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Hypnosis is a naturally occurring state which appears when certain conditions are met. These are usually bodily stillness and relaxation (mimicking sleep), eyes closed (reducing visual stimulation), focus on feelings (internalizing awareness) and perhaps concentration on the hypnotherapist’s voice. Monotony can also trigger this state as the conscious mind drifts from the normal focus of outward attention onto an internal train of thought. Fascination (such as being engrossed in a a book or film) is also a doorway into hypnosis. Often while driving we drop into a trance called highway hypnosis where we do not remember the past several minutes of travel. The experience of hypnosis is similar to a dream-like reverie, being neither asleep nor awake but focused (or absorbed) around some point and usually (though not essentially) in a state of physical and mental relaxation.
The benefits of doing hypnotherapy over talk therapy are that the client accesses the subconscious and unconscious mind where all the material of our life is stored. Rather than working with just the conscious mind and our ideas about what is going on with us, we gain access to our true experiences. Also, in this state people can become more open to suggestion. In fact, the whole modus operandi of hypnotherapy is to utilize this state of lack of criticality to change instructions (conclusions and decisions about ourselves) already held at an unconscious level that are affecting behavior. So hypnotherapy is a means of modifying the patterns of beliefs held by a person.
Hypnotherapy is a valuable technique in the hands of a skilled professional and can help in the resolution of many problems. Especially when we cannot identify why we continue to have the problem.
