Self-hypnosis is a way for many people to connect with their subconscious thoughts and deal with issues like self-esteem, weight loss, relaxation, and much more. While some may think that self-hypnosis simply means sitting quietly and meditating, there are some proven techniques that work better than others to help you get the most results from you self-hypnosis sessions. When done properly, self-hypnosis can yield powerful results that positively impact your life.
Some self-hypnosis techniques that normally work on all people are concentration on relaxation and developing hypnotic scripts. First, come up with the results you’d like to see happen after you’ve completed a couple self-hypnosis sessions. Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to feel less anxious? Do you want to have more self-confidence? Once you have a definite idea of what you want to get out of self-hypnosis, you can write these things down and develop recommendations for yourself based on your goals. A recommendation should be a positive and affirming sentence, such as “I will be more confident around strangers” or “I will stop smoking so that I can be a healthier person.”
Then, get in a very relaxed and comfortable area where you will not be disturbed by ambient noise or other distractions. By being quiet and relaxed, you allow a space for your mind to nurture your subconscious thoughts and hypnotic scripts that you will either come up with or get from self-hypnosis website or CD. Most self-hypnosis techniques will have you focus on deep breathing and concentrating on the simplicity of your breath. This will help you relax and get into a calm and open-minded place within yourself.
A simple technique for inducing self-hypnosis is the act of counting forwards and backwards to focus the mind. As you breath in, count from 1 to 5 and as you breath out, count back from 5 to 1. Keep counting forwards and backwards with your breath until you have blocked out all other thoughts and noise in your mind. Another technique is to visualize yourself walking down flights of stairs in groups of 5 or 10. As you breathe slowly to relax, imagine yourself taking slow steps down a spiraling staircase. This vision of descending the stairs will mirror your descent into hypnosis and conjure up a sleepy and relaxed feeling.
Once you are in a place of deep relaxation through deep breathing, counting or visualization, you will be ready to repeat your positive affirmations from your hypnotic scripts that you wrote before beginning your relaxation and hypnosis session. These statements should be simple, short and able to be imagined as you are saying them. If your statement is “I will be more confident,” you will repeat this affirmation three times while also visualizing yourself as a confident person. Allow your subconscious to put you visualized self in a variety of situations where you will be confident. Repeat these statements and visualization a couple times and when you are finished with your self-guided suggestions and hypnosis, you will begin to come out of your relaxed state.
Again, some techniques will work with breathing, while others will bring you out of hypnosis in many different ways. Two of the most popular self-hypnosis techniques for ending a hypnosis session are to once again count from 1-5 as you inhale and backwards from 5-1 as you exhale, or to imagine yourself now walking up the staircase that you walked down in the beginning of the exercise. Both of these techniques allow you to build back up to full consciousness and come out of your self-hypnosis session feeling invigorated and positive. If you find that you cannot relax enough or work through your suggestions during self-hypnosis, you can always try visiting a hypnotist to see what hypnosis should feel like before trying it out on your own.
