INNER SPACE
HYPNOTHERAPY, BWRT, PSYCHOTHERAPY/COUNSELLING, LIFE COACHING, REIKI ENERGY THERAPY IN MILTON KEYNES, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE AND ONLINE
Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy
Hypnosis
Hypnosis has been used for thousands of years and hypnotherapy has worked successfully to bring about amazing changes in people's lives, in a relatively short space of time. There are stories in history of healing temples in Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Greece, where sick people flocked to be healed. It is said that on arrival they were given substances like poppy seeds and led into the temple to relax, listen to soothing music and healing incantations containing suggestions thought to be magic spells. The sick person would then be advised go to sleep and “Hypnos” the God of sleep, was believed to visit the sleeper in the night to bring about a mystical healing.
It’s a bit different nowadays. Hypnosis is considered to be a totally natural phenomenon often described as a deep state of relaxation, concentration and focussed attention.
In hypnosis, the conscious mind can distance itself from everyday worries and concerns and you can experience an altered state of awareness which is different to being asleep or being unconscious. This is often referred to as a 'hypnotic trance’. During hypnosis, the logical, analytical part of the mind can relax, allowing positive suggestions, which are purposefully designed, to help you to reach your goals.
Neuroscience and Hypnotherapy
In the last 20 years or so, neuroscience has helped us to understand what happens when a person goes into hypnosis with the intention of changing or updating some aspect of their lives.
As the body relaxes into a hypnotic trance, stress hormones are switched off from within the lower subcortical regions of the brain, bringing a sense of calm. Cognitive function is enhanced in the upper regions of the brain, especially in the Prefrontal Cortex, for clarity of mind, decision making, forward planning, regulation of emotional response, analysis and problem solving.
With a deepening of the relaxation process, brainwaves slow down, moving through Beta, which is normal conscious awareness, to Alpha, a slower more relaxed brainwave state similar to day dreaming, and down to Theta, a deeper restorative rest in which a person may drift in and out of conscious awareness or loose track of time. This may feel like drifting in and out of sleep but it's not the same as sleep.
Hypnotic techniques include mental imagery and visualisation, giving meaning and purpose to the suggestions. From a neuroscience point of view, we are accessing part of the brain known as the Default Mode Network, also known as the Imagination Network. This allows the brain to come up with ideas, insights, understanding and new perspectives that may or may not have been accessed before. The higher regions of the brain, notably the Prefrontal Cortex, can access previously learned and stored information, making new connections, like fitting together pieces of a jigsaw.
Everything below the level of conscious awareness is what many people refer to as the subconscious. Long term memories are reconstructed from an area of the brain called the Hippocampus, which is subcortical, and each and every time we call up a memory, the brain pieces together a new version of it. This can be empowering because it means that even though we can't change the facts of what happened in the past, we can change the psychological impact of a memory in the present, which changes our experience of the memory going forward. This can be life changing, and liberating, for people with trauma memories.
Hypnosis is experienced differently by everyone. The individual is always in complete control of their experience.
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy uses hypnosis to bring about positive, progressive and beneficial change. Changes can be made in ways of thinking and in behaviour, overcoming certain fears or phobias, conquering stress and anxiety, losing weight, motivation, problem solving, establishing new habits and breaking old ones and so much more.
These are just some of the benefits of hypnotherapy. Limiting thoughts and beliefs can be seen for what they are – obstacles in the way of you becoming the person you want to be. And what do we do with an obstacle? we find a way to get over it, around it or through it.
Positive intention creates positive thoughts, which lead to positive action, bringing about positive results. Hypnotherapy instills new feelings of well-being and positivity by accessing the creative part of the mind to enable positive change.
Introduction to Hypnotherapy - a more relaxed approach
Can YOU be hypnotised? Click the spiral to find out...
Hypnotherapy is the relaxing way to change your life for the better. It can be used to overcome psychological and behavioural issues, and enhance your life.
BENEFITS of hypnotherapy: Not only can you lose weight or stop smoking, hypnotherapy can help you to overcome anxiety and panic attacks, manage stress and change unwanted patterns of thinking and behaving to new empowering ways of thinking and behaving.
Many health problems including chronic pain, insomnia, IBS and depression can also be helped or managed effectively using hypnotherapy in just a few sessions.
You can use hypnotherapy to enhance your performance in sports, public speaking or taking a test, enabling you to perform at your best.
Relaxation, calmness and a positive mindset are some of the benefits that you can expect when you embark on a course of hypnotherapy as well as building self-confidence, enhancing self-esteem and learning how to be assertive.
"Research shows that there is more scientific evidence for hypnotherapy than any other complementary therapy... by using hypnosis, people can perform prodigious feats of willpower and self healing."
-Health Education Authority
Life enhancing benefits available for you:
- Confidential, non-judgemental therapy that works to help you achieve your goals effectively;
- Positive ongoing support as you develop a set of personal coping skills;
- Discover how to manage your emotions and build emotional resilience in daily life;
- Overcome those mental blocks that are stopping you doing things;
- Get your worries out in the open and gain clarity of mind;
- Learn problem solving techniques and sort out the things are bothering you;
- Develop a positive and optimistic mindset;
- Train your brain to focus on the things that are important to you;
- Learn and develop a strategy to deal with hardships or difficult people;
- Build a life plan that you can work towards;
- Establish a self-identity that you can be proud of.
The Hypnotic Experience
The Hypnotic experience is created by you, in the privacy of your own mind. Everyone is unique so it is impossible to describe exactly what hypnosis is like or what you will experience but most people say it is very pleasant and relaxing and time seems to go very quickly. Often, the sensations will be similar to those you may have just before you go to sleep or wake up. We all go in and out of hypnosis on a regular basis, for example, when driving a car on auto-pilot or when day dreaming.
In hypnotherapy we harness this natural experience and plant the seeds of change in a fertile environment.
Whilst in a hypnotic trance you cannot be made to do anything against your will. Your brain will always protect you and will not allow you to violate your own values. You are always in complete control and you can come out of trance whenever you wish. Funnily enough, many of my clients have said they would like to stay in trance, because it is such a relaxing, restorative state to be in! After a session with me, you will be given a hypnosis audio designed to help you reinforce the calmness of the hypnotic trance, to train your body and mind in deep relaxation. This proves to be a very useful tool, as it works with the brain to reduce stress and increase calmness.
The Seeds of Suggestion
Once you have achieved a lovely hypnotic state, suggestions are delivered to the part of the brain that stores the automatic programmes. When you are ready to change, and are prepared to take action, your brain can make some adjustments, helping you to update patterns of thinking, feeling and behaviour. You may notice changes happening straight away or it may take a little time, everyone is different.
When the seeds of suggestion align with your beliefs, values and desires, you may be very surprised to discover yourself remembering something you heard in hypnosis, as you go about your day, inspiring you with a boost of positivity. Changes can be subtle or you may notice yourself changing for the better in thoughts, feelings and behaviours in more obvious ways because there is a ripple effect as positive suggestions are incorporated into your life.
Remember, an oak tree was once an acorn, and every flower was once a tiny seed. Hypnosis plants the seeds of suggestion that start to grow and bloom in your life like a garden full of beautiful flowers.
Definition of a Hypnotherapist
Dr. John Kappas, Founder of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, wrote and defined the profession of a hypnotherapist as someone who:
- Induces the hypnotic state in a client to increase motivation or alter behaviour patterns
- Consults with a client to determine nature of a problem and prepares the client to enter hypnotic state by explaining how hypnosis works and what the client will experience
- Tests subject to determine degree of physical and emotional suggestibility
- Induces hypnotic state in a client, using individualized methods and techniques of hypnosis based on interpretation of test results and analysis of the client's problem
- May train a client in self-hypnosis
ADDICTIONS; ANXIETY; CONFIDENCE; DEPRESSION; EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE; EMPTY NEST; IDENTITY CRISIS; HABITS; MID LIFE CRISIS; HYPNOTHERAPY MILTON KEYNES; MILTON KEYNES HYPNOTHERAPY; MOTIVATION; PHOBIAS; PURPOSE; SELF-ESTEEM; SMOKING; STRESS; WEIGHT MANAGEMENT; WELL BEING; WOMEN'S HEALTH; BWRT MILTON KEYNES; MILTON KEYNES BWRT; HYPNOTHERAPY; BWRT; COACHING; NLP; EMDR; NVC;