self hypnosis

Hypnosis, thanks to the movies, the very word conjures up the picture of a beady-eyed hypnotist swinging a watch on a chain and chanting, “You are getting sleepy.”

Use any Internet search engine and you will find several million pages devoted to the topic. Unfortunately, many websites that sell hypnosis programs make wild and crazy, unsubstantiated claims. I’ve been in the industry since 1978. So I think that I’m more than expert enough to set the record straight on weight loss hypnosis.

First of all, hypnotism is a tool, just like a scalpel is a tool. Just as different surgeons have diversified levels of skill in the use of a scalpel, different hypno-technicians have varying levels of skill in the use of hypnotism. And to complicate the matter, there are different types of hypnotism.

Here are just a few of the wild claims about weight loss hypnosis that I’ve read about on websites on the Internet, along with the the real story:

”Hypnotherapy will speed up your metabolism.” The truth is that hypnotism can’t directly speed up your metabolism. But it can be very effective at helping to program your unconscious with increased motivation to exercise. And exercise will increase your metabolic rate. Similarly, hypnotism to speed up the metabolism for quick weight loss can be effected by programming the unconscious to motivate the intake of increased amounts of protein, because that intake will step up your metabolic rate.

”Hypnotherapy will make you become thinner.” This is false. But hypnotism can be used to help clean out your appetite, so that you eat less. And eating less can help you to become thinner. The average person’s appetite and cravings for food and compulsion to eat are caused by two subconscious programs:

A. When you pair eating with any other behavior, the other behavior will trigger cravings for food and an overwhelming desire to eat. This is called a conditioned response. For example, if you eat as you talk on the phone, you will get an urge to eat each time you get on the telephone.

B. When you feel tense, you feel an urge to put something into your mouth for relaxation and pleasure. This is because of programming that you received as a baby. When you got difficult, your mom put a bottle in your mouth. You got distracted, relaxed, and probably fell asleep. Now when you get cranky (anxious or tense), you feel compelled to put something into your mouth for relaxation and pleasure.

C. There is a third unconscious program that is present for some people. It’s called emotional eating. Emotional eating takes place when an individual is motivated to make him or herself fat, because by being fat they will protect themselves in some way. For example, if an individual gets their heart broken in a relationship, their unconscious can motivate them into a behavior that would prevent them from getting their heart broken again. Example: They are motivated to gain weight to keep them out of another relationship, because that will eliminate the possibility of another broken heart.

So just how can self-hypnosis for losing weight overcome the above problems? Click here to read the remainder of this weight loss hypnosis article.

I’ve written several articles on this complex topic that available on my website. These articles illustrate some effective techniques for using hypnotherapy for emotional eating.

Alan B. Densky, CH is the developer of the Neuro-VISION Video Weight Loss Hypnosis CDs, which was granted a US Patent. He also offers Ericksonian Hypnosis & NLP CDs for appetite suppression. Visit the Neuro-VISION Weight Loss Hypnosis website and download a FREE Hypnotic Power Relaxation Program, or subscribe to one or more of the world-class hypnosis newsletters.

– Alan Densky

Some people call it the ‘blues’ and some people call it the ‘pits’ and some just call it ‘feeling down in the dumps’. But whatever you call it, it doesn’t feel very good at all. The most common types of depression are:

Major Depression, which is characterized by sadness, sleep disorders, and the lack of desire for food. Often when an individual is in a state of major depression, there is an utter lack of motivation and drive and the sufferer doesn’t want to do anything in life. Some people are severely disabled by depression, and some even contemplate suicide.

Dysthymia: This is a less severe form of long-term depression that typically does not totally disable a person. But it prevents the person from feeling motivated and functioning at optimum levels. Sometimes people who are suffering with Dysthymia also suffer from Major Depression, and when this occurs it is referred to as double depression.

Manic Depression is also known as Bipolar Disorder. This type of depression is less common than the first two. It involves cycles of the manic state, alternated with the depressed state. This is often a long-term recurring disorder. Sometimes the mood swings are very rapid. But generally speaking, they tend to be gradual.

There are numerous variations of depression; the aforementioned are only three of the most common.

Some of the symptoms of depression include:

Sadness; anxiety; pessimism; insomnia and other sleep disorders; feelings of worthlessness; guilt; restlessness; pain; fatigue; weight loss; headaches; and thoughts of suicide.

Sources of Depression:

Many types of depression run in families. Living in a stressful environment can lead to depression. A trauma such as a serious loss, relationship problems, or financial trouble can also lead to depression.

Women are twice as likely to suffer from depression as men are, but we do not yet know why.

If you are suffering from depression, you will want to seek the advice of your physician. He may prescribe medication for you. But you should keep in mind that every medication causes side effects.

Wouldn’t it be phenomenal if you could control and eliminate your depression just by having certain thoughts? I know that this sounds too good to be true, but quite frequently, many types of depression are simply caused by thinking negative thoughts.

You can see this for yourself at this very moment. It’s really quite simple and basic. Just use your imagination to think about something that you find very troubling or sad. Go ahead, think about it right now! Then return to this article.

What happened? If you really got into it and visualized the sad situation, you started to feel unhappy and a little depressed. And the more you permit yourself to stay in that pattern of thought, the sadder you will feel. As you continue having those thoughts and continue feeling sadder, you lead yourself into a gradually deepening depression.

The good news is that if you think about a happy thought, then you will displace that depression and sadness and replace it with happy feelings.

Listen closely now, because here are the solutions to eliminating your depression: Our most pervasive thoughts spring forth from the unconscious. These are the thoughts that we find ourselves automatically thinking about throughout the day.

If the persistent thoughts that are continually popping into your mind are about your sad experiences or problems, then you raise your levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

But here is the ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’: Since hypnosis can be used to change our unconscious thoughts, NLP and self hypnosis stress management programs can rapidly change the way that you think, feel, and behave. The best part is that the exact same techniques that help relieve stress also work just as well for eliminating depression!

Now I’m going to tell you exactly why and how it is going to happen. Hypnosis is a natural state of mind. Actually, it is the Alpha state of consciousness. We go through the Alpha state as we fall asleep at night. And we go through it once more as we wake up from sleeping. We also enter the Alpha state when we are daydreaming and imagining.

The unconscious is the seat of our emotions, and it is similar to a computer; the input controls the output! Hypnotherapy is a wonderful tool for engaging directly with the unconscious and reprogramming it to automatically divert away from negative thoughts, and promote positive thinking. It’s a tool that allows you to bypass the consciousness to create positive expectations, which will in turn create positive feelings. You can beat your depression by using hypnotherapy.

Alan B. Densky, CH is a certified hypnotherapist and NLP Practitioner. Since 1978, he’s helped thousands of clients. He offers CDs for self-hypnosis therapy for depression. Visit his Neuro-VISION self hypnosis website for the hypnosis article repository, or watch his free videos on hypnosis.

– Alan B. Densky, CH

Self-Hypnosis – Can It Really Help You Lose Weight?

In A Depressed State? Self-Hypnosis Can Be The Key To Talking Yourself Out