Hypnotherapy for Stress Management

(This blog was originally posted on July 29, 2014)

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

    Many things in our lives can trigger a stress response. Driving in heavy traffic, dealing with quarreling children, anxiety about finances, moving, changing jobs and death of or separation from a spouse are just a few incredibly stressful life events. Even typically “happy” occasions such as getting married or having a baby are often overwhelming and, yes, stressful. Fortunately, hypnotherapy and therapeutic guided imagery can help manage that stress so you can get on with living and enjoying your life.

     When people seek hypnotherapy for stress-management, one of the first things I do is help them understand how and why they experience stress and respond in an undesired way in the context of John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind. Once they achieve a very deep state of hypnosis, I gradually introduce specific aspects or qualities of those triggers so they can become used (desensitized) to whatever is causing the stress or anxiety. In so doing, this process also creates a new mental script in their subconscious minds that emphasizes a state of relaxation and their ability to control how they perceive and respond to this negative stimulus. I incorporate the clients’ own words in individualized hypnotic scripts to reinforce this state of deep relaxation and increase their motivation to continue to manage/control their stress when they return to an alert and aware state.

     I also use therapeutic guided imagery to reinforce this new known (relaxation) and help them block the stress from getting into the clients’ conscious and subconscious minds. For example, they can visualize, imagine, picture or pretend that they are wearing a thick coat of armor or are covered in an invisible shield of energy that repels and dissolves the stressor. Alternatively, the therapeutic concept of a double-bind reinforces the relaxation response, whereby the harder they try to experience stress or any other kind of negative emotion about the stressor the more relaxed they will feel.

     Finally, when they are in an alert state, I teach these clients how to recreate the same relaxed and calm demeanor they experienced during hypnosis by activating a subconscious anchor. This is achieved by drawing a deep breath while pressing or rubbing the thumb and index finger together, and then releasing the breath on the word “calm.” The Emotional Freedom Technique is another effective tool to help manage stress.

     Contact me today for more information about how hypnotherapy can help you manage stress in your life!

 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®, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/

© 2015

Preparing for Success

(This blog was originally posted on July 21, 2014)

Photo courtesy of Fotolia

   There are various paths to success. On the one hand, you can make a detailed plan about what you need to do then follow specific steps or a strategy to actualize your goal. Alternatively, you get an idea or feel inspired about something you would like to achieve and then wait and see how it will work out without you having to do anything else to facilitate the desired outcome. Sometimes success just falls into our lap; you are in the right place at the right time and good fortune falls into your lap. And then there are different combinations of these paths that yield varying results in actualizing your plan.

•     Oprah Winfrey once said: “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” This philosophy empowers and encourages us to achieve our goals by planning and doing the ground, grunt and glory work, as it were, to facilitate this success. Luck or serendipity may play a part in this outcome; but the most important component of your success is what you are willing to put into it. The greatest risk (or guarantee) of failure or a sub-par performance is when you slack off or stop paying attention to what you need to do to realize your dream. Here are some examples of these behaviors and outcomes:
•          “Perfect practice makes perfect performance.” This is a popular training motto among athletes and performers, but it’s obviously applicable to every area of our lives. I lost count of how many martial artists repeated this mantra when I wrote training and technique articles about them for Black Belt magazine. For example, kickboxing champions train to connect all of their techniques in practice; otherwise, they risk pulling a punch or kick during a competition that could cost points or even the match. Michele Krasnoo, an actress and kickboxing champion, once explained how she studied video-recordings of each of her training sessions and competitions. She explained that she was looking for errors in her technique; moreover, she said, if she didn’t find a mistake (or ten) then she hadn’t been looking hard enough and would re-watch the footage. Right away, I loved her humility and dedication to improving her game and adopted this philosophy in my dressage training.
•          “You can’t win the Lottery of you don’t buy a ticket.” This quote is actually from an episode of Chuck Norris’ hit series Walker, Texas Ranger. The point is, if you don’t show up mentally, emotionally and physically and put in the effort to achieve your goal, you will not succeed. Winning the Lottery has more to do with luck and chance than skill, but you won’t be able to collect that multimillion-dollar jackpot if you don’t hold the winning ticket.
•         “Buy a cheap suit, get a cheap suit.” This quote from Pet Shop Boys front-man Neil Tennant says it all about the direct relationship between quality of workmanship and quality of your product. While he was referring to the cost of clothing and the quality of its materials and manufacture, this philosophy could also speak to the metaphor about self-worth. When you don’t believe (or perceive) that you have value—i.e., low self-confidence and low self-esteem—your motivation to continue to grow and strive takes a hit, as does the “products” that you create at work, hobbies, etc. If you don’t make your best effort and employ your skills and expertise in the project, if you don’t use the finest-quality materials or technology, the quality of your product will suffer. I teach my clients about the Mental Bank Concept to help them appreciate and increase their self-value and self-esteem. As these perceptions increase and they start taking actions to “attract” what that they want, more and more opportunities and goals become manifested in their lives.

 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®, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2015