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You Did It!
You booked your session and it’s right around the corner
and you find yourself a little nervous.
That is okay!
The first session can always seem overwhelming and even a little scary if this is your first experience with hypnotherapy and you’re not sure what to expect.
My goal is to create the most comfortable and relaxed environment for my clients.
The more at ease you feel, the more open you will be.
Here are a few points to keep in mind:
Being mentally prepared and in the right mindset is critical to the success of hypnosis. If you become fixated that hypnosis will not work for you and you become hypercritical of the process, you will not reach a new level of consciousness for the process to work properly.
How you approach hypnotherapy can determine your success. Having doubts & uncertainty will have an impact on your conscious mind’s ability to hand the reins over to your subconscious. If you don’t feel comfortable or trust your therapist, it will be almost impossible for you to enter a hypnotic state. If you don’t believe Hypnotherapy will help you, your mind will “tag” it as a fact and will only be considered as fact. The result will be your mind picking up on things during the session that contradict the process causing distraction & disconnection.
Hypnotherapy works. And it has worked for centuries.
It has helped people all over the world, and can certainly help you too…As long as you trust the process.
When you have trust that the process can help you and have trust in the hypnotherapist’s abilities you will feel at ease & will have the willingness to open yourself up without any inhibitions. You also become aware that you are in a safe space and with a professional who is invested in your success & well being.
It is normal for your mind to wander at some time during your session.
When you catch yourself getting distracted, gently acknowledge the thought and listen intently to the words being said. Do not give attention to any external thoughts, and try to not overanalyze instructions or suggestions that are given. Instead dial in to exactly what you are hearing and refocus your mind on your breathing. This should help you recenter yourself.
If you continue to have difficulty quieting your mind, it’s okay!
Let me know. We can try a different method. There tons of methods and techniques that I have used and have had to shift gears many times with clients. It’s like buying new shoes… Sometimes you have to try on a few pairs to find the right ones! We will take all the time needed to find the method that works for you. That is part of my job as your hypnotherapist.
Distractions will inhibit your ability to enter a deeper hypnotic state & can impact the effectiveness of the session. We need to make sure that any potential distractions, i.e. phone calls, texts, emails are silenced during the session. Same applies to your therapist as well. A ding or vibration could be just the distraction that breaks the process.
The clock. Another distraction.
You will not hear, “Times up”.
You will not see a clock in our session. This is your time and you will not be rushed. It is very possible, the “Aha” moment is uncovered after the 60 minute mark. I would never interrupt that progress because “times up”. That being said, we all have schedules we live by, things to do and people who rely on us. Therefore, I schedule all my sessions with ample time between each for run-over. Consider giving your schedule a small pad just in case the session runs over a bit.
We’ve all had a bad day and sometimes we carry it with us till the very end. Our bad days will place your mind in overdrive. Rehashing the situation & stressing over it will diminish any possibility of achieving that calm and relaxed state that we aim for and you will be less likely to accept any positive suggestions.
If you feel your mind is just spinning with negative thoughts before your session, you can reframe your focus for a short period of time by focusing on things that you are grateful for or things that are going well for you in life. Or maybe repeating over and over, “this will not ruin my day, I am letting it go” while taking deep breaths with eyes closed could do the trick.
If you can focus on this for only a couple of minutes, you can create the environment your mind needs for a successful session.
If you’ve tried and tried, and you still can not shake the feeling, let me know before we begin. We can tackle it together!
Mindfulness breathing is absolutely wonderful whether you’re in a session, the grocery store, or work! Get in the practice of completing those awesome deep, belly lifting breaths.
Mindfulness breathing activates your Vagus Nerve which is what tells your mind how to respond to events. This is where the “fight, flight, or freeze” response comes from.
Mindfulness breathing can allow you to channel your thoughts and refocus your mind away from negative thoughts. Sounds simple and easy because it is.
If you need some direction on deep breathing methods before your session let me know! Happy to explain the hows and whys.
You’re here for a reason. To make a change in your life. You may have tried other methods with no success and hypnotherapy is your last ditch effort. And that is okay. It makes no difference how you got here. What’s important is that you're here.
You’ve chosen hypnotherapy because you want the ability to communicate with your subconscious mind to help alleviate pain, change your beliefs or perceptions about yourself or even quit a bad habit.
There’s an image in your mind of what your life will be like without your affliction. You can see and hear yourself in this image. Your free from what ails you. It can be a still image or like a video that you can pause and rewind if you want.
We tend to focus on the negative side of everything. We ask ourselves, “What if it doesn't work?” or we think, “this isn’t going to work either.”
In the days leading up to your session, I want you to focus on, “What if it does work."
And add your picture to it…
Let me tell you why I’m asking you to do this. By focusing on the positive outcome that you want to achieve, you will be constantly reminding yourself of the importance of making the change and getting familiar with a new reality for your life. Also, there can be uncomfortable, painful moments in a session. Many times, acknowledging these moments is the key that will allow you to move forward. Having this “End Goal Image” established in your mind and something you are familiar with, will allow you to focus on it during those difficult moments in your session and provide you with the motivation and courage to keep going. Think of it as a secret weapon or your safe place.
If you’re planning a movie night at home, you wouldn’t choose to wear uncomfortable clothes and shoes, would you? Of course not. If you did you would probably keep thinking about how uncomfortable they were and how you could not wait to get out of them!
To promote relaxation during your session, consider the following:
Wear comfortable clothes
Feel free to take shoes off and bring a pair of comfy socks
Consider wearing your glasses instead of contact lenses
Avoid being overly hungry or full
Use the restroom prior to session
Avoid being over-tired
Avoid consuming stimulants/alcohol
Don’t rush. Don’t schedule a session at a time that will risk you being late to work or a meeting. The thoughts and stress of getting the session over quickly will hinder how relaxed you are.
