Can Hypnosis Aide Weight Loss?

It�s All in the Mind

Companies that offer weight loss hypnosis claim that their services help their clients loose weight by retraining their minds to no longer crave sweet, fatty, and salty food; to be motivated to exercise, and to have the will power to stick with the program. The programs suggest a combination office therapy sessions and listening to self-hypnosis tapes/CD�s when not in sessions for different specified amount of times (this varies between programs).

While it�s true that will power is ultimately the deciding factor in any weight loss plan, it is also true that in order for any weight loss plan to work: Diet, exercise, medications, or hypnosis for weight loss; and the person must have real desire, commitment, and motivation must already be prevalent. This being said, losing weight by hypnosis is in fact as hard as loosing weight any other way, hypnosis has been shown to assist weight loss efforts, however there is no conclusive scientific evidence that hypnotism improves the chances of success.

The Idea Behind the Method

The concept of hypnosis for any behavior modification is not so far fetched; people under hypnosis are known to be more acceptable to suggestion. This does not mean that hypnosis for weight loss is necessarily a quick fix to instantly loose weight; any weight loss program is going to require self discipline, self motivation, and a comprehensive plan that includes diet and exercise.

If someone were interested in trying to use hypnosis for weight loss there are a few things to consider; first there is no instant weight loss anything, if the company or person selling a hypnotism for weight loss product claims there is, do not work with those people. Second, hypnosis cannot make a person do something that they don�t want to do, advocates of hypnosis claim that they are able to modify behaviors, but there is no evidence to this claim. Third, there is no scientific evidence for the safety of hypnosis nor is there a regulatory service for hypnotists, a person can take a 2 day course and claim to be a hypnotist.

Methods of Delivery

There are recordings on tape or CD and therapy sessions available; many sources offer hypnosis for weight loss recordings on tape or CD, they can be found all over the internet and in alternative reading stores that offer motivational, meditation, and other types of self help tapes and CD�s.

Therapy sessions can be found in most major cities, these sessions average about $30 dollars each and most incorporate recorded self hypnosis as a supplemental tool. Many hypnosis for weight loss programs will have six to eight weekly sessions with the recording being used to supplement nightly.

Hypnosis and Sleep May Be Closely Related

Several researchers are beginning to espouse the connection between hypnosis and sleep, while others are attempting to use hypnosis to help people sleep. Similar to chemical sleeping aids, hypnosis is said to have the same relaxing effects on the mind and body, allowing people to drift off to sleep quickly and easily.

It is no secret that hypnosis and sleep are related when people are in the trance-like state of hypnosis. After all, most hypnotists tell their subjects they are going to sleep and that their eyelids are getting heavy. However, it is not unusual for a person to experience self-hypnosis and sleep at least a few times during their seemingly waking hours.

For example, driving to or from a familiar destination you may find yourself at the end of your journey with absolutely no recollection of how you reached it. Your mind may have wandered into its own subconscious and while your conscious thoughts may have been on the task at hand, your mind was experiencing hypnosis and sleep in its subconscious.

There are many self-hypnosis options available and some CDs can be played as you attempt to fall asleep. With the hypnosis and sleep CD playing in the background, many are claiming a valid benefit and deeper undisturbed sleep than with medically prescribed sleep aids.

Relax Yourself Into Sleep Mode

Being able to close off conscious thoughts and bring total relaxation to your mind is only part of the process of using hypnosis and sleep aids, as your body also has to be relaxed enough. Usually a slight drop in core body temperature will be realized before going to sleep, with the core temperature slightly lower than that of the extremities. Once a person�s mind is totally relaxed, the body typically follows, with deep sleep not far behind.

Listening to a voice telling you about how sleep you are getting and how great it will be to wake up rested, is not the aim of hypnosis and sleep sounds usually available. Rather restful and relaxing sounds are included in a manner and order in which your mind slowly succumbs to the unspoken suggestion that you are going to go to sleep.

Typically, the hypnosis and sleep recording will last just until the person is on the verge of sleep and then end, allowing them to fall into a restful sleep, waking up rested and having much more energy.

Hypnosis And Hypnotherapy Share Related Differences

Many do not understand the difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy, as well as the difference in educational needs between the two fields. Hypnosis and hypnotherapy, while closely related fields, in today�s treatment market, play two related, yet different roles.

Attempts today to modify certain behaviors through hypnosis is blurring the line between hypnosis and hypnotherapy and with many questionable schools popping up claiming to teach people how to hypnotize others, some in just a weekend, the practice is starting to get a bad name. By entering the subconscious mind, a hypnotherapist can offer significant assistance for deeply embedded issues that other forms of medical treatment cannot reach.

Being able to tap into the subconscious through hypnosis and hypnotherapy has been recognized by many medical professionals as a means of supplying appropriate treatment. Since the 19th century hypnosis and hypnotherapy has been used as more than just a parlor trick. When the practice went to the stage, with a hypnotist selecting a patron from the audience and making them cluck like a chicken on stage, it did the practice a disservice.

Behavior Modification Makes Hypnotic Inroads

People skilled at hypnosis and hypnotherapy found that by reaching into the subconscious mind, modifications could be made to a person�s behavior, which could be beneficial to the subjects. Many started using hypnosis and hypnotherapy to help people quit smoking or to help them lose weight by modifying their eating habits. As the popularity of this practice began to spread so did the need for more hypnotists.

Many still see the hypnotist dressed in a black top hat and long tails performing on a stage, thanks to old movies and carnival posters, but in reality those in hypnosis and hypnotherapy are usually similar to medical professionals, taking pride in their occupation and how they can help people make changes to their lives.

The main commercial difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy is through hypnosis people relate it to the one-shot method of helping people quit smoking or stop overeating. Hypnotherapy, on the other hand, is often equated with helping a patient through deep-rooted issues in their subconscious. These typically take several sessions, sometimes years to fully examine and determine the best treatment method.

It is not unusual to have psychiatric professionals involved in hypnotherapy as they recognize the benefits of getting beyond a patient�s conscious thinking. By combining hypnosis and hypnotherapy with psychology a professional will be in a better position to offer help.

Does Hypnosis Really Work?

Being Hypnotized

Being placed under hypnosis has been described as being placed in a trance or dream like state; this is achieved by tricking the mind into suppressing the conscious mind and allowing the subconscious mind to take the forefront. It is thought that the subconscious mind is more open to suggestion and imaginary play than our conscious mind. This would explain why in a state of hypnotism, that people are willing to act a way that they might not normally act.

It is a common misconception, that hypnotism allows the hypnotist to control the mind; this is not true, but to the contrary, they are accessing the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is more open to suggestion because it controls the body�s automatic functions such as breathing, the heart beat, all of the �how to�s� of the body, the subconscious mind is responsible for.

For example, people don�t have to think about walking, they simply do; nor do they have to think about reading or tying a shoe, once a skill is learned our brain puts the skill onto the �auto pilot� section of our brains, this is our subconscious mind. As it is accustomed to reacting automatically is not hard to imagine that it would have fewer inhibitions than our conscious mind.

Because the subconscious mind is so sensitive to suggestion, the use of hypnosis in a medical capacity is highly debated, while it can sometimes be useful there is also risk of imprinting the brain with false memories. These false memories are thought to happen because something is suggested while the mind is in this highly relaxed and heightened awareness state. People who are especially susceptible to hypnosis can even experience memory loss from the experience.

The human brain itself is an enigma to the scientific world, everything that is learned about the brain raises more questions; this is why understanding hypnotism can be so difficult, every brain reacts a little different to the experience and some brains are not affected by it at all.

Scientist have found that for a person to be hypnotized there must be certain factors: the brain must be completely relaxed, allowing the subconscious mind to take the foreground of the mind; the person must want to be hypnotized or at least feel the social pressure to perform; and the person has to be willing to do whatever is suggested of them, while the subconscious mind is more open to suggestion it still will not put the body into danger, the survival instinct is still prevalent even in the subconscious mind.

Being hypnotized?

There are many people who make the claim that they cannot be hypnotized, and that may appear true on the surface, but what it may mean is that those folks may need a different method of entering a totally relaxed state to allow a hypnotist to pass their conscious mind.

Typically, a person who has difficulty being hypnotized is reluctant to allow someone else to control their mind using hypnosis techniques mostly out of fear of losing that control, or due to irrational fears of what they may do or say while hypnotized.

Ericksonian Hypnosis More Positive Approach

Authoritative commands are usually associated with hypnosis with the subjects being told they are going to sleep and that they will perform certain acts. The voice seems to be commanding and generally appear to work on many people. There are some, however who do not respond to command hypnosis and Ericksonian hypnosis may be needed.

Dr. Milton Erickson developed the Ericksonian hypnosis technique for positive suggestion during hypnosis as opposed to the typical command suggestion, claiming it enabled his patients to conceptualize the task and to alter behavior during fewer sessions. He was also a believer in self-hypnosis based on his own experiences as a child suffering with polio.

During hypnosis a person is in a trance-like state in which the subconscious mind is open to receiving suggestions, as well as open to releasing information of which the conscious mind may not be aware. It is during this state of mind the Ericksonian hypnosis method becomes more clear, especially in establishing future behaviors.

During typical command hypnosis, the subject is given what amounts to commands to perform a specific task or to think in a certain way. Typically, a command is more of a negative suggestion and a person�s mind first has to contemplate the negative before it can accept a positive change, a scenario not involved in Ericksonian hypnosis.

Powers Of Positive Suggestion

An example often cited is telling a young child not to spill his full glass of milk while walking, usually ends with the child looking at his glass and spilling the milk, at which time he is typically scolded for spilling. The Ericksonian hypnosis method utilizes positive suggestions such as telling the child they are doing good, just a little further and typically the milk arrived safely in the glass.

At the end of the journey they are lauded for their success and if an accident does occur, they are offered sympathy such as telling them that maybe the glass was too full. By offering positive re-enforcement, Ericksonian hypnosis makes revisiting the session by the subconscious mind a more pleasant journey and more willingly taken one.

Another method invoked in Ericksonian hypnosis is to provide subjects with what her termed a double bind, or two negative options and allowing the subject to then choose the one of least resistance. He typically found this helpful when the subject was displaying mild to moderate resistance to entering a hypnotic trance.

Can Crime and Hypnosis Be Related?

Hypnosis is a practice where a connection is made with the subconscious mind in order to alter a pattern of thinking or acting in order to improve a state of health, relieve pain and/or improve one�s personality and self esteem.

Hypnosis has been used in medical practices and therapies on a number of patients in order to improve their present state when all other ways have failed, for example, hypnosis is used often to help patients deal with depression and/or terminal diseases.

How Can Crime and Hypnosis Be Related?

Because hypnosis works with the subconscious mind in order to alter it and change your thinking and behavioral pattern it has been suggested more than once that crime and hypnosis may be related, however no proof has been issued to sustain the claim. The problem in believing in crime and hypnosis is that usually it takes more then one session in order to change one�s way of behaving or thinking especially when dealing with crime like making someone commit a crime that is not in his or her nature.

Crime and hypnosis can be related however, when a therapist does not respect the wishes of the patient and does not follow the desired or requested pattern needed or requested by the patient to cure.

Again, crime and hypnosis can be connected when someone uses it to induce a pattern of thinking and/or change someone�s behavior without their consent or knowledge. However, it is very hard to perform hypnosis on someone without his or her knowledge and therefore it is not a common crime in hypnosis practice.

Practice Hypnosis on Yourself And Avoid Crime

Many people today practice hypnosis on themselves by using the help of CDs and DVDs as well as books for guidance and assistance; you can also find many online sites that will help you understand your body in order to perform hypnosis correctly and achieve desired results as soon as possible.

How Soon Can You See Results from Hypnosis Therapy?

Depending on your present state of health and stress level you can see results as soon as the first session or at times depending on what you are trying to improve can take as long as months. It is important that you follow the exact procedures and indications provided through the CD or DVD when practicing hypnosis on yourself and if you are following a hypnosis therapy, you must finish the required session in order to ensure the desired pattern has set in as you wanted.