What Everyone Should Know About Self-Hypnosis—Including Tips for Binge Eating, Procrastination, & Anxiety
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Written By: Melissa Fiorenza
When you hear the word “hypnosis,” what comes to mind? College students dancing on stage, someone holding a swinging object saying “look into my eyes,” or that scene from Office Space when Peter miraculously no longer cares about work? Whatever it is, forget it! Forget everything you think you know about hypnosis, and learn the truth about this very real practice that can do wonders for bad habits—safely and effectively.
To get to the bottom of what it really is—and how it can help with common issues many of us deal with—we went straight to the best. Renowned hypnotherapist Grace Smith is on a mission to make hypnosis mainstream (she’s even embarking on a class action lawsuit to make sure Hollywood gets it right—more on that later). Founder of Grace Space Hypnosis and author of Close Your Eyes, Get Free (July 2018), Grace has helped everyone from celebrities to athletes to CEOs heal with hypnosis. And when she talks about her work, it couldn’t be more down to Earth and easy to understand. Read on, you’re going to love this Q&A.
First, explain self-hypnosis to us as if we have no clue what it's about!
I call hypnosis "meditation with a goal" because that's exactly how it feels. The reason hypnosis works is because when you're feeling safe and relaxed you become open to suggestion—but only those suggestions you want to absorb. You are meeting your habits, beliefs, and emotional responses where they live, which is in the subconscious mind. A study found that, on average, 600 sessions of psychoanalysis result in 33% improvement, and six sessions of hypnotherapy results in 93% improvement—this clearly illustrates the power of meeting our issues where they live which is in the subconscious.
Are there any myths or misconceptions about self-hypnosis that you hear often?
Oh yes! Hypnosis works for everyone and it works every time so long as you have the amount of sessions you need. It only has one problem, and it's a PR problem. Hypnosis has been misrepresented by the media for so long that the general public has no idea what it actually is or just how much of a positive impact it can have on their lives. Luckily this is changing pretty rapidly due to the obsession our Grace Space Hypnosis community has with making hypnosis mainstream.
The biggest ones I hear and my responses are:
"Hypnosis won't work for me, I'm too Type-A.” Hypnosis works for everyone, every time so long as you have the number of sessions you uniquely require and so long as you truly want the result. "Type-A" people sometimes experience results even faster because the deeply relaxed state we enter into in hypnosis is so different from your waking state of consciousness that the benefits are felt immediately
"I don't want anyone controlling my mind.” Hypnosis is not mind control. If it were, every hypnotist on the planet would be a billionaire. In fact, the efficacy of hypnosis is a direct correlation to how much you want the result. If you want the result totally and completely you experience results faster. If you don't want the result but know it's good for you (for example, quitting smoking) it will take much longer to see results. Mind control is the idea of making someone do something they don't want to do; this is not possible with hypnosis.
"Why do people do bizarre things during hypnosis stage shows?" Every single person on the stage volunteered to be there. No one was dragged up on stage against their will; this indicates they wanted to participate and they wanted the result! Also, stage shows take away people from the stage who aren't participating (further proving that participation is voluntary) so that by the end of the show the only people left on stage are the ones you truly desired to participate.
"What if I don't come out of hypnosis?" Hypnosis just means accessing the theta brainwave state, which happens naturally all day long. We go into this state while watching movies and while driving on the high when we "zone out." Not being able to come out of hypnosis would mean it was dangerous to watch movies for fear of not being able to come out of them. It just doesn't happen.
Unfortunately the recent film Get Out misrepresented hypnosis in an astoundingly atrocious way, so much so that I am embarking upon a class action lawsuit to make sure this can't happen in Hollywood again with future films. The simple truth is that when a tool that saves lives is straight up falsely portrayed as something dangerous, scary, and even life-threatening, it inhibits people from seeking out help that could end needless suffering. There is no blacking out with hypnosis, no automatic amnesia, you continue to think thoughts the entire time you are in the session, you are in control the entire time, and if you wanted to open your eyes and walk out of the session you could.
Wow, that is all very good to know! So, how exactly does it work?
During a private hypnotherapy session a certified hypnotherapist expertly guides you into the theta brainwave state, the same state we reach while in deep meditation. From here you are able to directly access your subconscious mind. The more relaxed and safe you feel, the faster you are able to make lasting transformation to your habits, beliefs, and emotional responses.
With a hypnosis recording, you simply pop-in your headphones, sit back, relax and close your eyes, get free!
With self-hypnosis, you are able to change your state in any situation from angry to happy, or sad to grateful, from stressed to calm and confident—whatever you choose, without the help of a hypnotherapist or the need for a recording. (You can learn how to master self-hypnosis with my new book!)
Let’s get specific! What are your self-hypnosis tips for the following three issues, which many of us deal with.
Binge Eating
While everyone is unique and has different subconscious reasons for developing habits and beliefs that don't serve them, many of my clients have had great success in overcoming binge eating by focusing on the following areas: releasing shame and guilt, separating the ideas of love (emotional comfort) from eating, and releasing the physical habit of eating rapidly and often times in secrecy. We replace these old habits and beliefs with self-love, self-confidence, and a new habit of eating slowly, chewing every bite until only liquid remains.
I also love this hypnoaffirmation to be used during self-hypnosis for overcoming binge eating: "Food is fuel, I only put the highest quality fuel, with the perfect quantities, into my body.” Freedom from this habit is so incredibly liberating because we need to sustain our bodies through food for the rest of our lives, and so when eating is a source of so much pain and internal conflict, it truly does have a negative impact on one's life every day, often three times a day or more. Adding that up over a lifetime is just so much needless, painful suffering and I love so very much when I witness my clients break through these patterns and begin to enjoy a healthy relationship with food. Talk about getting free!
Procrastination
Interestingly enough, procrastination is not a sign of laziness, it is a fear of failure. In order to overcome procrastination we have to let the subconscious know that it is safe to move forward, especially with the biggest tasks on your to-do list. By tackling subconscious fears of failure and/or subconscious fears of success, you can then condition yourself to take massive, consistent action and, as you can imagine, this changes your entire life!
A great hypnoaffirmation to use during self-hypnosis for breaking through procrastination is: "I am safe, I am calm, I am in charge of my destiny, and I choose to take action now." I love watching a much more brave, efficient, and bold version of oneself emerge, where procrastination is 100% a thing of the past.
Anxiety
While stress is often a response to a threat in a situation, anxiety is typically a reaction to the stress. The great news here is that the very first result you will experience during hypnosis is stress relief. When you learn to decrease your stress levels over time, anxiety levels decrease as a result. This also makes it much easier to condition healthier responses to stressors when they do pop up.
I have found that the hypnoaffirmation, "Every day in every way I react to life with more and more lighthearted ease," has a very powerful impact during self-hypnosis in dissolving away old anxiety-based responses that were not at all helpful or healthy. Take a deep breath, imagine living life with greater calm, confidence and ease, and know that with self-hypnosis, this is possible for you!
Now let’s talk about your new book! Who's it good for? And where can our readers buy it?
My new book Close Your Eyes, Get Free is for anyone who wants to reduce stress, quit bad habits, and achieve greater relaxation and focus! We also spend plenty of time on overcoming other popular issues, such as the three we just briefly discussed. To buy the book visit www.gshypnosis.com/book and choose your favorite retailer from our extensive list.
The extra special great news is that if you pre-order your copy of Close Your Eyes, Get Free, you will receive three bonus gifts because I don't want you to have to wait until July 17th, 2018. I want you to be able to begin to experience the transformative power of hypnotherapy today!
Here are the gifts you receive when you pre-order your copy today:
Gift #1:
$50 coupon that you can use on any hypnotherapy recordings found at www.gshypnosis.com. We have dozens of topics to choose from so whether you want to feel confident while flying, more patient around your children, or more in control of your choices while food shopping (and everything in between) we've got you covered! As soon as you pre-order your copy, send your receipt to info@gshypnosis.com and you'll receive your $50 coupon same-day.
Gift #2:
Lifetime access to my online workshop, "How to Train Your Subconscious" (value $297).
Gift #3:
An invitation to my book launch party in NYC on July 18th! (Hurry, we're almost sold out!)
For more information, visit www.gshypnosis.com/book.
Thank you, Grace! Any last words to leave us with?
While you might still be slightly skeptical (I get it! I once was too) you truly have nothing to lose and everything to gain by pre-ordering Close Your Eyes, Get Free today and which will allow you to experience hypnotherapy from the comfort of your own home right away, for free. I congratulate you in advance for taking this step and cannot wait to hear all about the incredible results you are about to experience! Please share them with me @GraceSmithTV so I can cheer you on!