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What is Hypnosis?

What Can Hypnosis Do for You?

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Keys to Successful Hypnosis

ESSENTIALS
1. Motivation to Succeed.
    You really REALLY want it.
2. Belief and Expectation that it will Work
    You are willing and able to suspend inhibiting behaviors and beliefs, and adopt new positive paradigms about yourself.
3. Positive Reinforcement
    You delight in the tiniest of successes.
 TOOLS
1. Pick positive wording over negative wording.
    a. Avoid negative wording.
    Example: Instructing someone with a phobia of insects,"Don't be afraid of them" does nothing to help him or her. "Don't think of bugs. Don't think of any insects at all. Don't think of bugs with lots of legs, big or small. Don't think of the flying insects with wings. Don't think of all those creepy crawly hairy ones that look hideous when magnified. Don't think of butterflies, moths, ants, termites, or moths. Not even centipedes, gnats, or dragonflies. Don't think of bugs crawling up your back, caught in your hair, or just landing on your shoulder."

    You get the idea. The word "don't," "not," and any form of "no" is ignored easily.

    b. So . . . Use positive wording. Example: A mother instructing her child to "Let's stroke his hair. Let's be gentle to his hair," will be more successful teaching her toddler to treat other children gently than yelling, "Don't pull his hair! Don't yank his hair, Don't hurt him! Don't be mean to him!"
2. Use repetition with variations.
    Example: Instead of "I select healthy foods that make me feel good," try:
    I select healthy foods that make me feel alive.
    I select healthy foods that make me feel vibrant.
    I select healthy foods that make me feel vital.

    The subconscious likes hearing positive things over and over again. Perhaps it is like a child who loves to hear a favorite bed-time story night after night.
3. Use direct and indirect suggestions.
    Sometimes firm, concrete directions work best, such as "I am easily learning this material on this page tonight to pass the veterinary exam tomorrow."

    Other times, indirect suggestions work best:

    There once was a little girl who loved animals. She took care of her neighbors' pets -- cats, dogs, and birds. She took care of her guinea pigs. She adored these animals and spent hours caring for them. If anyone asked her about any detail about the care of these cats, dogs, birds, or guinea pigs, she knew exactly the right answers."

    Other times, a combination of direct and indirect suggestions work best: "I am like a master chessplayer effortlessly analyzing her opponent's possible moves and strategizing accurately my own moves to win. I easily retain information and retrieve the information as I need it."
4. Address one issue at a time.
    Tackling more than one issue sabotages your concentration. Example: For most people, learning two languages at once would be much more difficult than mastering one, then another.

    You can give yourself many suggestions on the same issue.
    Example: To work on the smoking cessation, consider enjoying cleaner lungs, which make exercise much more enjoyable, and which allows for more social interaction.
5. Help yourself work towards a goal now.
    a. Use the present tense.
    "I am enjoying the exercise class," or "I enjoy my exercise class." is better than:
    "I will enjoy my exercise class (in some ambiguous future that may never come)."

    b. Use the future perfect tense with a reasonable time frame to attain your goals. "I will have begun to enjoy my exercise class by tonight." "In one hour, when I get to my exercise class, I will find myself enjoying it." Help yourself attain a goal in a reasonable time frame.
6. Make it real by including the five senses.
    See, hear, taste, smell, and feel yourself attaining your goals. Find out which senses you most use in your speech and capitalize on those senses.

    Example: When comprehending someone's statement, do you say, "I see what you mean," or "I hear what you're saying"? Do certain tastes and smells tend to take you back to your childhood more often, or more strongly, than pictures or music? Does the feeling of a soft blanket or cool breeze give you great comfort or joy? Knowing which senses you use the most, and incorporating descriptive words that use those senses will make your auto-suggestion more powerful.
7. Boost your confidence with reminders of your own past successes.
    Recognizing and appreciating yourself for the tiniest of accomplishments, allows the conscious mind to dismiss doubt and insecurity, ensuring you make rapid progress. If you refer to your biggest accomplishments, emphasize the manageable, small, minutest steps you took to reach that lofty goal.
8. Suggest a good habit if you release a bad habit.
    If you stop smoking, calculate how much money you save per day, week, month, or year. Become aware of the extra free time you give yourself. Be appreciative of the ease with which you can breathe. Then make some plans with the saved money, the extra time, and the opportunity to engage in activities that used to be difficult with restricted air flow and lung space. Insert a "good habit" in the vacuum created by "getting rid" of an unwanted behavior, so that another unwanted behavior doesn't accidentally fall into that window of opportunity!
9. Use success-oriented words and phrases. Make reasonable goals within a reasonable time-frame.
    a. Use "will" and "plan to" instead of "try/attempt," or "do my best" which imply doubt and possible failure.
    b. Assign specific time-frames to motivate yourself to make progress. "In two weeks, I'll look back to today, and think, that was easy." "By 9pm today, I will already begin to feel more confident about taking the test."
See the website by American Society of Clinical Hypnosis for more information about hypnosis.