Friday, December 29, 2017

Thoughts of the Day

Photo by Sara Fogan






     Every now and then I like (and need) to take a few moments and remind myself about what is really important to me, in my life. If you follow me on my Calminsense Hypnotherapy Facebook page you may have seen some of these quotes before on this page, or will in the future. Many of these Quotes of the Day are beautiful examples and illustrations of the work I do as a hypnotherapist, so I will probably draw on them in future essays.
 

  • “Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” – Mark Twain


  • “Those who sing, always find a song.” – Swedish proverb

  • “You wander from room to room hunting for the diamond necklace that is already around your neck!” – Rumi

  • “Avoiding a thought does not make it go away.” – Lolly Daskal

  • “Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

  • “I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion.” – Lao Tzu

  • “Never regret anything because at one time it was exactly what you wanted.” – Terry Alex

  • “If you want a new tomorrow, then make new choices today.” – Tim Fargo

  • “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela




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/.
© 2017

Thursday, December 28, 2017

The Day That Peace Broke Out



(This blog was originally posted on December 19, 2016)



Photo by Rick Hustead





This afternoon, someone told me an interesting anecdote that I would like to share with you.
In 2008, after years of violence and discord, Ulster unionists and the Irish Republican Army declared a cease fire. Northern Ireland’s Ulster Defence Association disbanded its paramilitary group and said the war between the two countries was finally over. Both sides promised to work toward a lasting and productive peace, and citizens in Ireland, Northern Ireland and even England breathed a sigh of relief. For generations, citizens in Great Britain had lived with a constant threat of IRA-related terrorist activities; but now that “peace had broken out” everyone could go about living their lives without fear.
That expression—now that peace had broken out—was so interesting to me. Usually the words “had broken out” conjure negative images: disease, physical/emotional pain, social discord, war or even bad weather. But if the only thing you knew was a sensation of constant physical threat or danger, and verbal and written rhetoric to incite or condemn violence is always around you, these experiences become known and familiar. It could even be suggested that this situation was a kind of comfort zone. Of course, this doesn’t mean you felt comfortable. But you knew what to do if and when a terror alert was raised and had adapted your other behaviors to basically live your life as normally as possible in the meantime. It was not surprising, then, that even after the cease-fire was declared and the hostilities between these nations was over that many people remained vigilant for a while longer.
The perceived mutual animosity, hostility and distrust had been going on so long that it was difficult to know what to do with and in the new status quo. They were used to following a specific subconscious mental script that kept them safe all those years, and it took some time to write, reinforce and believe a new one that the danger was past. But maintaining that high state of vigilance couldn’t go on forever: The physical body simply can’t and wasn’t made to handle this constant flood of hormones coursing through the bloodstream, non-stop. Eventually, something had to give, whether that was an emotional reaction (or over-reaction) or, equally likely, going into a trance-like state to escape the sensory overload (environmental hypnosis).
Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind concept exemplifies this phenomenon. According to Dr. Kappas, we all start learning and adopting various beliefs and behaviors at a very young age. Every time we repeat an action or express/observe one of those beliefs, we reinforce that subconscious “known” until it becomes an established subconscious mental script. While this script can be rewritten to accommodate a new social norm, initial efforts to modify previous beliefs and behaviors are also likely to be met with considerable resistance. After all, even desired change can be uncomfortable, inconvenient and painful as we learn a new way of doing things and living our life, which can be very different from the comfortable and familiar patterns of the past.



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/.
© 2017

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Stages of Therapy



(This blog was originally posted on December 14, 2016)


Photo by Rick Hustead




As a certified hypnotherapist, I work with clients to help them achieve their personal vocational and avocational self-improvement goals (Business and Professions Code 2908). In today’s blog I outline the (general) stages of the therapeutic process.* Please note that this description does not outline the specific number of hypnotherapy sessions each client receives or must receive to achieve the stated goal. Rather, it outlines certain behavior patterns that may be observed over time during the duration of hypnotherapy. Hypnosis is part of every hypnotherapy session.

  • Defensiveness. The client may be defensive or subconsciously resist changing the previous behavior(s).

  • Increased openness. Over time, the person becomes slightly less rigid or reluctant to address the stated goals. He or she also starts to talk more about other people and events.

  • Avoidance. The individual may talk about or refer to the self by using more objective or even detached terms and avoid discussing present events.

  • Opening up. The client begins to share or talk about deep feelings and may develop a close relationship with the therapist. As I explained in my blog titled Secondary Relationships, the hypnotherapist’s role in a client’s life is to use tools such as hypnosis and guided imagery to help the individual achieve vocational or avocational self-improvement goals. Therefore, to prevent transference and counter-transference in my hypnotherapy practice, I establish strong professional boundaries around the therapeutic relationship that I have with each client.

  • The beginning of personal growth. As the person starts to express his or her emotions, he or she starts to make decisions (behaviors) and accept responsibility for personal actions.


  • Self-Actualization. This is characterized by greater empathy and the client’s ability to deal with situations in the “here and now.” A caveat: When a person grows this way, the romantic partner will also grow and catch up with these new values or the relationship may end. For more information about Family Systems, I invite you to read my blog titled The Systems Approach in Hypnotherapy.


 
*Hypnosis is performed during every hypnotherapy session, throughout the therapeutic process




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/.
© 2017