Thursday, October 16, 2014

It's All in How You Say It

 
                When I create hypnotic scripts for a client, I take great care to include words and phrases that have positive intention and positive action. I do this so the person’s subconscious mind will understand, accept and process the positive energy in his or her therapeutic goals.

                For example, if a person comes to me for help losing weight, the first thing I do is help to reframe this goal in a more positive-action perspective. Even though the client wants to “lose” weight, this word is loaded with the implication that the SCM needs to “find” it somewhere—typically, by reverting to unwanted behaviors that he or she is trying to change. To avoid this, I will help the person rephrase the goal to express shedding the extra pounds, such as: “dropping (the number of) pounds,” “getting down to (the goal weight),” etc. These are just examples of alternative expressions to state this goal; the important thing is for the client to choose word(s) or phrases that most resonate with his or her ultimate goal.

                Another phrase I help my clients to replace is “try to.” My reasoning for this is simple: the word try is actually an inert (not moving) verb. Remember the scene in The Empire Strikes Back in which Luke Skywalker begins his training to become a Jedi Knight? When he says that he will try to accomplish the task that the Jedi Master has set for him, Yoda is not impressed with the young warrior’s response: “Try not. Do or do not. There is no ‘try.’” Performing a behavior is action; even if you are not 100 percent successful when you do it the first, second or even third time, you are still doing it. Conversely, the word “try” is ambivalent. It implies indifference, acting without focus to achieve the desired outcome of the task: success.

                The other word I avoid using in hypnotic scripts is “not.” The subconscious mind does not recognize negative qualifiers in our thoughts. It is as if the words “not,” “no” and “won’t” are nonexistent. For example, a few years ago I told myself that I would not fall off of my horse at the beginning of a ride. Guess what? That is exactly what I did do, because all my mind saw/heard/understood was “I will fall off of my horse.” These days, I repeat the following mantra: “I am secure in the saddle and I will enjoy a fun and relaxing ride.”

To help motivate my clients to pursue their vocational and avocational self-improvement goals, I incorporate visualization in the hypnotic script so they can feel what it is like to achieve that success. Guided imagery works well as a therapeutic modality because the subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between fantasy and reality. If you imagine that you are doing something, it is no different from actually doing (and accomplishing) that task. When you imagine that you are improving a skill and succeeding at a task, your subconscious mind is already primed and prepared to help you realize your goal because it believes you already have.

 
                  

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2014

 

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