Hypnosis is described very basically as an altered state of awareness. It is a trance like state which is usually artificially induced. It can make the mind very relaxed and more receptive to suggestion, direction and heightened awareness and until reading up on this subject I was totally unaware of its history. There have been many myths associated with hypnotism. This has made people quite fearful and even talking within my own group of friends people are very wary of it. Hopefully I will be able to alleviate their fears and scepticism.
Hypnosis has been used right from Ancient times and today is more widely accepted but some people do still think of it as a taboo subject and something evil. Characters portrayed in films all appear to have a sinister look about them. Hypnotism is also given a bad press by the stage hypnotists who make people do things to mock themselves and make their subject look ridiculous. Even in my own short experience people are very wary they think that I will be making them perform silly actions like the stage hypnotists. Even some tough people are very wary of hypnosis it is now a widely used tool for all kind of treatments and therapies.
Hypnotherapy can be applied for various different issues that people may have, for example hypnosis for weight loss, hypnotherapy stop smoking and hypnotherapy courses, or even just for relaxation.
Hypnotherapy courses have been widely used in the field of sport, to aid struggling sportsmen to have a more positive attitude. Tiger Woods, the golfer used hypnosis at a young age to further his career. He was taught to visualise his target. Frank Bruno, the boxer also used it to help his performance as did Steve Collins, another boxer, who used it in his preparation to defeat Chris Eubank.
Hypnosis though can be used by anybody. A recent newspaper article describes a woman who had suffered from insomnia. She had tried all the usual remedies even going to her GP for prescription sleeping pills, which worked until she stopped taking them. She had tentatively suggested hypnotherapy to her GP but he quickly dismissed it. She tried it with fantastic results after only two sessions. Some doctors are willing to recommend it to their patients as long as there is not some underlying depression. They do always emphasise that it does not work for everyone, but is that not the same for every form of treatment?
As discussed, hypnotherapy has been around for many years and has a varied and interesting history. Hypnotherapy for weight loss can be used as a powerful tool for those of us who struggle with traditional methods. Even though there are sceptics it has been proven to be an extremely useful tool. The British Society of Medical Hypnotists was found and hypnotherapy is now becoming more recognised all over the world. In today’s modern stressful society I think that hypnotherapy will become extremely popular as a tool to help people to cope with their lives. In doing so, hopefully it will allay people’s fear
