Psycho-Babble Psychology Thread 346519

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how strong can hypnotherapy be?

Posted by 1980Monroe on May 13, 2004, at 16:30:58

Yea hey everyone, im going to go to hypnotherpy soon, well when i turn 18, because my parents refuse.

Anyway, i know hypnosis is not mind control and all that other stuff..... But is there someway that you can make it really enforcing, its about some issues...But i just wanted a headstart. What i dont want hypnotherapy to be is, just go throught a session and the suggestion only lightly or doesnt apply to behavior, is just placebo thinking.

Alright say i just ask some random therpist to tell me that i will forget everyhing when i come out of the trance, i know no therapist would accept that, but could it work, or is it just some placebo thinking.

Can it change some personaity charasteristics, or the way i think. I one time planned could go to a therapist, and get a personality change, or atleast as much change as possible, then have a name change and forget who i was. Yea i dont think ill go that far now. But i do want to atleast change somethings, please dont ask why, i just would really like to know if it would work? THanks YOU for any feed back. Later

 

Re: how strong can hypnotherapy be?

Posted by gardenergirl on May 14, 2004, at 0:03:08

In reply to how strong can hypnotherapy be?, posted by 1980Monroe on May 13, 2004, at 16:30:58

I'm sorry, I really don't know much about it. It sounds like you are really looking for a change, though. Are you confident in the doc. you will be working with? That will be a big help, regardless of the technique.

good luck to you, and let us know how it goes, if you wish.

gg

 

Hypnotherapy stories... » 1980Monroe

Posted by finelinebob on May 14, 2004, at 1:14:39

In reply to how strong can hypnotherapy be?, posted by 1980Monroe on May 13, 2004, at 16:30:58

Been there, done it, loved it!

Can it change the way you think? That's the point! Your personality? Not overnight, but if you work on it, it can be one path to doing so.

It's largely about attitude. My hypnotherapist did explain that having an open mind about what can be accomplished through hypnotherapy is critical to a person's success with it. Expectations, high or low, are going to subconsciously affect you as much or more than any hypnotic suggestions. She also said that different people respond differently ... some go into trance more easily than others.

I was lucky -- I slip into trance very easily. By my third session (of four ... not a long-term thing for me), between the words she used to put me into trance and the words she used to pull me out, I remembered nothing (until much later ... see below). I came back a year later or so for a "tune-up" ... just about the same. I was OUT-- very, very relaxed and very energized afterwards.

My hypnoT also made a tape for me to listen to (man, I've gotta get that digitized so I can put it on my iPod ;^). One side was a generic relaxation "script" that she used. The other was one designed for me. She would use scripted stories so that she knew exactly what she needed to say to produce the effect desired. I went to her for concentration problems. She explained that she would script a story that would use keywords associated with concentration in other sorts of contexts. The side of the tape just for me, for example, was about her using grape juice concentrate to make some juice for herself, going to the store to get it, stuff like that.

I must have listened to that tape 20 or 30 times before it hit me: "concentrate". If I wasn't in trance at the time, I would have been LMFAO. I was still very amused. Finally hearing her say that brought back to mind -- well, my conscious mind, that is -- that she had been using this story on me in our previous sessions as well.

Trance can vary quite a bit in terms of how "conscious" you are, or how aware you are of the "outside world". Just because you can :hear: or :see: (your eyes don't need to be closed for you to be in trace) doesn't mean you're not "under". When first getting used to hypnosis or self-hypnosis (she taught me a technique for it), my mind would race at first. Part of my mind was racing around, another part listening, yet another part screaming "HEY! PAY ATTENTION! THIS AIN'T CHEAP!" After a few times, I realized that not only could I NOT pay attention, but that I WAS paying attention at some level and that "paying attention" was pretty much irrelevant. If that makes no rational sense, you're catching on well!

Even when my conscious mind seemed to shut down, when it came back I'd still be in trance. She wouldn't "snap" me out of trance ... she'd tell me to slowly open my eyes and come back out of trance whenever I was ready. The deeper I was in, the harder it could be. I mean, my mind was on, I was thinking "Okay, NOW would be a good time!" and I still wouldn't move that much. Apparently, my subconscious and conscious minds didn't quite agree on that ;^). Part of me was embarrassed that I was lying there, taking up this person's time; another part of me was trying to get everything it could out of the moment. You guess which was which.

Self-hypnosis took some practice to learn, but I got pretty good with it. At the time, I was having panic attacks several times a week (no klonopin for me at the time, just zoloft and it had me manic) while I was at work (yikes!). Thankfully, my office had no windows so if I wanted to appear as if I wasn't there, closing the door was enough (I was a professor at the time ... I could get away with it!). I would put myself under with the express desire to come out of trance in 20 minutes -- just to relax and wind my nerves down. I'd set the timer on my watch for 21 minutes, figuring it would take a few seconds to get into and out of trance. Invariably, I would wake a few seconds before the timer went off. I could do the same overnight -- put myself into trance before sleep, then wake up as many hours after I went to sleep as I wanted. That was freaky, but very cool all the same.

The first time I tried it in my office, I was out ... and then asked myself, "Why do I have a rock in my mouth?" Zoloft was giving me dry mouth in the worst way, and I'd left a hard candy in my mouth prior to going into trance. I guess my tongue pushing it into the roof of my mouth was my way of coming out of trance rather quickly!

Anyway, those are some of my experiences with hypnotherapy. Again, I really think an open mind is important, as is having goals. But talk with your hypnoT about what reasonable goals might be and what you could accomplish. Don't set your expectations -- high or low -- because of what you **hear** about hypnosis.

cheers,
flb

 

Re: how strong can hypnotherapy be? » 1980Monroe

Posted by terrics on May 14, 2004, at 17:03:09

In reply to how strong can hypnotherapy be?, posted by 1980Monroe on May 13, 2004, at 16:30:58

Don't know a thing about hypnotherapy. Hope you like it. Bring us some feed back. Good luck. terrics

 

Re: how strong can hypnotherapy be?

Posted by shadows721 on May 15, 2004, at 18:24:52

In reply to how strong can hypnotherapy be?, posted by 1980Monroe on May 13, 2004, at 16:30:58

It was a powerful tool for me. I had no memory of abuse, but I had all the symptoms. I underwent hypnosis and started having flashbacks of my youth with abuse. It was all locked in my subsconscious. The hypnosis allowed a safe door for these unwanted memories to flow. My mind totally shut out all memories of this person that lived in my house. I didn't remember a thing. Now, my scars on my body and broken bones have a new meaning in my conscious mind.


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