Other uses for hypnosis

I was sent an email from a high school student in Maine. She asked about using hypnosis to help improve her memory while she studied. I had mentioned that with practice hypnosis can indeed help a student to remember things better and give the ability to to concentrate better as well. I passed along some tips and techniques she could use to make her a better student. The number one tip I gave her was that she would have to put in the time to learn the techniques and like a lot of things in life, the more she practiced the better she would get. I believe she has the drive to do so. Good for her. I wished her a lot of success.

I often get asked to help someone with a desire to improve themselves, whether it is the standards like stop smoking, lose weight, stress managemnet or the like. Most people think I have the power to 'make' them do the things they would like to change or that hypnosis itself is a magic bullet. Most often this is never the case. Although on occassions someone has made a change using hypnosis almost immediately. This is the exception, not the rule. Behavior modification takes time. I can never 'make' someone change but can give them the words they most likely want to hear to help them. It is up to them to accept change and be motivated to do so.  Without their willingness to absolutely want to change, most likely hypnosis is not the help you want.

Here are some things hypnosis can help you with:

Hypnosis is a very effective tool to facilitate building of confidence, self esteem, overcoming shyness, attracting romance, improving study habits, sports performance, pain maintenence, and public speaking. Hypnosis can help deal with the symptoms of PMS (premenstrual stress). Hypnosis can also aid in dealing with Bi Polar disorder, ADHD, and schizophrenia. It's also used to overcome sexual issues; performance, frigidity, impotence or simply to overcome hang-ups and enhance the enjoyment of the intimate sexual experience. Hypnosis can be used effectively for dealing with anger, depression, and other emotional issues. And these are only a few of the ways one can use hypnosis to better themselves.

Hypnosis is more that the power of positive thinking. It's the "art of suggestion" to bypass critical thinking so positive thinking can be a reality. And then a change of behavior can take place.

If you want to use hypnosis for change, my immediate suggestion is talk with your family doctor. Yes there are hypnotherapists out there, most of whom are extremely qualified as therapists, psycologists and psychiatrists, but there are alot with no medical qualifications at all. That is why I suggest your doctor is the place to go.