Mindsynergy

Help! My hypnotherapy didn’t work!

There are a few reasons you may be feeling like this, and it is far more complex than you may initially think.

First, are you ready to heal? This is the first question and most important question to explore when you have had or deciding on a hypnotherapy session. Now you may think this is a silly question, isn’t everyone ready to heal? Sometimes the answer is no but I would like you to take a minute and just really think about this question. Healing is harder than you may think. I have spoken about this briefly in a previous blog and would like to expand on this a little. Healing is a very in-depth experience in that it really exposes all the things that you have hidden, for possibly months or probably years. It scratches open and brings to the surface all that you need to face. In some cases, it makes you realise what a hold something has had on you, or perhaps even something in your own behaviour that you need to take ownership of. Healing means in a lot of cases that you need to reassess who you are. Are you these hurts and pains? Are you these experiences or behaviours? More importantly, who are you without these things? If we take away all your hurts and pains that you have identified with, for possibly most of your life, what is left?.

Healing is getting to you know the real you. Healing is stripping you from all the “man-made” things to find out who you are, and, in some cases, people do not know who they are without these hurts, traumas, fears and pains. They hold onto this identity because this is where they feel safe, even when in some cases you do not feel safe. Healing is realising that these things are something that happened to you, it is not who you are. It is finding yourself without letting the past define you, because let us be honest, all these things are always in the past.

The second thing is hypnotherapy doesn’t take away the past. It doesn’t take away things that has happened, it can only help you release the emotions and energies connected to them. Rather like a bomb being diffused. The danger of exploding is gone but the events, thoughts or memories may still be there. The conditioning over the years that made you identify with these things, these fears, traumas, hurts or behaviours, could possibly try to creep up when you are not looking or make you fall back into old patterns, easy patterns of thinking and living and you need to be aware that sometimes the conditioning can come back without you noticing. This doesn’t mean that the hypnotherapy didn’t work, this just means that there is more work to be done or more time needed to release the negative energy or emotions. If you do a suggestion therapy session, you get a recording and I highly recommend my clients to keep listening to it. If something comes back again, listen to it. You have it, use it! In some cases, when the wound runs deep, the reconditioning will take more than just one session but multiple sessions or at the very least just listening to that recording.

Lastly, are you sure it didn’t work? I ask this question because as I mentioned it is like defusing a bomb. The bomb is still there, it just can’t explode any longer. You can still see the bomb and it is part of who you are, it is what shaped you, but it no longer holds the power over you that it had once before. The energy behind it has subsided. Something to remember, hypnotherapy works on the subconscious mind and that is where the reprogramming occurs. In many instances the change is so subtle, your conscious mind doesn’t even pick it up. This change is deeply rooted that you don’t even notice it in some cases. You might still notice the memory or the thought but observe, does it have the power over you it once did?

I want to end this blog post by saying that really notice the changes in your thoughts and life after your hypnotherapy session. You might try new things that you didn’t think you could before. You may face a fear that you didn’t realise you were able to, or you may just feel less tense, less anxious, or less stressed. Or it may be as simple as not thinking that one thought that was haunting you. And that is a win for me, you can start there, and you can build on this. There is always healing that takes place after a hypnotherapy session, it might be under the radar, but it is there. If you come to a hypnotherapy session expecting to have a life altering experience, you may be disappointed because you are still you. Your experiences still happened and your memories and past is still there.

I leave you with a thought that my grandmother always said. Keep your eye on the doughnut and not on the hole.

Ilana

Photo by Kenny Timmer on Unsplash

When we heal

Recently my dog, his name is Freud, accidentally burnt with some cooking oil on his back. It really hurt him, and he didn’t allow us to wipe it off. It was just before 11am and I knew the vet was about to close due to the public holiday. I decided to phone them, and they said that they will wait for us to bring him through. When we got there the vet did not hesitate and said he will have to shave him to see what the damage is. After some sedation and pain meds, he shaved him. We had to look very carefully because we could hardly see the burn marks. We thought that perhaps we were at the Vet in time. He gave us some colloidal silver cream and peroxide and said that we can put the cream on but if there are any blisters, we will need to put on the peroxide (I was hoping the peroxide wasn’t needed because I knew it will hurt him). It was a little bit confusing to me, I couldn’t see the burns and really didn’t expect anything more to happen. The Vet looked a little concerned and said we won’t know how bad it is until a couple of days had passed.

Now, if you had ever burned with oil, you would know that it burns in a different way. It stays on your skin. Nonetheless, we felt positive, and a couple of days went by, and he allowed me to put the cream on. It didn’t seem sore, only a little bit sensitive. Well, let me tell you, it got worse before it got better. It was healing beautifully but then when the scabs started forming the wounds became more sensitive and perhaps even close to becoming an infection, he didn’t allow me to put on anymore cream. A few days after his weekly check up and the Vet being happy with his healing, I could see he wasn’t well. He was sleeping a lot, and I could see those wounds on his back is making him feel unwell. We took him back to the vet, they cleaned the wounds and cut off all the dead skin. Now the wounds looked even worse than before, it was red, and it was exposed. It was really sore for him and for another few days he felt uncomfortable. Only then, it truly started healing. Soon he was his old self again, the wounds are still healing but it doesn’t hurt him as much. He is back to lying on his back (one of his favourite positions) and now he hardly even notices the wounds, sometimes when we touch certain ones that are not completely healed, it still hurts but it is not affecting him as much. I know one day soon it will all be healed and a thing of the past.

You might wonder why I am telling you this story. Well, this made me think of our own healing. When people see me for hypnotherapy, they expect an instant healing. Which in that moment right after the session it feels good, you feel so relaxed and you feel calm. You might even have the best nights sleep you have ever had. Then, the true healing starts. All the stuff you are healing comes to the surface for you to acknowledge, to take account and ultimately, to let go. It takes time and depending on how deep the wound is, it might take more than one hypnotherapy session or might just take longer than you expect. Perhaps months or even years from now, something in your reality happens to bring it back up even though you thought it was healed. You need to remember, this doesn’t mean you didn’t heal it, it just means that there is another layer to it that needs more healing.

Healing is complicated and sometimes it can hurt but you can heal it, just be patient. Take a deep breath and know that you are doing the work. Sometimes there are many layers to healing but one thing is for certain, healing takes time, healing takes patience and more than anything healing takes love and understanding from you. Hypnotherapy can help you heal from deep within, I see it as helping you heal from the bottom up, healing each layer.

Love yourself enough to be patient with your healing and remember that any healing that you get to do is one layer you do not have to heal again.

Ilana

Image by 愚木混株 Cdd20 from Pixabay

The hypnotherapy session explained

One of the most frequent questions I get is, “What can I expect in a hypnotherapy session?”, “Will you make me dance like a chicken?” “Will I reveal secrets that I do not want to be revealed?” “Can you brainwash me?” “Will I lose control?”

I found that although people are open to the idea of what hypnotherapy can offer them, there are some concerns surrounding the process and how much control you have during the session.

Unfortunately, stage hypnosis has created a stigma and has given people the impression that hypnotherapy is mind control and that you can be made to do things you do not want to do consciously.

I want to assure you firstly; hypnotherapy is not the same as stage hypnosis. Secondly, stage hypnosis is for entertainment purposes, it is not to receive healing. Lastly, my priority is with my client and their healing. When you come to me for a session, it is about you and your journey and your healing. I will never want to cause any harm to anyone that comes to me for hypnotherapy and so, it is important to me that each and every person interested in starting their healing journey with me, understand and feel comfortable with what they can expect in a session.

With that being said, let me give you a brief overview of what you can expect from a hypnotherapy session and should you have any further questions, feel free to contact me so that we can further discuss how you can heal with hypnotherapy.

Initially, a client will contact me with an interest in hypnotherapy. I send them forms specific to what they want to resolve or release in the therapy session whether it is anxiety, confidence, weight loss, smoking cessation, fears or phobia’s, pain management, stress management or whatever they want to change form the inside. I ask them to fill out the forms and return them to me before their session. I then use this information as part of my preparation for their session.

The first consultation includes me delving into this a little further and understanding it on a deeper level through active listening and motivational interviewing.

The session

Each session starts with a mindfulness, bringing the client into the present moment, focusing on breathing and various body parts, helping them to focus away from their busy conscious mind. As they relax and get comfortable, I take them deeper into a hypnotic state. I use imagery to really go into a very deep and relaxed state. When you are in this deep relaxation, your subconscious mind becomes open and accepting to suggestions and then I go into the therapy side of the session. I focus on what you want to release in your session and construct a session for your best and highest benefit.

People get worried when I use the terminology hypnotic state or trance state. So, let me give you a quick breakdown on this. A trance or hypnotic state is just a very deep and relaxed state. You can compare it to that relaxed feeling you feel just before you fall asleep.

Not to bore you with too much scientific jargon but this is important for your understanding; In hypnotherapy we consider the following brainwaves:

- Beta: Our conscious mind, in this brainwave you are awake, thinking and alert.

- Alpha: This brainwave you feel physically and mentally relaxed.

- Theta: Reduced consciousness, Insight and deep state of relaxation.

- Delta: This is sleep state, loss of bodily awareness.

In a hypnotherapy session we work between the Alpha and Theta brainwaves. Here your body and mind are relaxed and open to subconscious suggestion. If you have ever concentrated on something and suddenly you realize an hour or two has passed, or perhaps you have driven somewhere and suddenly realized you have arrived at your destination but cannot consciously recall the in between, or how you got there, you have experienced a trance state. Your depth of trance can be affected by things like caffeine, your stress levels, the amount of sleep etc. However, you do not have to be in a very deep hypnotic state for the subconscious mind to accept the suggestions given and you will benefit from the session.

Each person has a different experience. The beautiful thing about hypnotherapy is that you go so deep inside of yourself. Although I guide you, your subconscious mind knows what needs healing. It takes you into this journey of knowing yourself from a depth that is not always possible to find from a conscious mind.

I want to assure you though, during the hypnotherapy session that you are always in control. You can open your eyes at anytime you feel out of control. Furthermore, my priority is, and always will be with the well being of my client and facilitating healing within them.

If you want to know more about hypnotherapy, please feel free to contact me or click here to join our mailing list to receive a FREE 15 minute relaxation hypnosis for you to try in the comfort of your own home.I offer online and in-person sessions.

Sending you love, light and blessings

Ilana

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay