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Apart from its well-known benefits to help people quit smoking, lose weight, gain confidence, and a host of other self-help issues, the practice is gaining wider acceptance in the treatment of illness and disease.

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One of the problems with hypnosis is the word itself. It’s been hyped to the max in Hollywood movies and the like, when in reality hypnosis is nothing like that. Hypnotizing someone by asking them to look into your eyes as you swing a pocket watch back and forth will be about as effective – and as successful – as asking your bank manager for a loan you don’t have to pay back.

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~ HYPNOSIS MAKES YOU RECEPTIVE FOR CHANGE

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People fear the idea of hypnosis more than hypnosis itself, because they simply don’t really understand what it is. They wonder if they’ll go into a trance from which they won’t be able to wake up, or if the hypnotherapist will implant some wicked command in their mind as part of an evil scheme. But neither of these things could ever happen to anyone.

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When you allow yourself to be hypnotized, the so-called "trance-like state" you enter is simply a state of focused attention. Your mind is relaxed, which makes it easier for you to accept suggestions and imagine possibilities. But you have to want to be hypnotized; you have to want to make changes in your life, or there isn’t a person on earth who can force you.

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So what can you use hypnosis for? The practical applications are growing in number all the time and they include, among other things, the treatment of:

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• Asthm

• Chronic pain

• Pain during labor

• Cystic fibrosis

• Headaches and migraines

• Snoring

• Irritable bowel syndrome

• ADHD

• Warts and psoriasis

• Rheumatoid arthritis

• Hypnosis has also been successfully used to facilitate dental and surgical procedures without the need for anesthesia.

• When used to help people kick bad habits, such as quitting smoking or losing weight, hypnotherapy is effective in at least fifty per cent of cases.

• It can even be employed to lower a person’s blood pressure. 

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~ HYPNOSIS IS A NATURAL STATE

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Don’t let the idea of hypnosis keep you from experiencing it. In fact, you’ve already experienced it without even realizing! If you’ve ever found yourself daydreaming while reading a book or watching a movie, that’s exactly what hypnosis is like. You lose yourself in what you’re doing, and your attention is focused entirely on the act you’re performing to the exclusion of everything else.

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During hypnotherapy, the therapist helps you achieve this daydream-like state on purpose. You shut out all external stimuli and direct your attention to a single thought, helping fire up your imagination and switch off your logical conscious mind. And that’s when you are most susceptible to suggestions.

 
~ WHO NEEDS HYPNOSIS

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If there’s an issue in your life you need to resolve, mental or physical, then maybe it’s time you thought about hypnosis as a possible solution.

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You can access hypnosis in a number of ways. Hypnotherapy involves visiting a practitioner who will guide you into a hypnotic state, using scripts designed specifically to help with your particular problem. That can be difficult for some to cope with, possibly because they don’t feel comfortable sharing their secrets with others, or possibly because they feel deep down that it’s a waste of time and money.

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Another way to get the benefit of hypnosis is through recorded sessions>>. These are available usually in the form of MP3s that can be played on just about any device these days. You simply download the session that suits your problem or condition, plug in your headphones, and listen. The recording is designed to do the same job as a hypnotherapist, taking you through the process with a specially designed script. With headphones on, the outside world is shut off, making it easier for you to enter the state of suggestibility that hypnosis creates.

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~ YOU CAN'T BE HYPNOTIZED

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The thing you need to remember about hypnosis is that you don’t lose control of your mind. A hypnotherapist will not take over your thought processes and force you to do something against your will. That’s Hollywood bunkum and is literally impossible.

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The same is true when you listen to recorded sessions>>. You won’t get stuck in a trance-like state, even if something goes wrong and the recording skips or repeats itself. When your subconscious mind has had enough, it’ll either let you drift off to sleep or bring you back to normal wakefulness. 

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People develop these misconceptions for lots of different reasons, but the truth is that you can’t be hypnotized in the horror movie sense. What the hypnotherapist or recording does is makes it possible for you to enter a state of focused attention. They guide you into deep relaxation, switching off from the everyday world, bringing you into a dreamy state where your imagination is heightened and you’re more open to suggestion.

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~ OPEN YOUR MIND TO THE POSSIBILITIES

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Research has shown that people who approach the experience of hypnosis with an open mind respond better than those who are skeptical. Some statistics regarding a person’s ability to be hypnotized are available, and they include the following facts:

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• At least 15 per cent of people respond well to hypnosis

• Only 10 per cent of adults are difficult to hypnotize

• Children are more susceptible to hypnosis than adults as a rule

• The more vivid your imagination, the easier it is for you to enter a hypnotic state

 

Positive thinkers, children, and people with a vivid imagination are all likely to be able to be hypnotized.

~ HOW HYPNOSIS CAN GIVE YOU FREEDOM FROM FEAR

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The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. ~

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This is a line from the inaugural speech of President Franklin D. Roosevelt given on March 4, 1933. Although the great man wasn’t talking about phobias, there is a distinctive ring of truth in his words.

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Fear is, by its very nature, irrational. No one expects to be eaten by a spider, or to be set upon in a dark alley by goblins and ghouls. But human beings have this amazing thing called an imagination, a two-edged sword that has the power to create whole universes out of thin air on the one hand, or to frighten the living daylights out of them on the other. When it’s the latter it can seriously affect your quality of life, making even the simplest tasks seem like insurmountable challenges.

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Irrational fears are known as phobias, and they can be specific – as in the fear of clowns or of bridges – or more general – as in agoraphobia, the fear of both open and confined spaces. Thanks to the powerful imagination you’ve been blessed with, it’s possible to develop a phobia about almost anything, and in most cases that phobia will produce a series of reactions such as:

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• Uncontrollable panic when exposed to the source of your fear

• Heightened anxiety levels

• Physical reactions that might include sweating, increased heart rate, and breathing difficulties

• The inability to function normally due to increased anxiety and stress

• The urge to do whatever it takes to avoid encountering the object of your fear

• Feeling powerless to defeat your fear

 

Often people get anxious just thinking about what causes their fear, which only serves to strengthen their emotional and physical responses in the future. Fortunately, hypnosis is one of the quickest and most effective methods for dealing with phobias.

 

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hypnosis takes advantage of the fact that our imaginations are so vivid and limitless. it helps us work through scenarios in safety and security, away from the things we fear, using the power of suggestion to change the way we think. by replacing old and outdated beliefs with new and positive ones, it’s possible to eliminate the fear and all those associated reactions from our lives for good.

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deep down you know your fear isn’t real. it’s a reaction that’s been programmed into your mind, something you learned from your parents, siblings, friends, or even through the media. the feelings have become ingrained in your subconscious, and the only way to get rid of them and the behaviors they trigger is by replacing them with others. 

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hypnosis is painless, non-invasive, and has no unpleasant side-effects. in most cases you’ll simply feel like you’ve had a bit of a rest, coming back to your normal wakeful state feeling refreshed and relaxed. wouldn’t it be wonderful if all treatments and therapies could get results that left you feeling so good?

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and that’s another thing that’s worth remembering. no matter how skeptical you might feel about hypnosis, it gets results – and anything that improves your quality of life has got to be worth a try.

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