‘Confidence’, as defined within Confidence Hypnosis, is not just a positive feeling in the body; it is also a state of mind, an approach to life, which tends to lead to self-acceptance and success.  It encompasses focus, effort and commitment as well as the ability to both accept and learn from mistakes made along the way.

Nobody comes into the world lacking in confidence.  Such self-perceptions develop over time, largely as a result of life experiences; what happened in the past, interpretation of those events and the nature of the emotions around the stored memories of those events.

Whatever the causes, the symptoms of low self-confidence can be severe.  At a physical level, the state of high alert that results from not feeling confident in a given situation, typically stimulates the internal fight or flight response, releasing detrimental stress hormones, creating breathlessness, tension, reddening of the face, shaking, sweating and so on.  Low self-confidence also affects a person at a cognitive level, encouraging negative, self-defeating thinking; at an emotional level, often leaving people feeling depressed, weak, unworthy; and, at a behavioural level, constraining choices and opportunities, ultimately influencing work, relationships, success and overall enjoyment of life.

But much of this suffering is unnecessary.  Hypnotherapy in the form of confidence hypnosis treatment programmes represents a holistic, dynamic approach to helping individuals uncover, release and develop their true confidence potential.

No matter how lacking in confidence a person may feel, everyone has experienced feeling confident at certain times in their life; so it’s not that people feel completely lacking in confidence all of the time.  With this in mind, it’s vital to identify and address each person’s unique experiences of low self-confidence.  The initial consultation of the Confidence Hypnosis Programme identifies and explores the causes, symptoms and triggers of low self-confidence as they exist from the client’s perspective.  The physical, emotional, cognitive and behavioural ramifications of that self-perception are also explored in depth.

Confidence hypnosis treatment programmes typically employ deep relaxation hypnosis to counteract the damaging physical side effects of stress created by low-self-confidence.  Through anchoring the physical and psychological sensations of deep relaxation, people are taught how to re-create those feelings whenever desirable or necessary.

Direct positive suggestion and post hypnotic suggestions tend to be used to adapt the cognitive responses to feelings of low self-confidence, and to instil alternative, more effective ways of dealing with specific stressors / situations as they arise, so extending the confidence comfort zone whilst also challenging self-defeating thoughts and beliefs.

Past experiences that are interfering with the present are more often than not re-evaluated through confidence hypnosis.  Memories from the past that are interfering with the present are re-visited and re-framed, the emotional and cognitive influence on the present and future de-sensitised.

Confidence hypnosis treatment programmes also tend to apply techniques such as mental rehearsal, creative imagery, future pacing and pseudo-orientation in time to further develop confidence in the present, and both establish and cement understanding of future success and acceptance of self.

Whatever the causes, the symptoms of low self-confidence can be severe, constraining choices and opportunities, ultimately influencing work, relationships, success and overall enjoyment of life.  Confidence hypnosis represents a holistic, dynamic approach to helping individuals uncover, release and develop their true confidence potential.

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Autosuggestion is closely related to hypnosis. Autosuggestion is a process in which the unconscious part of the mind is trained or programmed to do or believe a specific thing. This is often done using hypnosis.

A lot of people undergo through self hypnosis because of the benefits that can be derived by hypnotism. First and foremost, hypnosis can remove or change behaviours. Most people who want to change their attitude and behaviour in a faster manner use self hypnosis. Usually hypnosis is used to stop bad attitudes and habits like smoking and drinking. Many may not agree to this method, but a number of people have actually quit smoking and drinking with self hypnosis.

Another benefit of self hypnosis is implanting positive beliefs. There are a lot of positive beliefs that can be implanted into your subconscious using self hypnosis. These can be most beneficial to people who have negative views in life.

Correspondingly, negative beliefs and traits can also be removed with self hypnosis. Whether you admit it or not, you hide certain concepts and biases in your minds. Unknowingly these biases are actually holding you from moving forward; thus getting rid of these can be very advantageous.

Self hypnosis is also effective in removing stress fast. Hypnosis is referred to by some people as the most relaxed state of being; thus removing any stress that is present in your mind and body. Unlike other stress relieving methods, self hypnosis does not cost so much, and you can actually do this any time that you like and frequently as you like.

Another benefit is for the relief of pain. Self hypnosis has been used a number of times for the relief of pain. In most cases, the state of mind is conditioned not to feel the pain, or to have a higher resistance to pain.

Finally, self hypnosis is also used in weight loss or weight gain. This is one of the safest methods in losing or gaining weight. This basically follows the concept of mind over matter. If you are placed in a state of mind which focuses on weight loss, you will definitely pattern your activities after this state of mind.

Thus, self hypnosis contributes to the well being of a person. According to some people, hypnosis is a way of putting your physical self in relaxation, and not a form of unconsciousness. While hypnosis should be used for noble objectives only, there are some people who abuse the power of hypnosis instead. As such, it is important for you to understand the purpose of self hypnosis before deciding to go through it.

Sometimes it’s as simple as this. A woman calls me about her smoking problem. The problem is her doctor says she needs to stop smoking, and she says she wants to quit, but she simply isn’t quitting. Cold turkey doesn’t work and neither does the NHS quit smoking or even the nicotine drug her doctor prescribed and she faithfully took. Now she’s both taking the drug and smoking. “I’m desperate,” she says, “So I called you.”

Long story short: she comes in and quits in one session.

Longer story: some people are so afraid of a painless procedure called hypnotherapy that they’ll try everything else first, including drugs with known and unknown side effects.

But what about the side effect of hypnotherapy? Is it dangerous?

The side effect of hypnotherapy is relaxation.

The intended effect of hypnotherapy? That you get what you came for!

In the case of smoking cessation, that you stop poisoning yourself and making cigarette manufacturers rich. There’s only one problem with this kind of relaxation. You have to make sure after your session ends that you are fully roused, alert and aware before crossing a street or turning the key in the ignition. That’s usually about it for negative side effects.

But that’s not the end of the story or clients would have me working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to help them quit smoking, attract love relationships, or excel effortlessly in their chosen career, which are my specialties.

Truthfully, I’m glad not to work seven days a week. But I’m disappointed that we haven’t fully set the record straight on hypnosis, particularly hypnotherapy for the purpose of self improvement rather than stage entertainment. Here are the misconceptions causing most common fears and the truths behind them:

“I’ll get stuck in hypnosis, forever.” You cannot get stuck. Even if your practitioner were to collapse in the middle of your session, and not end the session. Here’s what would happen: after not getting any input for a few minutes, your subconscious mind would notice that and exit the hypnotic state. And you would naturally rouse yourself.

“The hypnotherapist will make me tell my secrets” “and that includes bank account numbers and the times I cheated,” the client worries. No reputable hypnotherapist would do that but even if he tried, your powerful subconscious mind, whose main purpose is to protect you, would call a foul and keep quiet.

“I’ll become a robot under the control of the hypnotherapist.” This is similar to the above. Your subconscious mind, geared to protect you from danger and damage would simply not participate in a venture of this kind.

“I read about a cult leader who used hypnosis.” Frankly the cult leaders who lure people into blind devotion are using more charm, charisma and persuasion tactics than hypnosis, but if they do something they call “hypnosis,” it is useful mostly as an explanation for “why I fell for it.” An excuse likely to be accepted because of zombie movies of the past.

If you want to feel even safer about hypnosis, look for documented cases where hypnotherapists were sued by their clients for unprofessional behaviour. Now compare those to other mental health professionals, and doctors, and dentists too. The number of hypnotherapists wouldn’t fill a hotel room.

“I can’t be hypnotised so I’d be wasting my money.” This includes I’m too smart to be hypnotised, too dumb to be hypnotised, too scared to be hypnotised, too antsy to be hypnotised, too unlike-everyone-else to be hypnotised, and more. Here’s the greater truth, with a heaping spoonful of honesty:

“I don’t want to be hypnotised” or “It makes me feel better about myself to believe I can’t be hypnotised.” If you don’t want to be hypnotised or won’t follow instructions for going into hypnosis, you won’t be hypnotised. If you’re too distracted to concentrate, or exceedingly nervous about trying, it may take a little more doing than the average person, but it is do-able.

If you have an IQ of less than 70, you might have difficulties, but if you’re reading and understanding this, you’re good to go. I have worked with clients on referral from psychotherapists for help with ADD/ADHD and OCD. With patience and intention, they even learned to hypnotize themselves.

If you think you’ll feel uncomfortable with the hypnotherapist (which can often be discovered during your first phone call with the practitioner), or you’re just not in the mood, or you need some questions answered first, it’s okay to get those covered before you embark on the session.

It’s okay to be a little scared about being hypnotised. Fear holds within it two things: A respect for something that may be powerful and life changing and a desire to keep yourself safe. Both are worthwhile thoughts. If the fear gets in your way of experiencing something that may change your life for the better, don’t let it. Get educated about hypnosis. Then find a hypnotherapist you feel comfortable with. Or find several. Ask friends, doctors, therapists for referrals Vet each one, ask questions. Read their websites. Interview them by phone, but don’t keep them on longer than 10–15 minutes. (You can talk more at your first appointment.) Then schedule a single session, and decide if you want more. Once you try it, you’ll know there was really little to worry about. But you still get to brag about your bravery and what a great hypnotic subject you are.

If you have a bad habit — such as comfort eating, smoking or an addiction to gambling or alcohol, for example, then you can probably answer the question for yourself. A lot of us simply can’t kick a bad habit on our own — we tend to say that it’s because we don’t have the willpower to actually carry it through.

The fact is that any kind of bad habit takes hold of you both psychologically and physically. So, when you try to kick the habit yourself you have to deal with a lot of mental stress and physical side effects that can really throw you. So, for many people, it’s simply easier to pick up the bad habit again to make the nasty symptoms go away. This doesn’t make us weak or mean that we lack willpower — it simply means that our bad habit has taken such a hold we need external help to deal with it once and for all.
How can hypnosis help?

There are all kinds of methods you can try to help you kick a bad habit. Most of these will try and appeal to your brain on a conscious level. So, for example, you might go along to a ‘Quit Smoking’ group where you socialize with other smokers and counsel each other on the effects of smoking and so on. On a purely rational level you will walk out of a meeting knowing that smoking is bad for you and knowing that you want to quit.
But, it isn’t that easy. The rational side of your brain might be telling you all this but your subconscious may still be hanging on to the fact that you are a smoker and could be telling you to go into the nearest store and buy a pack right away! So, to put it simply, hypnosis deals with the subconscious thus making it far easier for you to quit effectively.

Going for hypnosis sessions to cure a bad habit will simply help ALL of your mind focus on the goal of giving up. The methods used by hypnotherapists vary. Some, for example, use a form of aversion therapy that makes you feel slightly nauseous at the thought of smoking. Others simply tell your subconscious that you are not a smoker so — after your session; you’ll act like a non-smoker because your brain is telling you to.

Can it help me quit smoking?

Hypnosis is a great way of quitting smoking. So many of the issues involved with nicotine addiction are psychological so this form of therapy works perfectly here. The fact is that many good hypnotherapists can help you quit smoking in just one session.

The connection between chronic anxiety, pathological narcissism, depression, obsessive-compulsive traits and alcoholism and drug abuse is well established and common in clinical practice. But not all narcissists, compulsives, depressives, and anxious people turn to the bottle or the needle.

Frequent claims of finding a gene complex responsible for alcoholism have been consistently cast in doubt. In 1993, Berman and Noble suggested that addictive and reckless behaviors are mere emergent phenomena and may be linked to other, more fundamental traits, such as novelty seeking or risk taking. Psychopaths (patients with Antisocial Personality Disorder) have both qualities in ample quantities. We would expect them, therefore, to heavily abuse alcohol and drugs. Indeed, as Lewis and Bucholz convincingly demonstrated in 1991, they do. Still, only a negligible minority of alcoholics and drug addicts are psychopaths.

What has been determined is that most addicts are narcisstic in personality. Addictions serve his purpose. They place him above the laws and pressures of the mundane and away from the humiliating and sobering demands of reality. They render him the center of attention — but also place him in “splendid isolation” from the maddening and inferior crowd.

Such compulsory and wild pursuits provide a psychological exoskeleton. They are a substitute to quotidian existence. They afford the narcissist with an agenda, with timetables, goals, and faux achievements. The narcissist — the adrenaline junkie — feels that he is in control, alert, excited, and vital. He does not regard his condition as dependence. The narcissist firmly believes that he is in charge of his addiction that he can quit at will and on short notice.

What is Chronic Fatigue?
The basic definition of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome does not make sufferers feel much better. The syndrome is unexplained and is marked by weakness, fatigue, muscle pain, lethargy, trouble sleeping, and even fever and swollen lymph nodes. There is no known cause for the fatigue that is present in an individual that has no relation to over-exertion and is not rectified by rest.

Symptoms
Some of the symptoms associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have been discussed. However, there is a very long list. There are a variety of symptoms that patients are very aware of and then there are other symptoms only doctors seem to notice. Regardless, when the symptoms are present for a period of time for no apparent cause and seem to have no remedy then Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a frequent diagnosis.

Some of the frequent symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome include:

- Muscle Aches
– Persistent Fatigue
– Intermittent Fatigue
– Depression
– Tiredness
– Headache
– Swollen Lymph nodes
– Depression
– Memory Loss
– Weakness
– Difficulty Concentrating
– Achy Joints

Frequently Chronic Fatigue Syndrome begins during periods when individuals have been sick, under a tremendous amount of stress, or for no apparent reason at all. Many individuals have noted that after bouts with the flu, mono, a cold, bronchitis, hepatitis, and other similar illnesses CFS arises. Unfortunately, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome persists for months, sometimes coming and going and other times constantly affecting the patient. Other illnesses begin to clear up after a few days or weeks, but Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sticks around with no clear cause.

Diagnosing Chronic Fatigue
Doctors find it very difficult to diagnose Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The reason why is because so many of its symptoms are symptoms of other illnesses. This is why many doctors like to see patients with the same symptoms that began after the fatigue for at least six months before giving a diagnosis. Obviously, sufferers of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome find the lack of an early diagnosis difficult to bear on top of their symptoms. However, doctors like to rule out diseases like Lupus and Multiple Sclerosis, as well as other diseases, before diagnosing Chronic Fatigue.

Additionally, researchers and doctors are becoming more aware of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and are more likely to make an earlier diagnosis based on fewer symptoms than ever before. That is not to say that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is easy to diagnose, because it is not. However increased awareness and new definitions are helping doctors and patients of Chronic Fatigue each and every day.

Treatment Options
The treatment options for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are varied and include alternative as well as prescription alternatives.

Some of the alternative care management options for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome include avoiding stress and undertaking light exercise. Other treatment options that work for some individuals include massage, aquatic therapy, chiropractic therapy, yoga, self hypnosis, tai chi, and even acupuncture. Psychotherapy has also proven helpful to sufferers of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome because it helps sufferers learn to cope with their symptoms.

Prescription treatment options for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have not been approved by the FDA. There are however other prescription medications that are used to treat the symptoms presented with Chronic Fatigue. Frequently, the primary use of the medicine is secondary and its side effects are what benefit Chronic Fatigue sufferers. Medicines like antifungals, antidepressants, antivirals, cardiac drugs, antihistamines, immunoglobulins, corticoids, anti-inflammatories, and anti-convulsants among others are frequently prescribed to CFS sufferers.

Do You Have CFS?

If you are worried you have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or have some of the above stated symptoms for months on end then you should make an appointment with your physician. It is a good idea to keep a journal of your symptoms, when they began, and if new ones appear. This will help your doctor make the proper diagnosis and help receive some relief from your symptoms sooner.

Like any other profession, as experts, we specialize, and we cultivate and develop our expertise in a given area. The same is true of doctors and other professionals in whatever specialty, be it psychology, family medicine, or any other practice.

There is certainly the potential for crossover, and medical practitioners have traditionally used hypnosis as part of their treatment, but only to varying degrees of success. Typically, as a professional or specialist in any given area, you will achieve more success in your area of specialty.

If I had started out as a medical physician, a PhD, I doubt that I would have the same success at hypnotherapy as I do have, and have had for so many years, as it wouldn’t be my main or primary area of practice. I’ve nurtured and cultivated my talent, and grown as a hypnotherapist, and I’ve learned from doing. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t work. I’ve tried different approaches, I’ve witnessed different results. And I’ve devoted my entire career to it as a specialty. It’s not just something I do in my spare time. It’s part of my life.

Most medical doctors start out with an excellent knowledge of the physical human body. Of this there is no doubt. They also have unlimited knowledge and resources at their disposal. The study is limitless and ongoing. However, much of the methodology is theory based. The real difference is that hypnotherapy is about doing, not theorizing.

I have seen doctors apply hypnotherapy as part of their practice and with great success. Their excellent knowledge of people and their conditions served as an advantage in applying hypnotherapy successfully. Although for most their primary area is not hypnotherapy, even though they venture over from time to time, they won’t really cultivate that skill as a specialty.

I know of some hypnotherapists who have obtained doctorates, and without the years of study which it should take to be able to call yourself a doctor. I don’t know why they feel the need to buy this title. Perhaps it is just an ego thing. Although I’m sure it also helps them get more clients as the general public has a high level of trust for doctors.

Don’t get me wrong. We’d be in a lot of trouble without doctors. They do wonderful work. However in hypnotherapy a PhD is irrelevant. I don’t believe being a doctor would make me a better hypnotherapist. In fact I know it wouldn’t. I’m not putting down the study of modern medicine and the qualifications of medical practitioners; I’m saying that it won’t necessarily make you a successful hypnotherapist. Hypnosis is all about the doing!

In fact, it is a known truth that even slight changes in lifestyle and diet can all contribute to the suppression of the symptoms. It needs no operations or surgery to repair whatever disorder there is in the abdomen. On the extreme, use of drugs and medication can be applied to demonstrate treatment.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is mainly a functional disorder. This implies that there are no physical changes in the bowel such as damage and inflammation that can cause the aggravation of the condition. Yet the absence of such does not negate the presence of symptoms. The thing though is that the root problem lies in the malfunctioning system that is focused in the larger intestine.

This alone makes the condition harder to treat. Add to this the fact that most factors included are primarily subjective, which can’t be dealt with objective parameters.

To test for the presence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, the best thing to do is to check for symptoms. These include conditions such as bloating or distention, diarrhea and constipation. In most cases, the latter alternate in appearance. Thus, after the symptoms of diarrhea are suppressed it is likely that constipation will follow. This makes treatment a bit more complicated.

X-ray is often used in determining the presence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. However, this will not deal on the physical properties of the colon or the small intestine itself. After all, IBS does not show anatomical complications.

The X-ray will be used through the administration of the barium enema. This liquid will be delivered to the bowel through the anus. This way, the colon will show up more clearly on the monitor. This will assist in determining the presence of abnormalities in the functions of the larger intestine.

Like most syndromes, Irritable Bowel has no definite cure. Instead, patients have to be treated of their symptoms. Treatments may involve changes in the daily food intakes to influence the functions of the bowel, stress relief (since stress is closely related with the exasperation of the disorder) and medical intervention.

Knowing what works for you best among these three will determine which would produce better result.

While foods do not directly cause Irritable Bowel Syndrome, there are still some foods that are known to trigger the condition. These are what we call “trigger foods” or “problematic foods”.

Substances rich in fats such as fried foods, cream-based foods, milk products, chocolates and nuts often prove to do more damage than good in the colon of a person affected with Irritable Bowel. Alcohol and beverages rich in caffeine are also threats to the disease.

If other food cause IBS attacks, the best recourse is to stop eating them or atleast minimize the intake.

You can use a guideline to determine this. Knowing what foods you eat, what symptoms are triggered, when was the food eaten and the consequent symptom occurred and what types of foods normally send you to attacks will aid in finding your relief.

As for medications, it is strictly recommended that your doctor’s guidelines are followed. Sometimes, inefficiency in following your dosage can lead to worse conditions.

Stress management, on the other hand, will not only relax your entire body but can also help you relax your intestinal tract. Thus, functions can be regulated.

Helmut Kirchmeier was found in the hypnotised state by his shocked wife Joanna at their home in London.

She had to call a mentor of her husband’s to talk him round over the phone.

Joanna said: “I was really shocked when I found him, he was just like a zombie staring at himself in the mirror. His pupils had gone really small, which is a sign of someone under hypnosis.”

The hypnotist also known as Hannibal Helmurto became transfixed after looking into the mirror.

German Helmut, a performer with the touring Circus of Horrors group, learnt how to hypnotise himself so he could swallow swords.

The 38-year-old said: “I underestimated the techniques and how powerful they were. I put myself in a very deep state and lost all sense of time around me.

“It is a very pleasant feeling. Sometimes it is so pleasant that you literally forget the things around you and that is what happened to me.

“Your body is absolutely relaxed. You don’t feel a thing. On the one hand your body is relaxed and floating and on the other hand your mind is extremely focused on something.”

The last thing Helmut remembered before falling in to his daze was getting up at 10am to practise his hypnosis.

He added: “I have always been interested in hypnosis because I had seen it on TV and thought it was a right big spoof. I started reading and learning about it and it turns out it is not a big spoof at all.

“I got into it being a total disbeliever.”

During his debut performance with the Circus of Horrors Helmut skewered himself with a 4ft long sabre and ended up in intensive care.

For many children, the painful prospect of blood tests and daily dialysis can be a scary ordeal.

Adelaide doctor Graham Wicks is one of a few Australian pioneers using hypnosis to treat children with problems ranging from headaches to nightmares.

Dr Wicks delivered a paper at the 33rd Annual Conference of the Renal Society of Australasia in Hobart today, focused on young renal patients.

Such patients face a regular barrage of needles for blood tests and dialysis.

Dr Wicks says the end result can be a phobia that sees young patients having to be forcibly held down, or sedated.

“Sitting for three to four hours, at least three times a week, and having a large-bore needle thrust into an artery — and I’ve seen patients who’ve had dialysis for maybe a year or so, aged 12 or 13, who’ve suddenly said, ‘I don’t want to have that any more, I cant tolerate it’,” he said.

“And even though these children are told, ‘If you don’t have it, you’re running a grave risk of not surviving’, I’ve had patients who’ve still said, ‘Well that’d be better than what’s going on now’.

“They’re the ones you can really help [with hypnosis],” he said.

Time flies when you’re hypnotised

Dr Wicks says the technique can do more than just overcome pain.

“We can also use hypnosis to distort the concept of time, so that instead of feeling as if they’re there for three or four hours, it only feels like half an hour,” he said.

“So they tolerate it and cope a lot better.”

He says children, as a group, are very good with hypnosis.

“We harness their natural ability to use their imagination, to fantasise, and to what we call ‘dissociate’ [which] means to feel as if they are far away in another place in their mind, and doing something they enjoy doing.

“And children learn them extremely well from about the age of six or seven upwards.”

For one mother, the treatment has proven a godsend, to the point where her son can now self-medicate:

“It was a genuine fear, you know how some people have a fear of needles? It was a fear like that, and it was overcome.

“It must work on something, from what I understand it’s probably an extreme relaxation where you can eliminate your fears.”

Miraculous

Dr Wicks says such tales are common, with sometimes seemingly miraculous results.

One such case involved an eight-year-old girl and her five-year-old brother.

“We came to the next time for their blood tests, and previously each of them had required three nurses to hold them down.

“The little girl walked in, did her thing, turned off the pain, held out her arm for the blood test. And then the young fellow ran in and said ‘I can do that’, and he did.

“He’d been tuning in when we were teaching his sister and watching her practise and he did the same thing.

Dr Wicks says for the first time there was no need for restraints during the siblings’ blood tests.

“Very rewarding, and mother was absolutely ticked pink by this,” he said.

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