Hypnosis for fear of flying

 

 

Fort Smith Hypnosis

 

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Fear of flying phobia

More and more people come for hypnotherapy to help overcome flying anxiety. Some people are mildly anxious about flying and find that it gets worse over time - others simply develop a full blown phobia for no apparent reason.
In our experience, there are three types of "fear of flying". There is the fear of crashing, the fear of not being in control and the fear which seems to be more a symptom of claustrophobia.
Strangely enough, more often than not, the nervous flyer fits a profile of someone who has flown often in the past and didn't always have the fear. Although, it certainly isn't always the case, we do generally find that the phobia or fear can be traced back to a particular incident but didn't necessarily become chronic at that point. The intensity or panic symptoms developed later
Often fear of flying begins at a time when someone is going through other problems or traumas and almost becomes an extension of that situation.

Overcoming a flying phobia

Practically speaking, what can be done about a fear of flying? Hypnosis can be extremely helpful and often helps to eradicate the fear completely. You need to start with a goal. Would you like to be able to enjoy flying or simply to cope with flying? If not enjoy, then why not?
We recommend hypnosis where you can choose from an extensive range of options.

Flying phobia, inconvenient as it may be, is essentially always positive. That may sound strange but then consider the idea of removing a phobia of flying to such an extent that you become happy to run onto a plane which is clearly not in a suitable condition to fly? This couldn't possibly be healthy.
Hypnotherapists have always seen a healthy benefit to fear, if that fear is logical. Illogical fear or irrational fear is just fear that has become a bit too intense. Hypnotherapy will certainly help you to desensitize the fear. You will always have an internal warning system should you ever need it but confidence in this fact allows you to get on and enjoy your life in the way you deserve.
If you could overcome your fear of flying, where would you go? Imagine you could confidently walk into a travel shop and book tickets anywhere - which destination would you choose?
Imagination can be used to create possibilities or to restrict you from doing something. Perhaps today could be the day you start to use your imagination in a different way.

Scared to Fly?

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Turbulence can be uncomfortable, but is a normal part of flying
People are often frightened by turbulence, because they don't understand what is happening. Nervous flyers are scared, as it seems that the plane is falling out of the sky. They focus on the downward bumps as these are the most apparent, but in fact each downward bump is followed by an upward bump. These bumps are actually caused by slight tipples in the air, which is normally perfectly smooth. Think of it in terms of bumps in the road. It doesn't take huge craters or bumps to make for a jerky ride in a car. It's the same with turbulence - small disturbances in the air can make a plane ride feel uncomfortable, but there's no real danger.
The plane is designed, built and tested to rigorous safety levels
Modern airplanes have to be designed and built to comply with rigorous safety standards which are set out by independent aviation authorities. Airplanes and their equipment are manufactured by systems also monitored by aviation authorities. Once built, they are then tested in flight before being given a final seal of approval. They are built to withstand many more stresses and strains than they will ever encounter in flight - the safety margins are enormous. Aircraft are intended to be in the air - it's what they were made for.
Flying is routine
Everyday, just under three million people fly safely all around the world. If you watch planes taking off and landing at your local airport, or look at the arrival and departure boards in the airport, you'll understand just how many flights operate safely each and everyday. Flying really is just routine. It happens all the time with no problems.
The importance of thinking positively
Think positively all the time. If you catch yourself dwelling on negative thoughts, stop and bring yourself back to the positive. Focus on what is happening in the present moment and not what could happen in the future. It can be easy to start imagining a disaster film scenario - make the effort to redirect your wild imagination somewhere more positive. Distract and occupy yourself by reading, doing a puzzle, listening to music or watching a film, or having a conversation.
Tips to cope with feeling nervous
When you are frightened, you breathe more quickly and your heart starts to beat faster. Try this exercise to calm yourself. Push your stomach outward and slowly taking a deep, long breath in through your nose, fill your lungs with air. Hold this breath for a moment, then let it out gradually. Do this once or twice when you are feeling nervous and you will start to feel better. This is a simple but effective technique for calming yourself down. Practice it whenever you feel tense and soon it will become easy and natural.
Fear or panic itself cannot hurt you
The sensation of fear is your body's way of telling you that it perceives a threat to your safety. It is a protection mechanism, preparing us for the "fight or flight" response, and will not do you any harm in itself. Once you understand that the threat poses you no danger, the feeling of fear will vanish. A panic attack will not lead to heart attack or a loss of consciousness.


Hypnosis for sports and fitness

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Athletic Performance And Fitness

Hypnosis has been a useful tool for athletes for many generations.  Whether you're a professional, or wanting to improve your tennis serve for weekend tournaments, hypnosis can be offer many options for improved mind-body performance and coordination. Anything that's a part of your daily ritual affects how you perform in your chosen sport or activity.  By learning about what personally motivates your peak performance, is how working with the unconscious mind can be of most benefit.  This is where meditation can be especially powerful when visualizing a victorious outcome, or improvement in any physical goal. Most successful people in sports or physical fitness will tell you the key element in their suburb performances lies in their ability to visualize the event.  Runners will visualize a better time, martial artists will visualize faster more powerful punches and kicks, skiers will visualize moving through a course with ultimate ease and grace.

Setting A Realistic Goal

The best formula for making improvements in your game or activity, is having a clear insight into "where you are" at the present time physically.  Always keep in mind that a stride toward an objective is most effective when knowing what your full potential is now.  Hypnosis in sports is based on training your ability to consistently engage in a daily structured regiment that will result in a higher level of performance. The short term benefit of hypnosis, is a renewed enthusiasm that results in a visualized outcome, based on improvement for the next event. Of course, the long term benefit of hypnosis along with meditation, is the empowerment of a new daily structured training discipline.

Hypnosis for diabetes

 

 

Fort Smith Hypnosis

 

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Hypnosis for diabetes

 

 

· Compliance – In many cases, the patient is non-compliant to his doctor’s plan for a healthier lifestyle. With hypnosis and self-hypnosis techniques, we can tap directly into the subconscious mind and reprogram the patient’s thought process to follow the doctor’s orders. The patient begins to eat better, exercise more, lose weight and ultimately get in control of his diabetes.

• · Less Stress and More Relaxation – Controlling anxiety and stress is important in managing diabetes. Hypnosis is one of the best ways to reduce stress and increase relaxation. In fact, hypnosis is nothing more than a very deep state of relaxation, and relaxation plays an integral role in better health.

• · Mind Games with The Pancreas – Under hypnosis, the therapist can tap the subconscious and offer suggestions for the body to produce the proper levels of insulin. This might not work for everyone, but the power of the mind has the ability to heal many common ailments and diseases in the human body. Similar strategies have been used to help mothers produce breast milk, or to alleviate pain and allow mothers to have a natural childbirth, for example.

• · Reduces Depression and Emotional Eating – Studies show that people with diabetes are at an increased risk for depression, which can lead to emotional eating and make it more difficult to manage insulin levels. Hypnosis can increase self-confidence, improve the quality of sleep and improve the belief about a brighter future, thereby reducing depression and emotional eating and helping the patient control his diabetes and overall mental health.

• · Breaks The Cycle of Bad Habits – Hypnosis can reverse the cycle of habitual negative behaviors that lead to diabetes like overeating, snacking on sweets, being dormant and more. The power of suggestion and visualization can eliminate destructive habits and literally reprogram the subconscious to want to make better and healthier choices.
• Terry Everson  Fort Smith Hypnosis  www.fortsmithhypnosis.com

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Forensic hypnosis

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Forensic hypnosis is not a  power that one possesses to use some “golden lasso” to get a serial killer to confess.  Typically, a forensic hypnosis session involves a willing witness or victim.  “Willing,” meaning the person volunteering is motivated to tell the truth.  In investigations we find people that want to help, but at times they can have motives contrary to finding the truth.

 When searching for the truth, often investigators are confronted with untrustworthy or blank memories.  Investigators and detectives around the world have closed cases or placed them in the cold case file for want of information.  Many times, the case remains dormant while time passes and no new leads are found.  A new lead may come about, but often it is vague and hard to confirm.  When a forensic hypnotist is asked for assistance his or her goal is to refresh memory if possible.  Any information gained from a forensic hypnosis session must be corroborated by an independent investigation.   Strict rules exist involving the ethical standards of forensic hypnosis.  The professional forensic hypnotist should not misrepresent his/her credentials, training or experience.

 When conducting the pre-hypnosis interview and the forensic hypnosis session, the welfare of the witness or victim comes first.  No matter how crucial the information to be elicited may seem, the subject’s welfare is the primary focus.  If the hypno-investigator feels that the session may be harmful to the witness, the session may need to be postponed or cancelled entirely.  Rapport and trust are crucial to the relationship of the hypno-investigator and the subject undergoing hypnosis.  This may begin with talking about hobbies, likes and dislikes of the subject.  This can be important in assisting the hypno-investigator as to how to conduct the session and give him/her insight into the personality of the witness or victim. When speaking of confidentiality of witnesses Martin Reiser, Ed.D, the Father of Investigative Hypnosis states: “Information learned from an investigative hypnosis session has the same status as other investigative material.  Generally, this information should be kept in confidence with the usual legal and professional exceptions.” 

 All forensic hypnosis sessions should be recorded.  Marx Howell, retired Texas Department of Public Safety Inspector and premier authority on Investigative Hypnosis says the session should be recorded from “hello to goodbye.”  Whether it is audio, video, or both, the session should be fully documented.  It is a common practice to have both.  Many hypno-investigators have two video cameras operating during a session, in case of malfunction. 

Howell is adamant that all equipment should be tested and tested again to ensure everything is operable.  Another point Howell stresses is that everyone in the room should be identified by name, position, agency and purpose for being present during the interview.  Often, composite artists, lead case investigators and advocates for the victim may be present during the interview.  However, this is at the discretion of the lead investigator and the hypno-investigator at the time of the interview. 

 This is a brief overview of what is involved in the field of forensic hypnosis.  Later articles will include the “nuts and bolts” of what increases the chances of success.  Undoubtedly, the reader of future articles will find that hours of training, practice, experience and a multitude of considerations for each session must be addressed.  The purpose here is to merely inform the reader and give a cursory view of what is involved.

                               Terry Everson Fort Smith Hypnosis  http://www.fortsmithhypnosis.com/



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Hypnosis for insomnia

 

Fort Smith Hypnosis

 

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Hypnosis for insomnia

 

 

We've all "been there." Tossing and turning, getting up, maybe reading a little, or watching a little TV. Then more tossing and turning, still unable to fall asleep and, finally, out of sheer exhaustion, we do "drop off."
Or we have occasionally fallen asleep and then, only two, three, or four hours later, woken up, unable to go back to sleep. We may even ask ourselves, "What's going on here?"
These two experiences are the more common forms of insomnia, i.e., 1) Inability to get to sleep. 2) Inability to maintain sleep. When either or both of these conditions become chronic, they can easily affect our ability to cope and our overall capacity to effectively function in our everyday activities.
The good news is, once we understand the real behavioral dynamics at work here, these conditions can be easily corrected.

How We Get To Sleep

Let's examine how a person who has no difficulty getting to sleep actually does it. Most people are unaware that someone who lies down in bed and "goes to sleep" actually moves through four different stages, the last of which is unconscious sleep.

The four stages of sleep are:

1. Thinking
2. Fantasy
3. Hypnoidal
4. Unconscious Sleep

Stage 1 - Thinking

When we get into bed, we start thinking about the events of the day or, possibly, what will happen tomorrow, or any myriad of things.

Stage 2 - Fantasy

Whether the person is consciously aware of it or not, his thoughts eventually turn to thoughts ASSOCIATED with relaxation. (Perhaps thought of a future vacation or activity in a place that person already associates with feeling relaxed.)

Stage 3 - Hypnoidal

As both the mind and the body relax, the muscles release tensions, and the person enters a light stage of hypnosis, known as hypnoidal. When a person enters this state of mind, he is still conscious, yet he also experiences time distortion and some amnesia. We actually must enter this hypnoidal stage because it is what enables us to attain the last stage. (No one, for instance, can honestly say, "Last night I fell asleep at 11:34 p.m. and 17 seconds.") It is the amnesia and time distortion aspects of the hypnoidal stage that make it impossible to identify the moment of transition from hypnoidal to unconscious sleep. We simply "drift" from one to the other.

Stage 4 - Unconscious Sleep

We are not consciously aware of anything going on around us.

People who have difficulty getting to sleep

This person has great difficulty transitioning from thinking to fantasy, or he simply stays in the thinking stage way too long; usually because he is worried about something or doesn't know how to control his own mind.
Now that we know about the four stages, the strategy for someone having difficulty initially getting to sleep is to skip the thinking stage altogether. Therefore, when the person gets into bed to go to sleep, he needs to begin visualizing or imagining the fantasy stage. Remember, the fantasy stage needs to be thoughts associated with relaxation.
One way to develop a fantasy stage is to reflect upon some real experience where you really were feeling relaxed. This could be when you were on a vacation or involved in some activity that you associate with relaxation. One of my clients visualizes riding north on Pacific Coast Highway, while another visualizes an imaginary round of golf on one of his favorite courses. Yet another visualizes being on a beach on the island of Maui. It is important that you use your own experience because you already associate that occasion with relaxation. It is most important that you stay in or maintain that fantasy thought process. That will eventually draw you into the hypnoidal stage and then into unconscious sleep.

Alternative method for getting to sleep

Yet another way of understanding how we get to sleep is to recognize that the combination of stages 2 (fantasy) and 3 (hypnoidal) result in the person actually hypnotizing himself. A person may not be consciously aware that that is actually what he is doing, but, in fact, it is.

How to use Self-Hypnosis to get to sleep

Self-hypnosis (like meditation) is possible because of two Dominant Laws of Suggestibility. (These laws of suggestibility, of which there are five, are literally how we learn everything.) The Laws of Association and Repetition are what make self-hypnosis possible.

Hypnotizing Yourself

Step One is to make sure your body is relaxed. Relaxation occurs when there is an absence of tension in the muscles. A good technique to accomplish this is to sequentially tense and release the muscles in the different areas of your body. Starting with the area of the feet up through the knees, first tense, then release the tension. Next, concentrate on the thighs through the hips, again, tensing and releasing the tension. Then bring your focus to your abdomen, chest, and shoulders, and do the same (tense and release), followed by the areas from your shoulders down through the arms and hands, all the way to your fingertips. Lastly, do not tense the mouth and jaw areas, but simply release any unnecessary tension there.
The next three steps replicate the physiological (body) changes experienced by anyone entering hypnosis. Take a really deep breath, hold it for a moment, then slowly exhale. (The brain and body require more oxygen to enter hypnosis.) Now create a swallow (you can do this by pretending to swallow something.) Next, roll your eyes up (eyelids closed, looking up into the forehead). This causes the eyelids to "flutter," replicating the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) of sleep.
There are several options for this next step. You could visualize or imagine your "fantasy" stage, as mentioned above, noting that it is very important to control your thoughts and stay in the visualization. Another option is to concentrate on your breathing and, only on the exhale, repeat a series of words, such as: peaceful, restful, sleep or beautiful, deep, restful, sleep.
With either option, you have by now, indeed, hypnotized yourself, and that state of mind will draw you into unconscious sleep.

People who have difficulty maintaining sleep

Let's ask a very important question: What would cause a person who has fallen asleep to suddenly be reawakened to consciousness? The usual culprit is something I call toxic worry. When we are worried about something that will occur the next day or about some important issue going on in our lives, it can interrupt our sleeping through the night. It is similar to children who are excited about Santa coming on Christmas Eve. They have difficulty getting to, and maintaining, sleep. I call it toxic worry because during those hours when it affects us, there is usually very little we can do, if anything, about the "issue" in question. No business is being conducted, people we may want to contact are probably sleeping and, at that time, when fatigued, we are not at our best.

Strategy for maintaining sleep

This strategy for maintaining sleep throughout the night is based on two elements of human behavior: 1) As we approach sleep, we become more "suggestible." Remember that to attain the unconscious sleep state, we must pass through the "hypnoidal" stage (of hypnosis). As we approach this stage, our mindset is one of receptiveness, or increased suggestibility. (For this reason, it is also a good idea to avoid depressing, fear-provoking news programs prior to sleep.) 2) There is one person in our lives to whom we are the most suggestible: ourselves. We talk ourselves into and out of things. Whatever we tell ourselves, we are more likely to follow through on.
Considering that toxic worry can trigger us out of unconscious sleep, a good strategy for maintaining sleep is to give ourselves a "suggestion" when getting into bed. Say to yourself (aloud or silently), "I refuse to worry during my sleep state. This kind of worrying accomplishes nothing. I deserve my peaceful, restful, sleep." When we tell ourselves that, we are certainly more likely to follow that suggestion (or advice).

Getting back to sleep

Sometimes, we do wake up in the middle of our sleep, whether it's for a trip to the bathroom, a pet disturbing us, a change in room temperature, a loud noise, a light going on or off, or toxic worry. An excellent strategy for getting back to sleep is to concentrate on your normal breathing. (What you are really doing is controlling your thoughts.) Become aware of how your normal inhale and exhale actually feel. This takes some practice, but once you concentrate on your normal inhale and exhale, begin repeating a series of words only on the exhale: peaceful, restful, sleep or peaceful, deep, restful, sleep.
What this repetition of words (silently or aloud) actually does is prevents you from going back into the thinking stage. You could also think of this repetition of words as a "substitute fantasy stage." With practice, you will most likely be back asleep within five to ten repetitions of the series of words.

Terry Everson Fort Smith Hypnosis   www.fortsmithhypnosis.com

Hypnosis for memory improvement

 

Fort Smith Hypnosis

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Hypnosis for memory improvement

 

 

One of the best ways to improve memory is through hypnosis. This is because your brain registers an event, thought, or feeling which is then retained in the subconscious, where it is stored until it is retrieved. Your subconscious retains, or stores everything you have ever experienced, even things that might not have seemed important. Your subconscious is like one big data server, housing all the information of everything you have seen, felt, or thought. Even so, sometimes we are unable to remember something. This is where hypnosis comes in.

When you can't recall something, like where you put something important, or a memory that seems forgotten, hypnosis can help you access where this data is stored. Sometimes we can't remember something because our subconscious has blocked our memory of it, and sometimes we can't recall something because we just can't concentrate deep enough to retrieve it.

Through various hypnosis techniques, a certified hypnotist can identify and remove any blocks in our subconscious, and then replace those blocks with truthful statements that prevent the subconscious from re-blocking it. Your hypnotist is also able to reprogram how the subconscious retains information, kind of like cleaning out a messy filing cabinet, or defragmenting our internal data servers, making your memories more accessible.

Hypnosis to Improve Memory

If you have ever driven yourself crazy looking for a misplaced item, or if you can't remember the name of the person you just met earlier in the day, you know that these kinds of struggles can be extremely frustrating.

One of the best ways to improve how you retain information is to ensure you have a clear retrieval system. Through hypnosis, your hypnotist can put you in a hypnotic state that quiets your brain, eliminates distractions, and heightens your focus on specific areas in the subconscious. This enables you to retrieve that specific memory.

For example, maybe you put the combination code for your new wall safe in a place where it would never be discovered. However, in time, you forget where that hiding place is. Your hypnotist can quiet your mind, and help your subconscious focus on the day when you hid the combination. By asking you a series of questions pertaining to that specific day and time, while your brain is in a highly focused state, you will be able to remember where the combination is. Hypnosis helps you find misplaced items, or retrieve seemingly forgotten memories, and enhances your retention and retrieval processes.

Sometimes we cannot recall simple yet important things like holiday or anniversaries because our subconscious has connected them with a hurtful or upsetting event from your past. In this case, no matter how hard we try, we just can't remember what we have forgotten.

During hypnosis, your hypnotist can remove whatever blocks are in the way of the retrieval process by allowing your brain to recognize that the pain or frustration of the past has no place in what's going on today. This allows your subconscious to put distance between that event and what it is that you are trying to remember. Once your subconscious is unlocked through hypnosis, your memory will improve.

Terry Everson Fort Smith Hypnosis  www.fortsmithhypnosis.com

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Hypnosis and pain management

 

 

Fort Smith Hypnosis

 

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Hypnosis and pain management

 

Stress and pain are intimately related. When being in pain causes stress or being stressed worsens pain, psychological therapies -- including hypnosis, meditation, and relaxation -- may help break the cycle.

For pain therapists, these treatments, which focus on the relationship between the mind and body, are considered mainstream. For other health professionals, they may be considered alternative or complementary therapies. Regardless of how they are labeled, there is evidence that for many people they work.

If you're considering trying one of these approaches to pain relief, here's what you need to know:

Hypnosis

For many, hypnosis brings to mind a parlor game or nightclub act, where a man with a swinging watch gets volunteers to walk like a chicken or bark like a dog. But clinical, or medical hypnosis is more than fun and games. It is an altered state of awareness used by licensed therapists to treat psychological or physical problems.

During hypnosis, the conscious part of the brain is temporarily tuned out as the person focuses on relaxation and lets go of distracting thoughts. The American Society of Clinical Hypnotists likens hypnosis to using a magnifying glass to focus the rays of the sun and make them more powerful. When our minds are concentrated and focused, we are able to use them more powerfully. When hypnotized, a person may experience physiologic changes, such as a slowing of the pulse and respiration, and an increase in alpha brain waves. The person may also become more open to specific suggestions and goals, such as reducing pain. In the post-suggestion phase, the therapist reinforces continued use of the new behavior.

 

Benefits of Hypnosis

Research has shown medical hypnosis to be helpful for acute and chronic pain. In 1996, a panel of the National Institutes of Health found hypnosis to be effective in easing cancer pain. More recent studies have demonstrated its effectiveness for pain related to burns, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis and reduction of anxiety associated with surgery. An analysis of 18 studies by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York revealed moderate to large pain-relieving effects from hypnosis, supporting the effectiveness of hypnotic techniques for pain management.