What Problems Can Be Treated Successfully With Hypnosis?
Hypnosis was accepted by the AMA in 1958 as an effective scheme for treating stress and stress related symptoms. But does it actually work? And what should a person look for when seeking a hypnotherapist, or ordering hypnotic CDs?
There are many different hypnotic methodologies that are used to reach the unconscious to bring about change. Each method has its positives and its negatives. Every person is different, so it makes sense that the best results will be gotten by utilizing the techniques that each person will have the most success with.
Most companies that sell hypnosis CD’s and tapes offer products that consist of standard traditional hypnosis methods. A few vendors offer much more modern and effective Ericksonian hypnosis techniques. And fewer still offer Neuro-Linguistic Programming techniques.
The most powerful methodology is video hypnosis. Video hypnosis uses the latest Neuro-Linguistic Programming thought processes to produce rapid change in a hypnotic subject. Video hypnosis methods are not subliminal in nature.
With “Traditional Hypnosis,” we simply make direct suggestions to the unconscious mind. In case you are wondering, as far as I’m concerned, the term unconscious and subconscious are equal - as they refer to the same part of the mind. This type of trance works well for a person who generally accepts what he/she is told without questionning everything.
Most hypnosis CD’s sold today are based on “Traditional Hypnosis” techniques. This reason is because it really doesn’t take much training or experience to create a script and just instruct a subject to do something. Unfortunately Traditional Hypnosis is not very useful for people who are critical in their thinking processes.
By contrast, Ericksonian Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming techniques work far for most of today’s generation! This is because today individuals are taught to question everything they see and hear, rather than just mimic what everyone else is doing. So these methodologies do work very well on people who are critical in their thinking processes.
Ericksonian Hypnosis and NLP are much more effective at reaching and influencing the unconscious. However, it can take years of training and experience to learn how to apply these techniques with a high degree of success. This is a challenge that is only accepted by truly dedicated hypno-therapists.
With “Ericksonian Hypnosis,” we use little stories, called Ericksonian metaphors, to present post-hypnotic suggestions to the unconscious. This is an effective system, because it usually eliminates the resistance to suggestions that is often caused by the conscious mind. There are two types of metaphors, “Isomorphic,” and those of the imbedded command or “interspersal” nature.
Isomorphic metaphors offer guidance to the unconscious by telling a story that has a moral. The unconscious draws a one to one relationship between the parts of the story and the parts of a problem behavior. For example, if a child is telling a lot of lies, the parent might tell the child the story about the “Boy who cried wolf.” The unconscious would draw a comparison between the boy in the story and the child, and realize that telling lies could lead to disaster, so the child would probably stop lying.
With the Embedded Command technique, the hypno-therapist conveys an amusing story that engages the conscious mind. The story contains covert direct suggestions that are almost always accepted by the unconscious. For example: While the client is in hypnosis, she can usually hear the hypnotherapist say something like: I’m going to tell you a story about …[a beach that has feelings. Isn't that] …strange to… [you]? It’s a warm summer’s day, and… the beach [feels great].
The hypnotist pauses, shifts his voice tonality, and emphasizes the bracketed text. The unconscious recognizes a “Selectional restriction violation.” Beaches can’t have feelings. So it’s like the unconscious says to itself: “Wait a minute, a beach can’t feel anything, so that must mean that I’m supposed to feel great.”
Since the suggestions are embedded in a topic that is misdirecting the conscious mind, its not very likely that the conscious will realize that it has just received a post-hypnotic command, so it will not resist it.
Process Instructions direct the unconscious to find a memory of an appropriate learning experience from the past where something appropriate was learned, and then apply that experience to eliminate bad behaviors in the present.
With “Neuro-Linguistic Programming” (NLP), rather than using hypnotic commands, we use the same thought patterns that are creating a problem, like an irrational fear, to get rid of the problem. NLP in the hands of an experienced hypnotherapist can be very effective.
NLP Anchoring: Have you ever heard an old song and had it trigger feelings from the past? When you originally heard the music, you were experiencing those feelings, and they subconsciously became attached to the sound of the melody. So the music became an Anchor for the feelings. Now when you hear the song, it triggers the same feelings again.
Anchoring can be a very effective technique. Suppose that you have a memory of being commended for having done a great job in the past. If you go back into that memory, you’ll be able to recreate the feelings of self-esteem that you had at that time. If you touch two fingers together while you re-experience those feelings of self-esteem, that touch will become an anchor for the feelings of self-esteem.
Now suppose that you want to create motivation to stick to a diet and lose weight. If you make a mental image of yourself with a thin, sexy body, and simultaneously trigger the anchor - (press the two fingers together again), your unconscious will attach the feelings of self-esteem to the mental image of you with the thin body and your level of motivation to lose weight will increase exponentially.
NLP Flash: This is a very effective and powerful NLP technique that can be used to turn things around in the unconscious, so that thoughts and experiences that used to trigger feelings of stress actually trigger relaxation instead.
The NLP Flash technique is also a fast way to extinguish conditioned responses. For example: If a smoker has a cigarette while drinking coffee, his/her unconscious will associate the two behaviors together so that he/she automatically gets a compulsion for a cigarette anytime he/she has a cup of coffee. The Flash will cause the smoker’s mind to disassociate the image of a cigarette from the cup of coffee so that he/she does NOT get an urge to smoke just because he/she is drinking coffee.
With “Subliminal” programs, the recording has two different tracks. One track contains a cover sound that is heard by the conscious mind. The cover sound could be anything from music to the sound of a bubbling brook. The number two track contains direct suggestions that are listened to by the unconscious mind. These suggestions are repeated many, many times during a session.
Subliminal programs can play in the background while you are working, or talking or partisipating in any other activity. You don’t have to stop what you are doing and relax like you do with hypnosis CD’s. Subliminals can be an addition to hypnotic programs. But Subliminals will never replace Hypnosis or NLP because they are not as effective! They don’t compare in any way!! Some experts have claimed that it can take up to 80 hours of listening to a subliminal recording before it will have any effect on many people.
The last hypnotic modality that we’re going to talk about is Video Hypnosis. Video hypnosis is the most effective form of hypnosis!
The methods used in video hypnosis are based on the NLP technology, which works based on the utilization of a person’s existing thought patterns instead of direct commands.
Over 70% of the population learns more quickly based on what they perceive through their eyes rather than what they hear.
Think about it. If you feel an urge to eat or smoke when watching TV, it’s because your subconscious recorded the video image of either food in your hand, or a cigarette in your hand, and then mated that image to an image of the television. You never spoke to yourself and told yourself in words to associate them together, did you?
And that’s why the Video Hypnosis mechanism is so powerful. It’s not hypnotic in the traditional sense, relying on the spoken word; rather, it relies on transmitting images to the unconscious. And if you’ve ever cried when watching a sad TV show, then you know how powerful video hypnosis can be at reaching the unconscious. With this technology, results usually start with the very first viewing of the video!
The Video Hypnosis / NLP technology is marketed under the registered trademark of Neuro-VISION. It programs the unconscious via a high-tech simulation process called computerized digital optics. This frees you of your urges and allows a person who smokes to quit without effort, and a dieter to lose their urges and appetite. Results start with the very first viewing!
(c) 2007 By Alan B. Densky, CH. This document may be re-printed as long as it is not altered and the author’s name and clickable web address links are retained.
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Alan B. Densky, CH is certified by the NGH. He is the inventor of Neuro-VISION Video Appetite Suppression Hypnosis DVD’s and Video Stop Smoking Hypnosis DVD’s. Neuro-VISION is the receipient of a US Patent. Alan Densky can be reached through his Neuro-VISION Hypnosis web site.
- Alan B. Densky, CH
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