Bowers Hypnosis

Several days ago someone asked me what I did.  I answered that I was a hypnotist.  I explained what hypnosis was and what a hypnotist did.  I thought I did a pretty good job of it.  However, this person was still somewhat confused and wanted to know of some job that was analogous to that of a hypnotist.  Off the top of my head I didn’t have an answer but it got me to thinking.  After several days here’s what I’ve come up with.

A hypnotist is like a sports coach.

The purpose of a sports coach is to improve the performance of each athlete they work with.  They can give an athlete instructions and suggestions.  They can shout encouragement.  They can make subtle refinements in the athlete’s techniques.  But, what a coach cannot do is make the athlete improve.  The coach cannot force his will upon the athlete.

The athlete is the one who creates the change.  If the athlete follows the instructions and suggestions of the coach, if he does the work, then his performance improves.  However, if the athlete decides to ignore the coach then the athlete will fail to improve. No matter how great the coach is, the athlete is the one who must to the work and change.

In a nutshell, coaches suggest changes; the athlete decides whether or not to implement the change.

So why is a hypnotist analogous to a coach?  Here’s why.

The coach improves the performance of an athlete.  The hypnotist improves the lives of their clients.  We do this by bringing all of our training, experience and skill to each client.  We give them instructions and suggestions.  We give them encouragement.  Session to session we refine the process so that the client gets the maximum benefit.  But, just like the coach, we cannot make the client change.  Only you can do that.

There’s no lid on top of your head into which the consulting hypnotist pours in the good stuff.   People think that all they have to do is relax in a chair, listen to the suggestions and magic happens.  They believe that the power to change lies with the hypnotist.  Sorry, it doesn’t work that way.  The client is just like the athlete and the power to change comes from within.

You have to accept the instructions and suggestions.  You are the one who must do the work.  You are the one who creates the change.  And, like the athlete, if you choose to ignore our instructions and suggestions then you won’t change.  There is nothing I can do about that.  I’m just the coach.

If you come to me to quit smoking I’ll give you instructions and suggestions.  Follow them and you’ll become a non-smoker.  But you have to follow the instructions.  I can’t tap you on the head and make you a non-smoker.  I am just the coach.

The same thing is true with someone who wants to lose weight through hypnosis.  If you accepts my coaching then you will lose weight.  It’s up to you to make that decision.

It’s that way for everyone we coach; whether it’s for eliminating a fear, overcoming anxiety, dealing with stress, improving sports performance or a hundred other topics, I’m the coach and you are the athlete.  Follow the coach’s instructions and you change your life.

So there you have it, my analogy for what a hypnotist is.  I hope it helps explain my role and yours.

Till next time.

Just last week a weight loss client asked me the question, “How do I know it’s working?”   This is not the first time I’ve heard this question and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

I asked her if she was losing weight and the answer was yes.  In fact, she’d lost 7 pounds since the last visit.  Then she was quick to add that there didn’t seem to be anything different.  I dug a little deeper and it was then that she noticed that she’d been eating healthier and with smaller portions.  Both being suggestions that I’d given her.  It was only after she consciously reflected on her behavior that she noticed the change.

This is how hypnosis works.  When it’s done right you don’t notice the change.  It seems that people expect to see fireworks or hear trumpets sounding whenever they visit a hypnotist.  In reality it’s the opposite.  The individual simply continues on about their daily life not realizing that they’ve changed.

Let me explain.  All habitual behaviors are controlled in the subconscious mind.  For example, tying your shoe.  Everyone does it but no one stops to think how.  We just do it without thinking about it.  And because we don’t think about it we don’t notice it.

The same is true with behaviors that we want to get rid of.  Let’s use eating over sized portions as the habit.  We fill our plates with a certain amount of food because it’s habit.  We don’t consciously think about it.  So what if we change the “programming” behind the habit so that an individual puts 25% less food on their plate.  The habit of putting the food on the plate is still there, we’ve just modified the amount.  If the hypnotist delivers the suggestion effectively it stands to reason that the person will put 25% less food on their plate the next time they eat and never even notice the difference.  Why, because it’s habit and we don’t consciously think about our habits.

This is why hypnosis is so effective.  You don’t have to think about your behavior.

Compare that to having to count out calories or weigh portion sizes or count points the way some diet plans require you to do.  If you have to think about it then sooner or later you’ll get tired of it and you’re off the diet again.

I’ll end this post with two other examples of people changing and not realizing it.  In the first case a wife called to set up an appointment for her husband to quite smoking with hypnosis.  Before the third and final session she called to tell me that her husband decided not to come because he didn’t feel it was working.  When I asked the wife if he was smoking she just started laughing.  “No” she said, “he hasn’t smoked since the first session”.  Yes, his behavior had changed and he had quit smoking.

Another case was with a woman coping with anxiety.  While we were working together she went out of town on business.  While she was on this trip her colleague asked her the typical morning question “How are you today?”  She answered that she felt great and then it hit her.  She hadn’t felt any of anxiety since the last session nearly two weeks before.  She had not consciously thought about it until that moment.

That’s the beauty of hypnosis.  You can change peoples behaviors and change their lives.

Do you have any behaviors you want to change?