Frequently Asked QuestionsThis section will give you knowledge about hypnosis, therefore, allowing to comfortably use hypnosis in achieving your goals. Facts About Hypnosis
Smoking Cessation
Weight ManagementPain ManagementAbout the Sessions
Stage HypnosisTechniques Often Used as an Adjunct to HypnosisMaking Appointments and Payments
AnswersFacts About HypnosisHypnosis is a normal and familiar condition, a trance state, similar to the states that we all experience several times daily. A trance is simply focusing on one emotion or thought at the exclusion of all others. We undergo this state during everyday actions such as, showering, getting ready for work, driving, watching TV, surfing the internet, and daydreaming. Hypnosis is this trance state, progressed to a heightened level of suggestibility for the purpose of achieving predetermined goals. Just as a point of interest, the FBI, Armed Forces, CIA, police, and professional sports teams employ hypnosis in a wide array of applications. Hypnosis is currently offered at prestigious universities like Stanford, Harvard School of Medicine, and Columbia College of Physicians and surgeons. What issues and challenges can hypnosis help? The subconscious mind is surprisingly powerful and can help with more areas of our lives than we ever thought possible. Here are a few.
For more about systematic hypnosis programs, go to "Private Hypnosis Sessions” Is it true that people need to replace one habit with another habit because habits form permanent neuro-pathways? This theory has been challenged by current brain research. However, on a level of beliefs, we all replace one habit with another habit. For example, you can replace the habit of being a smoker with the habit of being a non-smoker. You can replace the habit of snacking with the habit of eating healthy. Both the non-smoker and the non-snacker have more free time, more money, and more friends. They socialize more, they exercise more, they read more, and they reflect more. These are the new habits they have chosen to replace their undesired habit. How do I know if I can be hypnotized? There are only 3 reasons that can prevent someone from being hypnotized:
Can I determine if I can be hypnotized? The desire to accomplish your goal and your purpose is more important to the process of hypnosis than how deep a trance state you may achieve. However, if you want to determine for certain that you can be hypnotized, there are several personal factors that have a correlation with responsiveness to hypnosis. Here are just a few.
These are just a few of the factors that have a correlation with responsiveness to hypnosis. But most importantly, remember that desire to accomplish your goal is more important to the process of hypnosis. The actual induction techniques often will leave you feeling very relaxed although a feeling of relaxation is not a prerequisite to hypnosis. The feelings are different for each individual. Some people say it feels like a relaxed floating feeling. While others say they have relaxed feeling of heaviness as if they are sinking into their chair. Will I know that I was hypnotized? Remember hypnosis is a completely natural state that your mind is familiar with and comfortable with. Do not expect an acute change in awareness or consciousness. Just as the feelings of hypnosis are different for each individual, the hypnosis experience will also be different for each individual. For example, after the session, you may feel as if you’ve had a restful nap. You may feel energized and ready to take on your goals. Whatever the feeling or experience is for you, you will gain respect for, and acceptance of the power of your subconscious mind. Is it possible that I won’t come out of hypnosis? Absolutely not. Yet another myth perpetuated by old movies and fictitious stories. If a client were to go into such a deep trance that they were to actually fall asleep, they would simply go into a state of natural sleep and awaken as they normally would. This is an extremely rare occurrence. Not at all. The client is, at all times, in complete control of their mind. I cannot, through any use of the trance state, cause someone to betray their morals or ethics, place themselves in harms way, or do or say anything against their will. Remember that in a hypnotic state we are dealing with the subconscious mind that exists to protect your mind and body from harm. Definitely not. There have been no cases of harmful side effects or serious injuries during this time. Hypnosis does not weaken the will, damage the nervous system, or in any way adversely affect the physical or mental well being of an individual. Is hypnosis contrary to religious teachings? This question can be controversial to some people and yet to me, it is a necessary question to answer to the best of my ability since my professional goal is to help as many people as possible. I cannot address this question in regard to every religion but I’ll share the knowledge available to me. The Catholic Church, while thought by congregational members to oppose hypnosis even into the 21st century, has never condemned the practice of hypnosis. In fact, an argument could be made that they actually support it. A decree of the sacred Congregation of the Holy Office on July 28, 1847 stated in part that, “the use of animal magnetism (the earliest form of hypnosis) is indeed merely an act making use of physical media that are otherwise licit and hence it is not morally forbidden, provided that it does not tend toward an illicit end or toward anything depraved.” Objections continued to be raised by some theologians stating that if not applied properly hypnosis could deprive a person of their faculty of reason. Saint Thomas Aquinas specifically rebutted this stating, “The loss of reason is not a sin in itself but only by reason of the act by which one is deprived of the use of reason is licit in itself and is done for a just cause, there is no sin; if no just cause is present, it must be considered a venial sin.” Pope Pius XII is credited as giving the official nod to hypnosis from the Catholic Church. He stated in comments before an audience of obstetricians and gynecologists on January 8th, 1956 that he believed the judgment of the morality of hypnosis would ultimately be based on sound medical opinion. The Jewish faith hasn’t seemed to speak out on hypnosis in support or disapproval. So it would seem that the faith as a whole has a neutral attitude towards hypnosis there have been several parallels drawn between the religion and hypnosis, these parallels even supplied by rabbis. The most significant is that the Jewish cabbalistic state of kavanah is very similar to autohypnosis. The word kavanah intimates empathy, rapport, righteousness, and steadfastness. In the Talmud it implies concentration, motivation, and correct attention. It was used to create a deep state of religious enlightenment and also a reflective state of deeper understanding and experiencing of God. The rhythmic rocking of the body during prayer and chanting has also been found to be hypnagogic and the kavanah was used to produce depersonalization in the past so the prophet could see himself elsewhere. Buddhists also seemed to have been quiet about hypnosis over the years. Their meditation techniques, like the kavanah, appear to be very closely related to autohypnosis, leading to insight and wisdom. Viewing the self with a greater openness of insight allows the clear discernment of ones needs leading to a deeper understanding of the self, a deeper self-realization. Christian opinions of hypnosis vary with each individual. Those who have researched the purpose of clinical hypnosis have an educated and positive view of hypnosis. However, some Christians have a misunderstanding of what hypnosis really is and have confused it with fortune tellers, sorcerers, mediums, or sooth sayers. In their argument, they sometimes quote bible versus such as the following: Deuteronomy 18:10 Deuteronomy 18:11 Hypnosis employs none of these techniques and has nothing to do, in any way, with the aforementioned practices. The purpose of hypnosis is to help individuals live their lives as God meant for us to live, in a healthy body, fulfilling our purpose. In fact, there is a Bible verse that guides the direction of every hypnosis session with my clients. The verse is: Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. You see, I am highly trained in the profession of hypnotism. I instruct and teach other hypnotists concerning advanced skills. I continually update my own knowledge through continuing education courses. Even though I have a great deal of confidence in my own skills, I’m well aware that God, the One who created every part of you, knows best how to heal you through “the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart....” A clear and simple answer is this, the word hypnosis, or any word meaning hypnosis, does not appear in the Bible or the Talmud. I have not had anyone present me with scripture or verse that condemns hypnosis without committing some sort of overt textual umbrage. So all misgivings I have encountered in the religious communities, including those noted, are not from God but rather from fear and lack of education. How would you recommend I find the hypnotist that is right for me? First, let me briefly explain why this is so important. You must trust your hypnotist. This is imperative. You will be hard pressed to go into trance with someone in whom you have not placed a certain degree of trust. Therefore, I have a few recommendations. Consult with a trusted friend who has been to this hypnotist or, when this isn’t possible, qualify your prospective hypnotist on the phone. Talk with him or her and ask questions. Next, you want to make sure you will be seeing a hypnotist who will be attending to your needs in every session. There are some individuals that will hook you up to a tape recorder for one of your “live” sessions. Ask if they use this technique and if they do, look somewhere else. Recordings (CD’s) are effective but they should not be used in place of your session (that you paid for) with a live qualified hypnotist. I encourage you to also carefully check out your prospective hypnotist’s credentials and education. Unfortunately, certification can be obtained from some training institutions in as little as three days or without any classroom training whatsoever. I believe it is imperative for you to ask questions about your prospective hypnotist’s education and training. Many independent schools of hypnosis provide excellent training. Some of the most knowledgeable and highly skilled hypnotists in the world have been trained by exceptionally qualified hypnotists who train for the National Guild of Hypnotist. The National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH) has been supporting and teaching the effective use hypnotism for sixty years. It currently has membership in seventy countries. At least twenty-five of those countries are routinely represented at the NGH annual convention. Also, when discussing this topic, make sure you ask about continuing education. Any competent hypnotist should never stop their professional development. Finally if a hypnotist isn’t willing to discuss his or her fees with you on the phone, hang up immediately. If their fees were reasonable, don’t you think they would share them with you? They are simply setting you up for a hard sell in their office. Do you need to have a particular level of intelligence to be hypnotized? People who are smart enough to know they need help with a problem are already more intelligent than a majority of the population and are well above any I.Q. boundary preventing hypnosis. To say that a person with a low I.Q. cannot be hypnotized is a true boundary. However, it typically addresses extremely low figures. Is there anyone who should not or can not be hypnotized? People who have thought disorders like psychosis or schizophrenia should not be hypnotized. People receiving on-going treatment from a psychologist or psychiatrist should only be hypnotized with consent from their mental health provider. Absolutely. In fact, all hypnosis is technically self-hypnosis. The hypnotist is merely acting as an educator. I am simply teaching you how to hypnotize your self. A more appropriate description for a hypnotist would be “educator.” The hypnotist has no power over the client and he or she is never in control of the client’s subconscious. Therefore, if you are serious about enacting change in your life, I highly recommend seeking the assistance of a trained hypnotist, if only for your first session before relying solely on self-hypnosis. The hypnotist can educate you in specific self-hypnosis skills allowing you to enjoy success with your desired results. Are the results of hypnosis permanent? If you are a person committed to enacting change in your life and I do my job as your hypnotist, then your suggestions will be preserved indefinitely. What if I’m currently taking medication for an unrelated condition or currently under a physician’s care? First you need to speak with your doctor about whether he or she believes that hypnosis will assist or conflict with a current medical condition. Then you would need to bring a letter from your doctor indicating that hypnosis will compliment their medical treatment. Most well informed medical practitioners have become aware of the healing powers of the mind and will encourage the use of hypnosis in achieving a state of well being. Smoking CessationWhy do you have a 2-session smoking cessation program as opposed to a 1, 3 or 5 session program? We have done extensive research in tracking not only our client’s success, but the success of clients in similar smoking cessation programs through the cooperation of hypnosis centers around the country. What we discovered is that approximately 83% of clients in a single session program remained smoke-free for a minimum of one year, compared with a two-session program where our client’s success rate increased to 89%. That may not seem significant, but successes after the first year increased dramatically with an additional session, from 72% for one session to 93% for two sessions. Adding a third session did not significantly change the success rate and programs consisting of four or more sessions actually decreased our client’s success, largely due to many of these individuals not completing the program. Let me clarify the reason that the two-session programs are more successful. It is not because of a perceived need for reinforcement of hypnotic suggestions. That simply isn’t the case. Once a thought, idea, or concept is accepted by the subconscious mind it is permanent. In fact only on very rare occasions do we “reinforce” suggestions from the first session. The second session is typically used to address issues that arise from the smoking cessation itself. These issues may include but are not limited to irritability, feelings of loss, boredom, oral fixations, imagined withdrawal symptoms, etc. Because there is no way to determine ahead of time how smoking cessation will affect you, we use the second session to ensure your transition to becoming a non-smoker is pleasant, enjoyable, and, most importantly, permanent. Will I begin to snack more if I stop smoking? What you are asking is if you will replace one habit with another habit. In order to seek a resolution to your question rather than merely an answer, I will ask two important questions.
If you answered “no” to either of these questions you are not ready to give up smoking. You are setting yourself up for failure by imparting a secondary gain on your smoking. “If I continue to smoke, I will not gain weight.” But is that really true? How much did you weigh when you began smoking? How much do you weigh now? Are you currently at your ideal weight? However, if you answered “yes” to questions 1 & 2, then you will not replace one habit with another habit any more that a child would crave snacks because he stopped sucking his thumb. Habit formation in adults begins with actions we are aware of. Only through purposeful repetition does an action become a habit. You choose your habits, they don’t choose you. So will I or won’t I gain weight if I stop smoking? Well, that’s one of those yes and no questions. Let me explain. According to laboratory tests, the average weight gained is 1 to 3 pounds. Understanding why, however, will provide you with the solution to prevent weight gain. As a smoker, your body uses more energy and requires more sleep than your equivalent body type as a non-smoker. This is because nicotine causes your body to work harder and less efficiently. The poison increases your heart rate, increases your blood pressure, and requires the conversion of more of your food to energy, thus, less will be stored in the body as fat. Now if you remove only the cigarettes and keep your daily caloric intake the same, you will most certainly gain weight. Now here is the solution. You must reduce the amount of calories you consume in order to maintain the same body weight. Weight ManagementCan hypnosis help me reduce the amount of food I eat? Absolutely. Especially if your unwanted calories are coming from habitual snacking. That is precisely how our weight management programs work. Bad eating habits are replaced with good ones. Unhealthy habits are replaced with healthy ones. Pain ManagementHow can I be hypnotized if I’m in pain? Remember that hypnosis is not relaxation. We can relax without being hypnotized and we can be hypnotized without being relaxed. The majority of trance inductions utilize progressive relaxation techniques as a preference. However, relaxation is not a requirement for hypnosis. You can be hypnotized by using various alternate induction techniques which is chosen to best suite your personal situation. About the SessionsHow does a typical hypnosis session proceed? We begin with an informal discussion. I learn more about you, and you learn more about me. We will discuss topics such as medical conditions, sensitivities, and fears. We will then talk about the hypnotic process, what you should expect, and the specific method I intend to use with you, detailing the suggestions I think might help achieve your goal while in trance. We will also talk about any post-hypnotic suggestions I think might be useful in helping achieve your goal. I will encourage you to interject here with both imagery and specific suggestions you would like to use. Usually the client will then have a few questions. Once we are both comfortable, we will then proceed with the hypnotic process itself. Having completed your hypnosis, you will then come out of trance and we will discuss your feelings and reactions to the process. How long is a typical session? Your first session will typically run between 90 minutes to two hours. Subsequent sessions usually last from 60 to 90 minutes. However, we are solution oriented so it could take from 15 minutes to 2 hours. We will go the distance for as long as it takes to achieve your goals. Yes. A group will mean from 2 to 5 people. There will be a special group rate which can be discussed before making your appointment. Stage HypnosisVery much the same way clinical hypnosis works. You have willing people who can achieve some level of trance state. The stage hypnotist allows the performers to be volunteers thus ensuring that all participants have out-going personalities. For this reason, they are able to perform hilarious acts and routines because of their expectations, preconceptions, and willingness to step into the spotlight. The difference between the stage setting and the clinical setting is the latter serves the desires of the client where the former serves the wishes of the hypnotist to provide an entertaining show. Most stage hypnotists do little to educate the audience on the process thus creating an effect of wonder and mystery. Sure. They make people laugh and laughter is good for the mind, body, and soul! I prefer, however, to do shows where I can entertain as well as educate the audience on the power of their subconscious minds. This allows all in the audience to participate if they desire to enjoy the hypnotic process and leave feeling relaxed and energized. Techniques Often Used as an Adjunct to HypnosisNLP is an acronym for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. NLP explains human behavior, thought, and communication. The disciplines of NLP recognizes the differences of how each individual communicates with the world, and gives principles and techniques for identifying thought patterns and behavior. The knowledge of NLP gives the hypnotist an added insight of how best to help you achieve your goals. Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) manipulates the body's energy field (meridians) by tapping on acupuncture points while a specific traumatic memory is focused on, in order to alleviate a psychological problem. The principle behind EFT is that negative emotions can cause disturbances in the body's energy field. The EFT theory is that by tapping on specific points of the body, it is collapsing the negative energy thus creating space to be filled with the positive changes you desire for your life. The principles and theories are similar to that of acupuncture. My clients have had success with EFT in their desired goals when used as an adjunct to hypnosis sessions. EFT can also be used as a stand-alone technique and I teach my clients how to use it themselves if they desire. What does Handwriting Analysis have to do with hypnosis? Handwriting could actually be called brainwriting. When you first started learning how to write, it was a conscious learning process; but, after a short time, your subconscious mind began to learn words. Then you had only to think of the meaning of a word and your subconscious mind sent minute electrical impulses to your hand, telling you exactly how to move your hand and how to make each letter within the word. Thus you began to write without conscious thought of the writing formation. In other words, your brain or subconscious mind actually formed the characters as a result of habit. We know this is true because individuals who have lost use of their hands have retrained their feet or mouth to write using surprisingly similar writing styles and strokes as they did before they lost the use of their hands. The trail of ink on the paper is a clue to the specific neurons being fired in a specific sequence. The knowledge of handwriting analysis gives the hypnotist an added insight of how best to help you achieve your goals. And for those who enjoy a little history, the following is a brief history of the development & uses of graphology taken from “The Science of Handwriting Analysis by Dr. Ray Walker with additional text by Bart Baggett. The first book on handwriting analysis was written in 1662 by Camillo Baldo, a professor of medicine and psychology at Bologne University (Spain). Graphology is now included by a number of American universities in psychology and psychiatry courses because it is an invaluable tool in the analysis and evaluation of the personality. It’s been a part of the accredited curriculum in psychology departments of universities across Europe since the end of the 19th century. Making Appointments and PaymentsIt’s simple, just give me a call or send an email. Explain to me how you would like to change your life and let me know you are ready and committed to do so. I can then schedule an appointment for you and congratulate you on taking that first and all-important step toward change. How far in advance should I schedule my appointment? Hypnosis is, for most, a big step into the unknown. Many have already exhausted every possible option before calling us. Many who call are still a little nervous and unsure. For these reasons, I will schedule an appointment as soon as possible with 30 days being the maximum wait time. (After 30 days you may decide to have a root-canal instead.) What forms of payment do you accept? Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, personal checks, and of course, cash. |
To schedule an appointment, or a speaker for your event,
call Deborah at 907-717-9771
or
Phone: 972-620-7673 |
Email: deborah@hypnosiscenterofanchorage.com
| © Copyright 2017 Deborah Faithrose, CH, CI Certified Professional Hypnotist, Speaker, and Instructor. All rights reserved. |