Happy Hypnosis

[Hopalong]

Hi all,
I just wanted to report on a joyful development in my life.

As some of you may remember, I was able to quit smoking after 20 desperate years (and countless desperate attempts) with the help of just two hypnosis sessions with a good psychologist who was experienced and credentialed in clinical hypnosis. To me, it was a miracle. The seed of trust in the process had been planted about 15 years before when I read The Wisdom of Your Subconscious Mind. At any rate, it worked, it saved my life, and I was utterly convinced of its effectiveness. (This, despite my hugely anxious conviction that "it wouldn't work for me.")

In recent years, when I was in therapy, we did hypnosis for some of the procrastination and anxiety issues that I have always struggled with. It would help. But eventually, I realized I needed the conversation more than the trance, and therapy continued. When I stopped therapy, job upheavals and financial issues meant that I really didn't want to start it up again. So I thought the tool of hypnosis would remain out of my reach.

I gained 20 pounds over the last 2 years and was beginning to see the scale creep upward. Long story a little bit shorter, two weeks ago I ordered a CD I happened across on the Net, because the credentials seemed impeccable. The update is that it has been amazing. I am losing weight at a healthy pace (about 2 pounds per week), my appetite for sweets has VANISHED, I leave a bit of food on my plate, I crave vegetables more than ever, and even under stress (work's been wild) I no longer even think of coping by snacking. I am eating smaller portions of very healthful food and not even thinking about it the rest of the time. And when I glance at my mother's glass jar of gumdrops I have to walk past every day, I actually feel a recoil. (I used to binge on them.)

A weekend is the biggest test for me, and I have passed without any stress. I am very excited to have brought this healing tool back into my life. After the 17 weeks of the Enjoying Weight Loss (I am!) program, I am going to order the set on Productivity, which removes procrastination, helps you find "flow" in the face of huge challenges, and eliminates self-sabotage.

I thought anyone who is struggling with compulsive eating OR with too much work to do (personal or professional)--might be interested in this site: http://www.hypnosisnetwork.com/

Woo-hoo! from a happy

Hops

[JanetLG]

Hops,

That sounds great.

I had hypnotherapy for four years, when I was about 20, and it's a very powerful way to heal.

Woo-hoo indeed!

Janet

[lighter]

Because.....

it's coming from you dear, Hops.....

I'm going to order those CD's and see what happens.

I gotta admit... and I didn't want to start a thread about it bc food is a bit of a no no topic right now on the  board, IMO....

but I've been medicating with food like CRAZY!

AND I KNOW I'M DOING IT..... and don't even try to stop!

Starbucks coffee ice cream with dark chocolate covered almonds...mmmmm.... just slather a big dallop of natural peanut butter over the top, as thin as you like and you have a frozen ribbon of pure salty joy the next time you binge!!!

Ahem.....

The procrastination is still pretty well rooted in my life, as well, so....

move over neti pot!

I'm gettin Hypno CD's!

[isittoolate]

Way to go, Hops

....and I am another who believes she cannot be hypnotized.

Iit's becasue I don't want to turn over the control of my mind to another, unknowingly, becasue others took control when I was wide awake.

Love
Izzy

[JanetLG]

Izzy,

You can do it yourself (on your own, I mean).

 You don't have to have someone else do it. But if someone else is there, you can go deeper. But if they suggested something that your 'conscious self' would disapprove of (like 'you will give me all your money', or something), you'd immediately 'wake up'. You are never 'asleep' with hypnosis - you can hear everything that's going on, all the time.

Janet

[isittoolate]

Thanks Janet

There were two attempts and I was wide awake 'wide awake'----and I think it is because of my beleif. My mind just wondered from place to place til she counted to three then I raised my head as if nothing had happened because nothing did. I know that!

Anything she said, I understood but it had no affect on me.
Oddball me!
Love
Izzy

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Hopalong]

What has fascinated me about it too is that, along the lines of what I wrote in that July sermon, it's an exercise in trusting, like faith.

I recognized that what I feared was loss of control. My desire to control everything...etc.

What's clear (the first track is an excellent explanation of how it works and why you will be aware--most people stay completely aware during it)--is that the therapist who narrates the session is your ALLY. Once you truly understand that it is simply a way to intentionally bypass bad habits that are located in a more surface part of the mind, and replace them with healthful, life-affirming habits that echo what I think of as the life force or desire to live, that's in your deepest mind...then you say to yourself, what's not to trust?

It's all about your own intention for your own well-being, and nothing whatsoever is contrary to your own will. So...if it's your own intention to use the sessions to conquer a life-sabotaging fear or habit or addiction, the therapist is your ALLY. She is working WITH you, not ON you, to help you realize that change.

It's amazing.

hugs
Hops

[JanetLG]

Hops,

Yes, I think that's what I meant when I replied to Izzy. If you trust the hypnotherapist, there's no problem.

If it was on stage, in front of other people who you don't know...that's a completely different thing, and I don't think it would work on me, then, because I wouldn't feel that trust was there.

Janet

[Lupita]

Dear Hop, I got to get them. I need to go from 130 to 120. Thanks for the info.

[Ami]

I am very happy for your progress ,Hops                                   Paws, Ami

[Gaining Strength]

Hops - way to go!!!!!  I am very impressed and so glad for you.

I have been wondering lately about whether deep seated anxiety might get in the way of certain types of therapy.  Your post brought up that thought.  I have come to recognize how extraordinarily anxiety ridden I am and after YEARS of unraveling the knot of my struggles I have found myself at the center to be a was of anxiety fed and fueled by the lifelong shaming and all of her multitudes of adjectives (like unworthy, condemned, lazy, undeserving, etc.) As I have mentioned before I have tried the EFT and made a pass at hypnosis but to no particular success.  I began wondering if the deep, tendrils of anxiety have been a barrier to these and other therapies.  Finally, positive thought and visualization is breaking down some of those barriers.  Maybe I will try EFT and/or hypnosis again.  So glad to hear about your wonderful success.  Way to go!!!  - your friend - Gaining Strength

[CB123]

Hops!

I'm so excited for you!  I know you are going to feel really, really good about yourself.  It's a lot about hating being out of control which these things are.  Until real recently, I have been out of control for a couple of years.  It feels absolutely HORRIBLE.

Many congratulations!  Wish I could dance around the room with you!  (this definitely deserves a rumba!  )

Much, much love,
CB

[Ami]

I just wanted to say a little aside about control As I heal, I see how I wanted to control(in the bad way).
  I see how my life was all about having a finger in all the different pots for the purpose of never feeling 'out of control"( like I did as a kid.). I was trying to control the outside SO the inside would be O.K..  I am seeing this and with it getting a freedom.
 The only "good" control is of yourself and your own boundaries.
  Sorry if I hijacked.                                                      Love  Ami

[Gaining Strength]

(Good for you Ami.  Way to go and grow.) GS

[Hopalong]

(No worries, Ami. You can't hijack a thread of mine...I am happy for tangents.)

I could babble about the joy of REdiscovering how powerful hypnosis is for healing and changing...all night long.

But (GS, hope your ears perk up at this), the usual avalanche of late, guilt-ridden, chaotic paperwork haunted me this weekend. Earlier this evening, I went to read about the "Productivity" CD that's focused on procrastination. Then I Googled the doc who narrates that session, listened to a few online interviews. Had them running...and

even without that CD, I got started. And now it's basically done, except for filing. (And that's sorted and ready to do.) Just amaaaaaaazing. This doc is also the author of something like The NOW Moment.

hugs
Hops