Dominant Laws of Suggestibility: The Law of Reverse Action

 To minimize risk of exposure to and spread of the COVID-19 virus, I am temporarily suspending in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, Skype and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

(This blog was originally posted on March 7, 2015

 

Photo courtesy of Microsoft/Bing

 

 

During a typical hypnotherapy session, I reinforce hypnotic suggestions in various ways during the hour or so I spend working with a client. An effective way to strengthen the message of the suggestion is to employ the Law of Reverse Action or misdirection.

You might already recognize a common, colloquial example of this law: someone tells you not to think about pink elephants, at which point you can’t help yourself but think about that subject. This occurs because “pink elephants” is the stronger part of the command than “not to think about.” (How can you not think about a pink elephant when that image is suggested to the mind?)

In a therapeutic context, the hypnotherapist might suggest that someone who suffers from a fear of public speaking imagines being in a situation in which he or she must make a speech and try bring up that fear. Meanwhile, the hypnotherapist would repeat the suggestion that the harder the person tries to actually bring up that fear response, the more relaxed he or she actually feels. In this case, becoming relaxed is the more powerful suggestion than “trying to” bring up the negative response.

 

Limited-Time Offer: Free Phone, Skype or Zoom Consultation

This is a great opportunity to find out why hypnosis is so effective and how hypnotherapy can help you achieve your self-improvement goals. Call/send me a text message at (661) 433-9430 or send me an e-mail at calminsensehypnosis@yahoo.com to set up your free, 30-minute phone or Skype consultation, today! (Limited to one consultation per person.)

Offer valid through September 30, 2020.

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. In July 2019 and in September 2020 she was voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2020

 

Dominant Laws of Suggestibility: The Law of Reverse Action

(This blog was originally posted on March 7, 2015

Photo courtesy of Microsoft/Bing

During a typical hypnotherapy session, I reinforce hypnotic suggestions in various ways during the hour or so I spend working with a client. An effective way to strengthen the message of the suggestion is to employ the Law of Reverse Action or misdirection. 

You might already recognize a common, colloquial example of this law: someone tells you not to think about pink elephants, at which point you can’t help yourself but think about that subject. This occurs because “pink elephants” is the stronger part of the command than “not to think about.” (How can you not think about a pink elephant when that image is suggested to the mind?) 

In a therapeutic context, the hypnotherapist might suggest that someone who suffers from a fear of public speaking imagines being in a situation in which he or she must make a speech and try bring up that fear. Meanwhile, the hypnotherapist would repeat the suggestion that the harder the person tries to actually bring up that fear response, the more relaxed he or she actually feels. In this case, becoming relaxed is the more powerful suggestion than “trying to” bring up the negative response.

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/.

© 2018

Dominant Laws of Suggestibility: Law of Repetition

(This blog was originally posted on February 19, 2015)

Photo by Rick Hustead

During a typical hypnotherapy session, I reinforce hypnotic suggestions in various ways during the hour or so I spend working with a client, but mostly I do this through repetition. In other words, I simply (and literally) repeat the suggestion many times and at different times during the session to reinforce the new behavior in the person’s subconscious mind.

A common and oft-repeated suggestion that I give a client during his or her hypnotherapy session is “deep sleep.” These words are employed to deepen the person’s relaxation and comfort in hypnosis so the individual can go even deeper into this state (not to encourage the person to actually fall asleep). The real work of behavior change occurs in the subconscious mind. Therefore, the more times I make this suggestion to deepen the hypnosis, the more receptive the client becomes to other hypnotic suggestions designed to implement the desired behavior change. 

Depending on the client’s suggestibility (how the person learns), if the individual is an emotional suggestible and is more inclined to learn through inference, I may also use metaphors in this context. Regardless of the language I use, I will repeat the suggestion because the more often it is given or made, the more automatic the behavior becomes.

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