Stress from the Spiritualist point of view.

We might feel stress consiscouly in the body or be unaware of it in the mind.

This from my website:   www.hypnotherapy-in-norfolk.com 

The aim of hypnotherapy is to bring about beneficial changes to certain problems, which have their origins in the mind. There are many branches of hypnotherapy and hundreds of uses. Probably the most widely known use is to help people to stop smoking.   However, hypnotherapy is also used to break many other habits, and to strengthen self-control. Hypnotherapy is used to overcome stress – and stress related ailments.

It is very useful for calming nerves, and overcoming fears and phobias – and it is wonderful for general confidence boosting. Where the problems are more complex and there are deeper psychological indications, hypnotherapy can be used in an analytical capacity, to give an insight into the subconscious triggers, which can cause many unexplained symptoms. More specialized branches can even deal with pain relief.   You may have heard of hypnosis being used as a natural anesthetic in surgical operations, or to help with childbirth.

Most hypnotherapists cover a wide range of subjects, but individual therapists will supply you with a list of the specific problems they treat. Occasionally individual therapists may specialise in certain areas, which are of particular interest to them.

WHAT IS HYPNOSIS?

Hypnosis (hypnotic trance) is an altered state of consciousness in which it is possible to communicate with the subconscious mind. You may be surprised to know that it is a very common state which everybody automatically drifts in an out of from time to time.

You know how it is when you get thoroughly lost in a beautiful piece of music, or a good book, or a daydream.   Your attention is completely captured and everyday reality fades into the background as your mind carries you away to a different world of the imagination. You are still conscious, but your consciousness is temporarily altered.   Well believe it or not, that is a form of trance.

In fact we all go through a similar phase just before we go to sleep. When you are being hypnotised, the hypnotist guides you into this same kind of trance state somewhere between being asleep and being awake, and this is called a hypnotic trance.  It is a very pleasant feeling of calmness and deep relaxation.

Contrary to popular belief, when you are hypnotised you are not asleep or unconscious. You will normally have your eyes closed, but you can still hear and feel and even speak.   Indeed, your concentration and awareness actually become heightened.

Different people can experience hypnosis in slightly different ways.   Some people may notice that they feel rather heavy, whilst others may feel light and ‘floaty.’ often the closed eyelids can flutter a little here and there, or there may be a slight tingling sensation in various parts of the body.   However some people experience nothing at all, other than a feeling of deep relaxation.  The experience of hypnosis is a very personal thing, but basically, it is just a very calm and pleasant feeling – rather like being in a daydream

The main requirement to enter hypnotic trance is relaxation, and for most people this is a very gradual process. For some people, entering hypnosis can be rather disappointing because they expect to suddenly ‘go under’ some strange spell and feel extremely weird - but it isn’t like that at all. For most people, there is no sudden feeling of ‘going under’ hypnosis. Sometimes individuals may doubt that they are actually being hypnotised at all because they do not experience the sudden loss of consciousness they expected.

It is quite important that your expectations of hypnosis are realistic, and you understand that it is a gradual, drifting process.   It is important you should understand this because during the induction into hypnosis, if you are mentally interfering all the time by constantly thinking that you are not ‘going under’; this in itself can disrupt the whole process of gradual relaxation. All you need to do is to let yourself go, and concentrate on your hypnotherapists voice so that he or she can help you to relax. When the body and the conscious mind have been sufficiently relaxed, the normal barriers to the subconscious part of the mind also become relaxed, and the subconscious becomes receptive to positive suggestion.

WHAT IS POSITIVE SUGGESTION?

A positive suggestion is a positively worded statement or command, which is given (or suggested) to the subconscious mind. In the relaxed state of hypnosis, the subconscious mind becomes receptive and can accept and store the positive suggestion, and subsequently act upon it. For instance, a smoker can have it suggested to him that he is now a non-smoker, and that suggestion is then left in the subconscious mind, so that the person no longer wishes to smoke.

However, for the suggestion to be properly accepted into the subconscious mind, it is important that the smoker really wants to give up the habit. In brief, positive suggestions can re-programme the mind to bring about beneficial changes.

WHAT IS THE SUBCONSCIOUS / UNCONSCIOUS MIND?

That is a big question –and this is a very brief answer. Your mind consists of two parts; the conscious and the subconscious.  The conscious mind inhabits the surface level.   This part of the mind is where you do all your everyday conscious thinking.

At a deeper level, we have the subconscious mind, and this part of the mind deals with your unconscious actions – the things you do automatically. In the subconscious you keep your habits, and also your habitual fears - and from here all your automatic responses are triggered. The subconscious also stores your memories – and all the things that have had a hand in making you what you are today.

HOW IS A HYPNOTIC TRANCE BROUGHT ABOUT?

There are several ways to take a person into that altered state of awareness, and different hypnotists will use their own favorite methods.  Stage hypnotists and hypnotherapists may employ different methods. Some hypnotherapists like to start with some form of fascination.   They may ask you to concentrate on a revolving spiral, or some other object.  But don’t be disappointed if this technique is not used, as it is just a variation, not a necessity.

Honestly, not many people ask you to gaze into their ‘piercing eyes,’ or stare at a swinging watch these days.  That sort of thing has more to do with old-fashioned Hollywood movies than modern hypnotherapy. Most hypnotherapists use relaxation techniques, and you are also likely to be asked to concentrate on certain things.   For instance you may be asked to focus your attention on your breathing, or to imagine various things.

During the induction,  the therapist is likely to speak to you in a particular way,  and at a particular tempo,  which is designed to gently slow down the brainwaves.   This will help you to gradually drift into the pleasant state of hypnotic trance, in which you will experience feelings of relaxation and well-being.

Words like “relax,” “deeper,” and “sleep” or “sleepy” are often used in the induction.   However, these words are not intended to send you to sleep.   They are merely calming words, which send special messages to the brain to help you to become very relaxed and tranquil.

Hypnosis is not a state of being unconscious, but merely of having your consciousness altered – indeed your mind remains clear and focused, and you are likely to remember most of what was said to you.

Some people are very easy to hypnotise, whilst others take longer. Most people remain in a fairly light state of hypnotic trance, whilst a very small percentage naturally go to much deeper levels.   Sometimes people drift in and out of lighter and deeper states.   All this is perfectly normal.

Deep states of hypnosis are not required for successful therapy.

COULD I BE HYPNOTISED AGAINST MY WILL?

No, your co-operation is required. It is not possible for anyone to make you rob a bank and bring them the proceeds!

CAN ANYBODY BE HYPNOTISED, OR DO YOU HAVE TO BE WEAK MINDED?

On the contrary, you need a reasonable amount of intelligence in order to be hypnotised.   The people who respond best to hypnosis are those who are capable of concentration, imagination and mental dexterity.  Most people can be hypnotised.   The exceptions are those who are mentally below the ‘normal’, young children, or those who are ‘high’ on drugs or alcohol. Everybody else (who wishes to properly co-operate with the process) can be hypnotised. Obviously, if somebody cannot understand what is required if them, or if they are resisting for some reason, they will have difficulty entering into hypnosis.

WILL I LOSE CONTROL OF MYSELF AND COULD I BE MADE TO SAY OR DO ANYTHING AGAINST MY WILL OR NATURE?

No. You will know what is going on and you will retain your intelligence and your self-control.   Hypnotherapy requires the client and the therapist to work together in a spirit of co-operation, in order to help you to control your own mind. For hypnotherapy to be successful, you need to be comfortable with what is going on in the session.

If any suggestion was given to you with which you did not agree, you would reject it.   If anything were suggested to you that for instance, went against your beliefs, or moral code, you would be shocked out of hypnosis. Some people say they were not sure that anything happened, if they ‘went under’, this is because it is a natural process just like having a ‘day-dream’, we’ve all done that, havn’t we?

IF YOU DON’T LOSE CONTROL, WHAT ABOUT THOSE STAGE SHOWS WHERE PEOPLE DO ALL SORTS OF SILLY THINGS?

Successful stage hypnosis requires willing volunteers. These people obviously have a desire to join in the show and perform, or they wouldn’t volunteer to go on stage in the first place, or the actor/ hypnotist would let them go back into the audience. What we don’t see is the back-stage preparation of the participants.

Hypnosis merely helps them to lift the inhibitions, which they may ordinarily have against performing. Please do not confuse stage hypnosis and hypnotherapy.  The aims and methods are very different.

IS HYPNOSIS DANGEROUS AND ARE THERE ANY SIDE EFFECTS?

Hypnotherapy is not dangerous.  In skilled hands hypnotherapy is a proven therapeutic aid.  No drugs should ever be used, or indeed are needed, and there are no unwanted side effects, which is a wonderful plus for the hospital patient, and in particular post operative care. The aid to healing is very beneficial.

STRESS AND ANXIETY

We often think that stress is bad. This is not always the case. Everyone responds to stress differently. Stress only becomes a problem when it manifests itself through symptoms such as panic attacks, fears and phobias, or lack of confidence. It can also suppress the immune system and lead to illness.

Hypnosis can help to resolve stress by tracing the initial event that established the problem in the first place and replacing it with a more appropriate response.

When you learn how to handle stress, it can boost your confidence, both personally and professionally. To feel balanced and at peace with yourself and others is perhaps how you would like to feel.

Many people feel varying degrees of anxiety, and all of them want an easier, more contented life, free of anxiety, and even more importantly, the ability to deal with any stressful situations that are very likely to happen in life,

The use of hypnosis and Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) help people to change behaviours very quickly and deal with anxiety and stress. Usually, a four-session programme is enough to make powerful positive changes that can change your life for good.

A few relaxing and illuminating sessions (sometimes one is enough) can free you from locked-in emotion, and teach the skills that enable you to navigate through difficult times and so help many aspects of our lives, such as …

• Building confidence and feeling good about ourselves
• Being in control, thinking clearly
• Letting go of the past
• Relaxing in restful ways

We all want to move forwards with our lives because it’s a healthy attitude to take. However, locked-in emotion, dating back to times of difficulty and stress, can keep us looking backwards, a bit like driving you car and looking in the rear view mirror all the time.

Eastern disciplines, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, have long emphasised the connection to physical and emotional health, such as anger, worry, fear, grief and obsessions which do play important parts in the holistic self.

It’s common sense that pains of different kinds need treatments of different kinds too. You would not expect to have a broken bone treated in a non-physical way, nor would you take these kinds of emotional difficulties to the casualty department in your local hospital.

When we are emotionally healthy, we bob back up like a cork in life’s waters, with calmness and confidence, but when we aren’t in that happy state what can we do?

Shall I offer you a map for this unknown river?  Or would you rather have a friendly pilot to help you navigate these difficult waters? This is what a therapist is trained to be, a pilot in difficult times, with skills and experience to deal with special situations. Life has taught me now I am in my 60’s that relationships are best met with skills that are built up and acquired over time and with special training the skills come into their own.

Often I am reminded by clients that ‘it’s easy when you know how’, [this is why I am so emphatic in teaching self help,] they say things to me like; “If only I had come to you sooner!” and “Why doesn’t our doctor show us these things?”

Why don’t you let me help you too?

Location: Reepham in Norfolk, East Anglia, is about 20 minutes from the outskirts of Norwich. The cost of treatment is dependant on the monetary resources of the client. I have helped many people through the holistic healing approach, from the busy man working all day in his office, who has a hidden fear of public speaking, to the retired farmer who’s back pain has troubled him all his working life.

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