycle.  The video that you can watch is a shortened clip we posted after one of our workshops.  The full Standing Meditation  takes from 20 to 40 minutes, so as you watch recognize that although beneficial as it is, all the parts are not included. To get most benefit practice the breathing for calm exercise before watching the Standing meditation video.