Hypnotherapy taps into our ability to focus on a single idea and to use our imagination. You’ve probably already hypnotised yourself, when day-dreaming, or when imagining yourself talking to someone. Indeed, sometimes this tendency to self-hypnotise can be how problems arise. Instead of giving ourselves positive messages or imagining positive outcomes, we give ourselves negative messages or imagine disasters. This can negatively affect how we behave in the real-life situation. If you imagine you can’t handle a situation, you’ve already defeated yourself. As Henry Ford said, “whether you think you can or think you can’t – you’re right”!
Working with a hypnotherapist means you can identify and undo those negative messages, replacing them with more positive thoughts or imagine more positive outcomes. For example, research into sports coaching has, for some time, known the power of positive imaging. The track athlete who imagines him or herself pushing through the pain barrier and crossing the line ahead of everyone else is going to have a significant edge over another similarly trained athlete, who is worried they can’t do it.
This ability to ‘programme’ our minds with positive thoughts is how hypnotherapy can enable us to do extraordinary things. And for some, it may just be ordinary, everyday things. A woman who has not been able to venture out of the house because she is worried she will have a panic attack. The man who is unable to walk past a betting shop without a quick flutter. The teenager who finds themselves hyper-ventilating as soon as they get near the exam room, or going blank when they turn over the exam paper. All these ‘ordinary’ situations can become challenging when people negatively self-hypnotise. Equally, they can be re-programmed with the help of hypnotherapy.
For more information please visit www.thehypnotherapypracticeedinburgh.co.uk
