What is HYPNOSIS and what can it do for me?

If you're reading this, I'm sure it's not the first time you've heard of the word hypnosis. But what exactly is it and how can there be "therapy" using hypnosis? Read along to find out more.

Hypnosis is simply a state of heightened suggestibility. Unlike the normal waking state, when we are under hypnosis, we tend to accept suggestions given from external sources more easily. Putting hypnotherapy aside, all of us undergo hypnosis on a day-to-day basis. In fact, we spend more than 50% of our waking time in hypnosis! Consider the following 3 examples below:

1. 5 mins after leaving your house, you ask yourself "Did I lock my door? I don't remember doing so!" Heading home, you realized you did.

2. You sit on your couch, wanting to snack a little while watching your favourite television program. Minutes later, you realized that you've already finished your entire bag of snacks.

3. You arrive at work after a long drive on the expressway, but somehow you don't quite remember anything that happened during the drive.

On an expressway to work? You might be under highway hypnosis daily!

If you have experienced either one of the above situations, or something similar, that's a light state of hypnosis! In this state, we are more receptive to suggestions. If you ever considered how product placements in movies and shows are done, it sneaks into our minds while we are concentrating on the main contents! How nasty isn't it! (I'm kidding, that's called effective marketing!)

However, for Hypnotherapy, hypnosis is used to change and remove limiting beliefs that might have formed within us from many years back.

So what exactly are limiting beliefs? If you've ever told yourself "I'm sure I cannot cook a proper meal/sing in tune/design a website/give a presentation properly etc" or maybe something like "I am the type that would never initiate a conversation/make mistakes/show my emotions in public". We realize that issues that occurred in our past may end up putting our present and future selves in these "boxes". These are beliefs that may not serve us anymore in the present or the future but subconsciously, we still cling onto them like a lesson we have to hold onto for life.

In hypnosis, we work with the subconscious mind to allow it to let go of these beliefs IF they do not serve you anymore. Alternatively, there could be stricter conditions where these limiting beliefs could take place.

Take for example, when you were 10, you cried in public and received lots of judging eyes and finger pointing. You were traumatized by the actions of the surrounding people. You chose not to show emotions in public anymore as you belief that you will be judged negatively by everyone if you do, resulting in a cold and unapproachable character, causing you to not have friends in the present.

When we are young we do not think as logically as adults, creating beliefs that only serve us for that moment

In this example, hypnosis can allow your limiting beliefs to set in ONLY when "you are not comfortable interacting with a specific person", while towards people you are comfortable with, you can express your emotions freely. Now that's a middle ground solution.

Of course, the subconscious mind holds many other functions that form the character that we are today. The example above is just scraping the tip of the iceberg! Hypnosis can also aid people who are suffering from emotional trauma, phobia, stress, addiction and bad habits, and some physical conditions as well. If you have an issue that you are not sure if hypnotherapy is suitable for you, do feel free to reach out to us at contact@outreachsg.com and we would be glad to speak to you more about it.

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