“Hypnosis . . . . an interaction with your unconscious mind.” -Veronica G. Hartman
Hypnosis, what it is and isn’t . . . . . . . By Veronica G. Hartman
Hypnosis . . . . . what is this mysterious, mystical process that promises results to problems that seem to have no solution? It is elusive in nature, as it is a tool that works with the unconscious realms of the mind; which produces behavior.
The field of neuro-linguistic programming defines hypnosis as ‘that magical mystical state when the client listens only to the hypnotist’. From a health care standpoint, hypnosis is an approved method of treatment by the American Medical Association; when utilized by a skilled practitioner.
There are many utilization’s of hypnosis in the medical profession as well as the entertainment arena. Stage hypnotists use it overtly, to impress the power of the unconscious mind to perform as directed. An example is that under hypnosis, you will quack like a duck or perform other behavior that you would not normally. While that is possible, it is only possible if your unconscious mind is open to the possibility of quacking like a duck upon command…
Used in a therapeutic context, hypnosis can assist clients to achieve career success, change undesired behaviors, relieve stress, enhance self-esteem, and manage pain. The list goes on and on, so you begin to get the picture that hypnosis is a tool to get the results you want in life.
In fact, hypnosis is widely used for habits such as stopping smoking and weight reduction. Recent studies have been done on weight reduction indicating that hypnosis is the means to release weight and successfully keep it off.
So it would seem that hypnosis is a magical tool that takes care of life’s habits and behaviors when used appropriately.
Oddly enough one of the misconceptions of hypnosis is that the client is not required to participate other than to be present. In fact, the key ingredient that determines the success of hypnosis to achieve results is the willingness to change. Another common delusion is that one must be comatose or in a similar state of unconsciousness to be hypnotized. Amazing that the phrase ‘unconscious mind’ somehow translates to being U N C O N S C I O U S. . . .
Whereas in reality, a light state of trance will yield profound results. There is a further conception that not everyone can be hypnotized, however, the fact is that you can only be hypnotized, if you can follow directions. That’s right, just gently allow your eyes to close . . . . . .
For the profound results that can result from a session of hypnosis, wouldn’t it be worthwhile to investigate the realms of your unconscious mind, or to at least become conscious of it . . . . that’s right . . . . . bring your unconscious mind with the rest of you, and trust that the results you are seeking to achieve have unlimited possibilities!
Copyright 2004 Veronica G. Hartman
Sick and Tired, of Being Sick and Tired?
Are your Resources, Health and Life going up in Smoke?
Then consider Hypnosis as an alternative solution to Stop Smoking, Release Weight, and Improve the Quality of Your Life Today!
What Students Say . . . . .
You Are Getting Very Sleepy . . . . . the Truth About Hypnotism
by Megan Crowl
With long waves of brown hair and a wide hot-pink smile, she didn’t look much like a hypnotist. At least, not like my own mental image. So I was shocked to find that this woman was the practicing hypnotherapist who would be speaking to Ms. Patton’s psychology class.
Ms. Veronica Hartman explained to us the myths and facts of her profession. It seemed to make perfect sense, and many of us were surprised. The class started to discover that maybe hypnosis was not as foreboding and mysterious as we had come to see it through movies and other forms of entertainment.”Your unconscious mind is like a computer hard drive,” Ms. Hartman told us. “Hypnosis allows you to use your subconscious to add, change, or delete programs that drive unwanted behavior.” She had a logical explanation for every aspect of the practice often seen as supernatural.
Someone asked about the hypnotists on TV shows who influence people to run around and bark like dogs. Was it real?”Hypnotists on TV pick people who are going to act the way they want them to act,” Ms. Hartman responded. “These people have high suggestibility, no one will do something under a trance that they don’t want to do. They are not under the hypnotist’s power.”
It was then that I realized that hypnotism, like anything else, is only real if you make it real. In the lifelong search for truth, people often look past the fact that reality is what you make of it. The answer to the question of whether something is genuine or a fraud rests on your own willingness or reluctance to believe.
So, do I believe in hypnotism? Or am I a skeptic? I can honestly say that I don’t know. But listening to Ms. Hartman speak that day, I saw her complete and total belief in it, and I respected her. I saw that when clients believe as well, hypnosis can serve as a powerful tool in their quests to change and better their lives.
And isn’t that what really matters?
Megan Crowl is the Opinions Writer for The Voice publication of Blackman High School in Murfreesboro, TN.
What Clients Say . . . .
Going, Going, Gone!
Hi Veronica,
It’s Kari. You hypnotized me to quit smoking cigarettes back in the beginning of May. It has been over 2 months, and I have no desire to smoke. The first day or so was strange just because I sporadically wanted one, but it was more so the habit than the addiction or withdrawal from the addiction. In addition, my willpower rubbed off on my husband who quit cold turkey 2 weeks ago today! =)I am absolutely amazed still to this day that I was able to quit. I never thought I’d be able to give up something I enjoyed doing as much as I did smoking. I just wanted to send you an email to say Thank You so very much. You have no idea what it means to me that I no longer have to depend on cigarettes to get me through each day.
Thank You again!
Kari 7/21/08
What Professionals Say . . . .
More Dieters Turn to Hypnosis
Imagine a world, where chocolate cake holds no temptation, where celery is an indulgence and food cravings float away in a balloon. Now open your eyes to the trancelike world of Americans who are turning to hypnosis to drop extra poundage.
In a nation where two-thirds of the population is overweight or obese, some dieters are hoping hypnosis will finally break food’s spell over them.
It’s working for Cynthia Lewis, a San Diego resident who is no longer tempted to polish off a plate of cookies when she smells them baking.”Now just smelling (the cookies) is enough,” she said.
Despite its hokey, magic-show aura, hypnosis is used as an alternative treatment in medical institutions to manage everything from pain to smoking to weight loss.
And as waistlines continue to bulge, hypnotherapists say they’re seeing more patients desperate for a way to control their eating.
“The country is getting fatter and fatter, so different weight-loss methods are getting more attention,” said Jean Fain, a psychologist who uses hypnosis at Harvard Medical School’s Cambridge Hospital.
In the past five years, Fain said, the number of patients she treats for weight loss has doubled. For many of those patients, hypnosis is a last resort.
Generally, the hypnotic state is defined as a state of focused concentration — a condition akin to being so absorbed in a good book that the outside world seems to fade away, said Guy Montgomery, president of the Society of Psychological Hypnosis, a division of American Psychological Association.
It’s during this state that patients become more open to suggestions.
Whether hypnosis will bring results varies from person to person as in any other treatment, Montgomery said. “We don’t view (hypnosis) as a stand-alone therapy, but as an additional technique,” he said.
Kevin Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale, said it’s probably the range of therapies that aids weight loss, not the hypnosis alone.”The prevailing thought is that there’s really not much to hypnosis for weight loss on its own,” Brownell said. But people become so frustrated trying to lose weight that they give anything a try — especially something that seems as simple as hypnosis, he said.
But for those who dreamed hypnosis might be the long-awaited magic weight-loss bullet, practitioners and patients alike caution that it’s not that easy.
Patients often come to Fain hoping she’ll snap her fingers and knock out their impulse to overeat. In fact, she said it can take months — sometimes years — to help patients get a handle on the underlying causes of their overeating.
For Lee Hubbard of Orange County, Calif., who learned how to go into a hypnotic state through Alman’s tapes, hypnosis came easily.
Now whenever she feels like overeating, she takes a deep breath instead of reaching for the bowl of Hershey’s Kisses. She closes her eyes for a moment and pictures herself walking toward the candy bowl. As she is about to grab a fistful, she instead pictures herself walking right past the bowl.
Hubbard remains fully awake — she is simply calmer, focused, and more relaxed.”It’s like a movie screen where you observe yourself in the situation. It lets you control the arena of your thought,” she said.
Source: Associated Press.
Did You Know. . . . . . .
Within 20 minutes after you smoke that last cigarette, your body begins a series of changes that continues for years . . . . . .
- 20 Minutes After Quitting
- Your Heart rate drops
- 12 Hours After Quitting – The amount of carbon monoxide in your blood drops to normal.
- 2 Weeks to 3 Months After Quitting – Your heart attack risk begins to drop.
- 2 Weeks to 3 Months After Quitting – Your lungs begin to work better.
- 1 to 9 Months After Quitting – Your coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
- 1 Year After Quitting – Your risk of heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.
- 5 Years After Quitting – Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker’s
- 5-15 years after quitting.
- 10 Years After Quitting – Your lung cancer death rate is half that of a smoker’s. Your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases.
- 15 Years After Quitting – Your risk of heart disease is like you never smoked.
Notable Quotes!
“The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind.” –Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
“The purpose of hypnosis as a therapeutic technique is to help you understand and gain more control over your behavior, emotions or physical well-being.” -The Mayo Clinic 12/03
“It is the cooperation between the conscious and the subconscious minds that give you the ability to contact, communicate, and draw upon the power of Infinite Intelligence”. – Napoleon Hill
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