Evoking the Subconscious to Heal the Mind: How Hypnotherapy helps Overcome Hidden Mental Stress

Hypnotherapy is perhaps one of the most misunderstood subjects associated with psychology.

An interesting piece of news recently informed us that a girl in London who developed a ‘phobia’ of Michael Jackson after watching his music video Thriller is seeking the help of a hypnotherapist to address the fear she had been hiding for years!

Hypnotherapy is perhaps one of the most misunderstood subjects associated with psychology. The subject often evokes disbelief or misconceptions among common people. Truth is that hypnotherapy is a very effective form of complementary psychotherapy that has the potential to heal serious issues originating in the mind. Sometimes, when counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy or even medication fails, hypnotherapy helps address the issues buried in the human subconscious mind.

Interestingly, we often fail to realize the power of our subconscious mind exercises over our perception and our day to day interaction. Hypnotherapy is a therapeutic tool that is usually clubbed with psychotherapy and counselling to help one enter the subconscious state of mind.

Activating the subconscious mind

Trance, medically defined as a half-conscious state characterized by an absence of response to external stimuli, is induced by hypnosis or entered by a medium. It is the state which one enters while carrying out the practice of hypnotherapy, a practice curated and catered to people dealing with pretty much any difficulty ranging from wanting to lose weight to trying to understand why one is moody or snappy with others. By the use of guided relaxation techniques and intense concentration, one enters a state of trance, a state so focused on by the individual in it, that all other external factors and stimuli are blocked and ignored.

It is no surprise that many feelings and emotions are bottled up and stored in one's subconscious, carefully hidden from the conscious state, as it would possibly become a hindrance in carrying out one’s day to day lives. Hypnotherapy allows a person to face their fears and troubles without any panic as the hypnotherapist is constantly assuring you that “you are safe” or “no one can harm you.”

It is crucial for one to enter their subconscious state as it is in this state that people are able to enter realms of pain and suffering that they must have endured while parallelly blocking the feeling of the pain. This allows for the individual to speak about underlying problems in an objective manner without letting that pain and suffering affect them.

Myths and misconceptions associated with hypnotherapy

A general myth associated with hypnotherapy is that it is similar to stage hypnosis, a practice done by performers and magicians to make people like you and me do things that we may or may not want to do. Hypnotherapy is completely different from this. It utilizes the heightened awareness of the hypnotic state to help a person explore their phobias more deeply.

During hypnotherapy, you remain in control. It is not possible for anyone to force you to do anything against your will, even under hypnosis. You will be tuned into the work at hand, and so may not pay attention to your surroundings, but you will always be in charge of your own actions, behaviours, and statements.

What does it heal?

Cases for hypnotherapy have ranged from people wanting to get over various phobias, stop a bad habit like smoking, or even dealing with grief, loss, stress, and depression. Hypnotherapy is a tool that assists counselling sessions to enter a deeper state of self-introspection and self-analysis.

Hypnotherapy has definitely garnered a lot of attention with people opting for it due to its amazing and profound results. Subconscious change can be initiated to better the person’s conscious state allowing him/her to lead a better and more content life.

At Mind Over Image Consulting, we use hypnotherapy quite frequently to help patients living with different forms of hidden mental trauma and stress. Not only does it help the patient open up and talk about their inner feelings, it also allows their mind to heal and move ahead from the fears or emotions that were holding it behind.