You remain in complete control. Rather than losing consciousness or control, you will feel your senses and mind as being even stronger and more focused than in standard waking consciousness. You will not be asleep and will always be aware of your surroundings. During a session, you will be gently guided to a very relaxed state. When you reach this level of focused attention, it is possible to access your subconscious mind to create the changes you want. In this frame of mind you can create true healing and transformation.

Hypnotherapy is a two-way process between the therapist and the client. No one can make you do anything that goes against your moral and ethical beliefs. All clients remain in control and are able to return to waking consciousness at any time. The more involved you, as the client, are involved in the healing process the more quickly you will achieve beneficial results. It is the job of the hypnotherapist to serve as an expert guide who leads you through the self-healing process in a safe, efficient manner that will produce rapid, long-lasting results. Expect to be successful!

Frequently asked questions:

At Natural Path Weygridge I strive to answer your questions and to provide as much information as possible. The following F.A.Q. is designed to address questions that many clients have before undertaking the hypnotherapeutic process.

Can anyone be hypnotized?

The short answer is “Yes.” Some people find it easier than others to relax. Others may go into various levels of hypnosis faster or more deeply, but almost all individuals are easily capable of reaching the light to medium states of relaxation and receptivity. Modern hypnosis has many tools available, and a good hypnotherapist will be able to tailor a session to your needs and personality.

What is a typical session like?

Your first session will be primarily spent learning more about you and the issues you would like to manage or change. There will be one or two forms to be completed. These help to get a better understanding of how you will best function and learn while in a hypnotic state. Based on this information, it is easier to tailor a program to meet your needs.

There will be as much time as necessary to answer any questions you may have.

Depending on the nature of the work, we may end this session with a short hypnosis session, a quick pain relief technique, breath work or a guided visualization.

Your second and any subsequent sessions will continue to focus on your personal issue. Occasionally, sessions are longer or shorter depending on need and availability. Frequently the hypnotherapist will induce a medium level of relaxation within a few minutes so that she/he can get to a place where hypnotic suggestions are readily accepted by your subconscious mind.

Inductions take many forms and all of them lead to a wonderful feeling of calm and contentment.

Will I go to sleep?
Not likely. Some clients who are physically tired may fade in and out of a light sleep state. Unlike awakening from sleep, as you are guided out of a state of relaxation, you open your eyes and feel refreshed, relaxed and wide awake.

Will I remember everything?
You will remember everything that you want to remember. Much as in our day-to-day lives, we remember the significant events. While in hypnosis and upon returning to normal waking consciousness, you will be easily able to remember anything about the session that you want to remember, and the therapist will provide suggestions to the subconscious mind so that this happens.

Many clients are surprised at how quickly time passes while in deep relaxation, but most are able to remember everything about a session.

How long does it take to see results?
This is a hard question to answer. Most hypnotherapists agree that motivation is the key to getting good, rapid results. Experienced hypnotherapists all have case histories with results that may appear to be almost miraculous.

In the context of issues for which hypnosis has been proven to be effective, such as pain management, stress reduction, smoking cessation, weight control and other medical issues, it is common for results to be seen very quickly; for some clients within minutes, for others within days.

How many sessions will we have?
Hypnotherapy is designed to be rapid and effective. Some clients find that just one session brings the results they want. Others may find that due to the nature of the problem they gain more benefit from regular appointments.

How long is a session?

Most sessions are either one or two hours dependent on the clients needs.

Will I lose control?
No. A hypnotherapist cannot make you do anything against your ethics, values or beliefs. In a hypnotic state you cannot be made to do anything against your will.

Rather than experiencing a lack or loss of consciousness, you will quickly discover that, while in a relaxed state, all of your senses operate in a heightened state of awareness. A sense of calm, equanimity and balance permeates your mind. All or most of the daily “chatter” of your conscious mind disappears and is replaced with an expansive, cantered awareness in your mind and body. For anyone that has ever daydreamed, lost themselves in a good book or movie, experienced a pleasant lucid dream or simply “zoned out,” a light to medium hypnotic state will feel very familiar and comfortable.

How is hypnotherapy different from psychotherapy?
Psychotherapists are trained to diagnose, test and treat individuals with mental disorders, whereas hypnotherapists are trained to work with functional individuals who want to change behaviours and improve the quality of their lives and relationships

 Stopping Smoking

Quitting nicotine should not be unpleasant or unduly difficult. As any person who has used nicotine knows, the first few days are the hardest, and yet most users have “quit” many times over. Why then isn’t getting over the physical dependence enough to stop using forever? The answer is that we must also deal with the emotional and behavioural components of the addiction.

When quitting nicotine in any of its many forms it is important not to dwell on the negatives and to accentuate the positives. We all know the bad and unhealthy effects of this habit, and yet that doesn’t seem to be enough help for many individuals. Using hypnosis, you will learn to accentuate the positive feelings and changes that come from good health, fitness, freedom and increased energy.

As reported in the Journal of Applied Psychology, hypnosis is three times more effective for quitting smoking than nicotine replacement therapies such as nicotine gum or patches. In 1993, the results of the largest, worldwide study ever recorded evaluating stop smoking methods were published in New Scientist (New Scientist, vol 136, pp6) magazine. The study included thousands of people in Europe, America and Asia and revealed that hypnosis was a remarkably effective method in helping people to quit smoking.

The reason that hypnosis is so effective in changing the nicotine habit lies in the way that hypnosis utilizes the very nature of the human mind. One reason that people are unable to quit on their own is that they are being controlled by their subconscious mind. The conscious level of the mind can be used to reason and think, but it cannot over-rule the control of the subconscious mind that has been programmed by imprints, impressions and ideas of which the conscious level of the mind is not even aware. This is one of the main reasons that hypnotherapy can be so effective in helping people overcome the nicotine habit. When you are hypnotized, even though you are still aware of what is happening, the suggestions given by the hypnotherapist are received by the subconscious mind and have a powerful effect in releasing those imprints, impressions, thoughts, ideas or memories that have been causing the problem. Unless the subconscious mind is changed, the addiction continues to dominate the person. Normal will power can only dent the surface temporarily whereas hypnosis can permanently change the subconscious mind. To change your subconscious mind, hypnosis is an effective tool for self-healing when used properly by a well-trained hypnotherapist.

My unique therapy is very effective because it combines both magnetherapy and hypnosis and is tailored to your own personal needs. It addresses all of the emotional, psychological, physical and behavioural components of nicotine addiction.

Weight Control

Hypnotherapy is a great way to lose those extra pounds and become trim again. Diets may not work for certain individuals because they feel deprived of enjoyment. Once they are near their goal, the old bad eating habits can creep back in. Utilizing hypnosis helps change those bad habits into healthy ones so the weight loss can be, if you so choose, permanent.

Often if we’re overeating we are eating for reasons other than hunger. Consider how often you may be reaching for food for reasons such as boredom, depression, anxiety, stress, reward, companionship, time of day or being around other people. These factors can be stimulants that trigger a habit mechanism in the subconscious mind. With hypnosis it is a fairly simple process to change these habitual responses. Hypnotherapy is also wonderful for developing feelings of self-esteem and self-confidence which will go a long way in creating desire and motivation to be healthy and at your ideal weight.

Sometimes the subconscious mind has been programmed to believe that you need to be overweight and will actually work against your conscious desires to be trim. This can be due to past experiences or even simply something that was said to you, perhaps as a small child. Once again, there is probably nothing more effective than hypnosis for changing that subconscious programming. When that programming has been changed, the inner battle is gone, and it becomes easy to take the weight off once and for all.

It is important to realize that a hypnotherapist cannot control you and make you stop overeating if you do not consciously choose to eat less. When you are ready to improve your appearance and health and have more energy, however, hypnosis can help you achieve your target weight much more easily. Once you have achieved that goal with hypnosis, the bad habits do not return, and it’s easy to stay at a healthy weight you will be happy with.

 Depression and Anxiety

Depression and a low self-image are often the result of past memories and feelings of sadness, dejection, worthlessness, and failure. Hypnotherapy is effective in alleviating the symptoms of depression by eliminating the negative feelings and memories that seem so persistent and immovable. Often, neutralizing just a few negative emotions or memories is enough to bring about a more calm state and a positive self-image. As more emotions and memories are neutralized with hypnosis, the changes that happen are gradual, subtle, and powerful.

Anxiety is a word used to describe feelings of uncertainty, hesitation or fear and is usually context related. Some feel anxious when talking to strangers, some when giving presentations, some when driving on a motorway. A few individuals will say they feel anxious all the time. Often there is a pattern to anxiety, it is not random. It is usually a learned behaviour. Because the human brain learns so quickly, it is often possible to  rapidly 're-condition' the learned response of anxiety so that the next time the person is in a situation that previously made them feel bad (anxious), they will feel more resourceful and capable.

Hypnosis can assist you in gaining flexibility in your behaviour, to build with suggestion, metaphor and conditioning new resources, and to connect you with the resources you invariably have but have been unable to access during the 'anxiety'.

It is often possible to note a difference in a person's thinking in just one session. However  each client is unique and therefore the number of sessions will vary dependent on the clients needs.

Modern hypnosis has a great many approaches and techniques for helping you to create more balance and peace in your life. The therapist will work with you to produce the results you want to experience.

 Insomnia

Insomnia is often caused by stress and anxiety as well as possibly other individual factors. Sometimes sleep problems just “happen.” Generally speaking, insomnia can be viewed as a bad habit and, like all bad habits, can be unlearned and replaced with a good habit, i.e. falling asleep easily and enjoying a proper night’s sleep every night. We are all born with a natural ability to fall asleep easily. That is why insomnia is a habit. Through hypnotherapy you can learn to re-educate your mind to expect a good night’s sleep, learn new relaxation techniques to help your mind and body to slow down at the end of the day, and explore ways to remove some of the noise from a racing mind. Insomnia and most sleep difficulties are a very modern phenomenon and are representative of the pace of modern life. Insomnia responds very well to hypnosis. Very often, following a hypnotic session even without a specific suggestion for sleep, the client will sleep very soundly due to the deep relaxation achieved during the session itself. Direct suggestions produce greater effectiveness. Post hypnotic suggestions given during a hypnotherapy session, to be put into practice by the client when needed, will likely produce sleep. Many clients are now enjoying better, longer and more peaceful sleep after years of sleepless nights.

Stress

Removing all stress from our life is impossible. Without a reasonable amount of stress, athletes would not compete; inventors and artists would lose their creativity. The goal is not to eradicate stress but to manage it.

Hypnotherapy is an effective way of dealing with the anxieties that accumulate as a result of everyday stress. Over time, these techniques can restore both mental and physical wellbeing. People who use self-hypnosis achieve the inner balance that helps keep stress under control. Work performance, relationships, general good health, and self-esteem improve as a result of practicing self-hypnosis.
We often think of stressful situations as being “negative:” illness, death of a friend or loved one, being fired from your job, flunking out of school, divorce and so on. But situations commonly thought of as “positive” produce stress as well: moving to a new home, getting a promotion, going away to college, getting married. Any type or form of change can be stressful.

By quieting down the body and mind, hypnotherapy sets into motion a chain reaction of physiological responses, such as hormonal change and changes in immune system function. Hypnosis reduces the effects of stress on the body by thwarting the “flight or fight” response, lowering heart rate and blood pressure and relaxing muscle tension. These changes, in turn, stimulate other positive changes such as lowered production of stress hormones. It seems clear that a calm, relaxed body and mind can only benefit your health and well-being. A better, more balanced outlook on life improves your relationships and your day-to-day sense of purpose and accomplishment.

Phobias

About 10% of the population suffers from one or more phobias. They can cause intense fear and often severely limit the lives of those who have them. There are hundreds of possible phobias and hypnosis may be effective on all of them. Some of the common ones are:

• Public speaking
• Heights
• Snakes, spiders, and insects
• Claustrophobia
• Dentists
• Needles
• Driving
• Lifts
• Flying
• Bridges
• Rejection
• Sex
• Water
• Marriage
• Failure
• Dogs
• Computers
• Bees & other insects
• Being Alone

It doesn't matter how intense the phobia is or how long you have had it either. Hypnosis often works the same on all of them. That's a big surprise to many people because of conventional wisdom has told us that long standing, intense phobias are "deeply ingrained" and must take months or years to eliminate. Not so with hypnotherapy. Most clients begin to feel relief within the first session.