Every hypnotherapy website has a “What is hypnosis” page; we’re no different. If this is your first introduction to what hypnosis is, welcome! If this is just one stop on your way to discovering what everyone is saying about the subject, We’re glad you’re here! Regardless of what answers you are looking for, I hope you walk away with the right questions. Hold up, you were just told questions are the answers? read on.
So, Really, What is Hypnosis???
Everyone wants the one-sentence answer. Too bad there isn’t one. Some will say that it’s the feeling you get when you watch a good movie and forget about the world around you. Others say that it’s just a series of methods to program/reprogram the subconscious mind. Some believe that only belief in hypnosis is what causes hypnosis to be. Yet more claim that hypnosis happens to everyone every day, aware of it or not. Some people say that hypnosis is a trance state of suggestibility, and others call it bypassing the conscious mind. Some studies say that “hypnosis” doesn’t even exist, and yet others show profound and measurable positive results for those who use hypnosis/hypnotherapy. With all this differing information, what are you supposed to believe hypnosis is? Maybe there’s a different question that’s more meaningful to ask:
Why Does Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy Work?
It works because those of us who use it understand certain elements of the workings of the mind. The study of hypnosis focuses its attention on the theory of the subconscious mind. To talk about hypnosis is to talk about the subconscious mind. So by extension, it works because we understand some of how the subconscious mind works. For us practitioners, by having this knowledge, we can provide the service of connecting (or disconnecting, depending on who you ask) your conscious and subconscious minds.
So, you need to know a little bit about the subconscious. but first, here’s an example of what your subconscious does for you: How long are your breaths right now? That came out of left field, but I bet you’re pretty aware of how much you’re breathing right now… A minute ago, it wasn’t something you had any awareness of, yet the body’s need for oxygen is constant, so you were still breathing. Your subconscious had been handling that breathing for you during that time you weren’t thinking about it. Breathing is one example of a skill that passes easily between the conscious and subconscious minds. once you “forget” to breathe again, it’s an automatic process that continually runs in the background of your mind, in “subconscious” mental space.
So if the subconscious holds onto automatic processes like breathing, what else does it do? According to some, approximately 90% of your mental processing occurs subconsciously. Those who work with hypnosis regularly will commonly say that feelings are based on the subconscious processes that create them. The subconscious holds long-term memory and is the home of muscle memory. If you’ve ever caught a falling object faster than you could consciously realize it was falling in the first place, you have your subconscious mind to thank for that. But the subconscious mind is just as capable of also holding onto and repeating processes that can be harmful. There are many ways that the subconscious will communicate an issue, up to and including medically recognized conditions like acid reflux and insomnia.
If there’s a change that you are hoping for and trying to make in your life but continually seem to cave, crash, or sabotage yourself, you likely have one or more subconscious processes that inhibit your success. On the conscious level, you could experience emotions that overwhelm any amount of logic you can throw at yourself. Or maybe you just notice a pattern of behaviors that are self-destructive in some fashion, and despite “knowing” you want to do something different, you just can’t seem to.
The subconscious does more than we know, but we already know enough to be able to help. Every field of science is still seeking more answers, and the true depths of the capabilities of the subconscious are likely still to be discovered. In the meantime, we hypnotherapists can use this hypnotic knowledge we already have to enact the change in your subconscious (and also your life) that you’ve been looking for.