Although hypnotherapy does not always receive the credit that it most probably should, the British Medical Associations accepted its value in April of 1956.
And the American Medical Association (AMA) followed up by accepting the therapeutic value of hypnotism in June of 1958.
Specifically, hypnotherapy can have more value than many realize.
The subconscious mind is accessed because it holds the key to thought and behavior patterns we exhibit.
How the subconscious mind works
As young children we are, in part, conditioned to view the world in a specific way by the people and circumstances we are exposed to in our daily lives. If our lives are filled with stressful or traumatic events, we view the world as harsh and, quite possibly, unstable.
In addition, people and events in our childhood contribute to the core messages we receive or interpret.
The core messages tend to be nonverbal in nature, so our subconscious minds process and determine the messages that we adopt as true and correct beliefs. Our core messages can be negative in nature, such as “I’m not good enough” or “I am stupid” or any number of other messages interpreted by a variety of experiences.
We carry out the messages of our subconscious minds in our daily lives, and we provide living proof that our messages are correct.
This becomes the behavior patterns we repeat in our lives until we take action to make them different.
Why hypnotherapy works
Many times, these core messages result in issues such as weight gain.
The cycle of emotional eating, stress eating, and increased anxiety due to weight gain and the inability to lose the weight begins. This is where hypnotherapy can assist in producing effective, lasting results regarding weight loss.
Hypnotherapy works to engage the conscious mind in imagery, and the conscious mind becomes suppressed so that the subconscious mind can be directly addressed in order to assist in creating positive modification to those negative core messages.
This is why the interview before the initial hypnotherapy session is so important.
Strong interview questions will allow the hypnotherapist to understand the core messages that result in the behaviors the client wishes to change.
Core messages can be identified by determining the client’s motivations for changing behaviors, such as:
- overindulgence in food
- eating junk food or sweets
- or emotional eating
Once the core messages have been addressed and suggestions given within a hypnotherapy session, the conscious mind will begin to carry out new behaviors as evidence to the subconscious mind’s new messages.
In regards to hypnotherapy for weight loss, as a result of the subconscious accepting the hypnotherapist’s suggestions, clients will incorporate behaviors such as chewing food longer and slower, healthier eating habits, and increased movement into their daily lives.
All of these behaviors are evidence that the core messages have been addressed and modified in a positive way for the client’s benefit.