How Hypnosis Can Help You Move Forward

Hypnosis tends to have a lot of mystery around it. People wonder if they will really be able to drift into the trance-like state. They wonder if they will do crazy things after the experience like cluck like a chicken or do some funky dance moves whenever somebody says the word “hello.” They wonder if it can truly relieve them of their struggle with dieting, smoking, biting their nails or anxiety.

I was probably the biggest skeptic about hypnosis that I knew. As a clinical social worker, I have studied the brain and its function for decades. I have always been a true believer in the power of the mind-body connection, but I can’t say that I believed in hypnosis as a credible or reliable treatment modality – until I experienced it for myself. Several years ago, I had a fitness injury to some of the muscles in my shoulder and back.

The pain from the injury got so severe that my entire range of motion on most of my upper body was completely compromised. I had to get subs to teach my classes; I had to modify how long I would sit in meetings; I had to stop carrying my purse or my gym bag on my right shoulder. My daily living and my work life were suffering as the pain continued to intensify.

I tried a variety of natural remedies for this pain. I started with ice, heat, and massage. These offered some relief but not enough. I tried meditation, again, with some relief but not much. I tried chiropractic, which did offer more relief, but the adjustments were tough to handle due to the level of pain. One day, I was desperately searching YouTube for any other ideas that might help. And, I came across self-hypnosis videos. After initially dismissing them without a second thought, I ended up coming back to them, finally thinking, “why not? – nothing else has really worked yet.”

Not knowing what to expect, I chose a video that was a guided hypnosis for pain management. By the end of that video, I had felt more relief from my injury than all of the other attempts put together. Beginner’s luck? I was wondering! So, for the next several days, I continued the self-hypnosis a couple of times a day. By the end of that week, I was feeling like I was actually, finally getting back to myself!

My experience prompted me to look into hypnosis certifications. I felt like if I could find help and hope through the process of hypnosis, I knew that my clients could as well. Even more compelling to me, was that I was now able to provide a personal testimonial story for the power and the healing of hypnosis. So, 4 months later, I earned my clinical hypnosis certification and have been using hypnosis with my clients ever since, with amazing results.

Here are 5 ways that hypnosis can help you through your struggles in life:

1. Hypnosis helps you RELAX

Your busy life may make it difficult to truly stop and relax. There is so much going on to occupy the mind that there is rarely a break from thinking, wondering, worrying, problem-solving, etc. As the mind is engaged in these ways, the body usually feels some of the stress through the muscles. By taking time to stop for a few moments and just be, you have the opportunity to disengage from the craziness of the day’s demands. This intentional time to focus on you allows the mind and the body to relax, recharge and gets you ready to take on anything life throws at you!

2. Hypnosis helps you BREATHE

We breathe 24/7 but we are very rarely aware of our breath. It is an automatic process that happens without us having to think about it. When we do put some intentional focus on it, though, we allow the brain and the body to receive a greater capacity of oxygen and to release a greater amount of carbon dioxide. This gives the body and the mind more of what they need and allows them to let go of what they don’t need. When we can focus on deeper breathing, we ignite a greater level of creativity, problem solving, perspective and optimism in the brain. All of these set us up to have greater power in our daily living!

3. Hypnosis helps you CONNECT the mind and body

We have all heard about the “mind-body” connection. So often, though, we are somewhat disconnected from ourselves because we are over-connected to the external world. This over-connectedness is due to our busy schedules, our attachment to multiple forms of technology, and our commitments to our personal and professional relationships. When we can take some intentional moments to remove all distractions and simply focus on ourselves, on our breathing, on our thoughts, on our hopes and dreams, suddenly we begin to feel whole, complete, empowered, motivated, and inspired!

4. Hypnosis helps you GAIN INSIGHT

Maybe there is an issue, a habit, or a situation that you have been struggling with; and, the more you try to think through how to handle it or what to do, you feel like you are getting nowhere. This is usually when we begin to feel “stuck” and begin to believe that there are no options or solutions other than what we have already tried that hasn’t worked. Hypnosis opens up the subconscious mind and allows for higher levels of thinking. In this higher state of thought, we can discover ideas, insights, possibilities, etc. that we weren’t able to tap into in the fully conscious state. The subconscious holds onto these ideas where we can recall them and call them into action when needed. It helps move us from being stuck to finding success!

5. Hypnosis helps you TAKE CONTROL

If there are areas in your life where you feel that you don’t have the control or the management that you would like to have, you have probably gone over and over that in your mind, making you feel even worse and less in control. Maybe it’s a relationship you are in, or a financial difficulty, or a professional situation that causes you a good deal of stress and aggravation. Through hypnosis, you can regain your sense of personal power and bring that power into all of these areas to reestablish a sense of control!

Hypnosis is a natural remedy for so many of the things that keep us from moving forward in our lives. Whether you are a skeptic of hypnosis like I used to be or you believe in it wholeheartedly, the hypnosis process has the ability to take you where you are, empower you while you are there, and inspire you toward the life you desire!