One hundred years ago, hypnosis was viewed as a mental state imposed on an individual by another person who manipulated excessive control. This was known as the “Svengali” method. Fifty years ago, the average person thought hypnosis was a sort of magic act in which the person being hypnotized would act in a ridiculous manner. Today, hypnosis is used to help people deal with a range of health and behavioral problems.
What is hypnosis?
To date, scientists have been unable to explain exactly what hypnosis or hypnotherapy is. The description most often used goes something like this: It is a mental state characterized by relaxation and heightened imagination. Hypnosis is not sleeping as it has so widely been portrayed, but rather daydreaming in a fully conscious state. You are intensely focused on the subject at hand. When you are in a hypnotic state, the critical or conscious side of your brain has been shut off. You are then able to accept hypnotic suggestions as fact.
Will hypnosis help you quit smoking?
Hypnosis cannot make you do anything you don’t want to do. If you have a strong desire to give up smoking, but just can’t get through the quitting process, hypnosis could possibly be the tool you are looking for. The process of hypnosis can help you replace behaviors that trigger your desire to smoke and help to increase your will power.
Hypnosis can allow you to focus on the benefits you are gaining.
There are several ways to look for a qualified hypnotist. Start by asking friends and family. Talk to your primary care physician (PCP) and ask if they can recommend a hypnotist. View websites to find out more information about the hypnotist and all the services they offer. The hypnotist should be a certified hypnotherapist. Being a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NPL) practitioner is also important. Although each hypnotist has to start someplace, it is more beneficial to you to look for an experienced one.
Tim Thornton tells his personal story. He wants you to feel at ease with him. He has opened his doors to help you quit smoking. Thornton’s website is chock full of information. Answering your questions before you even voice them, he is straightforward with the answers. Informing potential clients about what to expect in the initial session helps to alleviate fears and nervousness.
Not only does Tim Thornton help someone to quit smoking, he is also qualified to help with weight loss, addictions, insomnia and phobias to name a few. His blog is informative and easy to read.
As a treatment method, hypnosis has had a somewhat controversial history. However, hypnosis has become more socially and medically acceptable since the 1950s. Today, hypnosis is used all throughout the field of medicine. Hypnosis got the blessing of Pope Pius XII in the 1950s, although he developed some new rules governing its usage. While the Catholic Church does not take hypnosis lightly, devout Catholics should still be able to benefit from hypnotherapy.
Hypnosis and Psychological Disorders
The popularity of hypnosis in modern times parallels the development of modern psychology in general. The twentieth century was a time of experimentation with new therapies, and hypnotherapy was part of that. Hypnosis itself may be as old as humanity, but using it in clinical settings is more emblematic of the twentieth century and beyond.
The popularity of hypnosis in modern times parallels the development of modern psychology in general. The twentieth century was a time of experimentation with new therapies, and hypnotherapy was part of that. Hypnosis itself may be as old as humanity, but using it in clinical settings is more emblematic of the twentieth century and beyond.
Featured photo credit: You shall not smoke anymore people via echogshep.deviantart.com
