This Afternoon on the Radio

I constantly keep an eye out for blog-inspiring material. Sometimes the inspiration comes from quotes or philosophical quotes that someone posts on Facebook. Other times the inspiration comes from a social event or a personal experience. Today’s inspiration came in the format of a radio discussion during the “Tech Talk” segment of the Gary and Shannon show on KFI AM 640. To my excitement, hosts Gary Hoffmann and Shannon Ferren discussed why people get “hangry” with Neil Saavedra, who hosts The Fork Report every weekend.

The first time I ever heard the expression, “hangry,” was in a 2014 television advertisement for American Express. In the ad, writer/performer Tina Fey stuffs a handful of potpourri into her mouth while paying for some groceries and explaining to the cashier how she gets angry when she is hungry. Similarly, the following year featured actress/performer Florence Henderson in a Snickers® Super Bowl advertisement in which The Brady Bunch mom encouraged daughter Marcia to eat a Snickers® bar because the teen gets “hostile” when she’s hungry.

Hunger—which is the most obvious “symptom” of low blood sugar—can also be accompanied by a variety of other physiological and psychological responses. According to Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., low blood-sugar levels can trigger physical symptoms such as shaking, light-headedness and feeling tired and/or psychological symptoms such as depression, paranoia, irritability and memory problems. Dr. Kappas found an association between a person’s low blood-sugar levels and fluctuating suggestibility with the onset of a phobic response.

In this afternoon’s Tech Talk segment, Mr. Saavedra explained how our body responds and our corresponding behavior when blood-sugar levels drop, i.e., when we are hungry. He did not specifically address the relationship between blood-sugar levels and fear/phobic response, but much of what he described supported what I explained in one of my previous blogs, How This Snickers Ad Got It (Sort of) Right. He even explained why the popular chocolate bar would not be an ideal choice of nourishment when we are hungry, which I also discussed in that blog. I thought it was great that a popular radio program was addressing this physiological and behavioral response to hunger; talk about a captive audience. At one point, co-host Shannon Ferren commented that talking about food on the show was making her hungry. I bet she wasn’t the only one.

I’m sure that any number of listeners, likely stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic somewhere, was also hungry and frustrated at being unable to get off the road to get a meal during that broadcast. But even if they had been able to stop somewhere for food, how likely was it that they would hit the drive-through at a fast-food restaurant for a burger, fries and a sugary soda? Would anyone have opted to go to a grocery store and buy a healthier option with protein such as chicken salad or a package of sliced cheese or almonds? How many of those drivers were sipping on a latte with a couple ad-shots of espresso or munching on a snack-bar that they stowed in the glove compartment for those kinds of food emergencies on the road?

As I write this blog, I wonder how many road-rage incidents are sparked or exacerbated because one or all parties involved in the conflict are hungry. Hunger is not an excuse for road rage or any other kind of violence, but would it explain the extreme volatile reaction to some extent? When you combine the psychological stress of a personal frustration such as driving in heavy traffic while we are physiologically compromised (low blood-sugar level), is it any surprise when tempers flare?

This broadcast was definitely food for thought. Pun intended.

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/.

© 2016

The Role of the Audio Track to Reinforce Hypnotic Suggestions

Photo by Rick Hustead

Audio tracks can be used to consistently reinforce a suggestion for changed behavior that is made to a client during the hypnotherapy session. Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D.  liked to record of the hypnotic suggestions and affirmations that he gave clients during hypnosis. He then gave the recording to the individual to listen to independently at home and reinforce the suggestions for behavioral change between sessions. He found that these recordings were particularly useful to achieve self-improvement goals such as increase self-confidence, correct or curb impulsive behaviors and behaviors, facilitate weight loss/weight control, and modify fear reactions. 

Like the Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder, I also like to offer and typically make an audio track of the hypnosis portion of the session for each of my clients to play at home and fortify the hypnotic message I provided in the office. Sometimes I put it on a CD but, more often lately, I simply e-mail a digital copy of the track to the client to listen to on a mobile device. Since it is designed to relax the listener, I always attach a written warning in the e-mail or on the hard copy that the person must not play the track while driving or at any other time when alert attention is needed.

Unlike the generic, topic-specific hypnosis tracks that you can purchase at book stores or on-line, the recordings I provide for each client are individualized to address each client’s specific therapeutic goals and needs. In almost every case, the suggestions, affirmations and motivational words that I provide in the hypnotic script are created on the spot, based on information that the client provided just moments before being counted into the hypnotic trance. Even scripts that have been previously created to facilitate weight loss, quitting smoking, overcome a fear/phobia, etc. must still be customized this way so the client’s subconscious mind will accept the new message I am providing. Each of these recordings is free, a “take-away gift” I give to the client at the end of each session. 

Dr. Kappas advised that hypnotherapists should use discretion when providing the recording for a client. For example, hypnotherapists should only record the session for someone whom he or she feels confident will stop using the track once the problem is resolved or his or her situation has changed, he said. As I mentioned previously, I typically offer to record the hypnosis for each of my clients; this is true regardless of the person’s presenting issue according to the therapeutic guidelines and state regulations of the Business and Professions Code 2908. In addition, each hypnotic script includes suggestions that reflect where the person is on his or her therapeutic journey to address and help the client focus on that stage of the therapeutic journey.

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/. 

© 2016

Words, Symbols, Pictures and Images

Photo by Rick Hustead

How many parents have asked their child, “What weighs more: a ton of coal or a ton of feathers?”

Many times, the kid’s first response is to say, “Coal!” The answer seems so obvious. How could those fluffy, white, light-as-air fibers that stuff our pillows weigh more than a chunk of dark, dense rock?

At this point the parents patiently, lovingly correct the youngster and explain how and why there is no difference between the total weights of the objects, although one sample of each object’s weight will obviously be different. It takes a while, but we eventually understand the difference.

I bring up this example to remind us all how the mind learns and processes information: in pictures. When you read “lemon” right now, you may or may not see a yellow, oval object with a fresh scent and tart/tangy taste that makes your mouth water when you bite into it. Or, is your mind watering right now just thinking about it? Either way, how you imagine the word comes down to how and what you know and understand a lemon to be and your suggestibility (how you learn).

Now, think back to when you were a very little boy or girl, just learning how to speak. Most likely, the grown-up teaching you a new word paired the sound coming out of his or her mouth with a corresponding photo or image. For example, when you learned the word “cat” or “dog” you were probably also shown a photograph of the animal; or, your parent pointed to your pet if you had one of those animals at home. Over and over, your repeated exposure to the word or phrase with its physical or symbolic representation until you automatically thought/saw/understood the word you saw or heard on its own.

Speaking of animals, your concept of an innocuous, interesting animal may be very different from that of another person’s. A herpetologist (snake expert) may find exotic snakes like the black mamba, coral snakes and cobras dangerous in the context of needing to take special care when studying or tracking them in their natural environments. However, the person’s fascination with these species and the need to develop effective anti-venom may not deter the individual from handling and interacting with them to achieve this goal. Most people think baby animals like kittens, puppies, foals, and even bear or lion cubs are adorable. On the other hand, if you have ever been bitten or scratched even by one of these infants you know that the immediate sensation is usually some level of discomfort if not genuine pain. If you live somewhere bears, lions and elephants pose a genuine threat to your safety and that of your family and livestock, even a picture of the baby or its adult counterpart can induce fear or phobic anxiety.

What about money? It is more common to see a symbol—$, £, €, ¥, etc.—to indicate U.S. dollars, English pound sterling, Euros or Japanese yen, etc.—followed by the numeric value than to see the quantity expressed in words. Most of us already know what the symbol of our currency looks like and can easily substitute this short-hand without any confusion. In fact, when I teach my clients how to use Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Mental Bank Concept, one of the first things I tell them is how the mind associates numbers with value, which is why we pay ourselves “symbolic” money to reinforce the concept of self-worth.

Since each person’s concept and interpretation of any term or experience can be so different from another’s, when I work with clients in hypnotherapy I encourage them to activate these various perceptions through therapeutic guided imagery. To do this, I suggest that they “visualize, imagine, picture or pretend” that they are in a specific situation. The options in this language enable the person to identify and latch onto a concept anyway they experience it. Whether you see the yellow, oval shape and the porous skin of a lemon (direct and literal) or your mouth starts to water just thinking about the fruit’s tart juice (metaphoric), I want you to completely “experience” that full experience. It is all good. Ultimately, the words, images, pictures and symbols with which you process the objects, people and events in your existence will determine how you experience them.

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/.

© 2016

The Bite

Photo by Rick Hustead

I eventually learned how to drive an automatic transmission vehicle. That was the kind of cars my parents had (my subconscious known) and I didn’t have a pressing need to learn stick shift. In fact, I was one of the few if only sixteen-year-olds who didn’t really want to drive the second I got my driver’s license. If I had a horse when I was a teenager I might have been more motivated, but that’s another story.

However, in 1997 I decided I wanted (needed) to learn how to drive stick shift. I was living and working in Hull, England, at the time. My work contract and work visa would expire at the beginning of December, and several jobs I considered applying for required the new hire to have a car and be able to drive to various venues. At that time, virtually every vehicle on the road was “manual transmission,” so I didn’t really have any option but to drive what was available. As I recall, as it seemed to be more expensive to have an automatic car in England at that time; driving lessons in an automatic would also cost more. So not only would I have to learn how to drive on the opposite side of the road to what I was used to in the United States, but also to use a clutch pedal and the gear stick.

To my surprise, though, I liked it.

The instructor was very patient with me, despite the number of times I stalled the vehicle. At the very beginning of the lesson, he told me about “the bite,” that moment when the clutch is engaged just so and the driver shifts the car into the correct gear while depressing the accelerator (or something like that). He said that when this is done correctly, with perfect timing, you should feel and hear the car easily slide into the gear and smoothly move forward. No stuttering or sputtering of the engine, no jerking movement of the car as the engine gasps for air before stalling out. Smooooooth. I grinned from ear to ear the first time I felt that bite, and promptly stalled the engine. But, I did it; and the metaphoric significance of the term “bite” continues to resonate with me.

I returned to the United States a few months later. I eventually got a job working as a proofreader and then managing editor at Black Belt® magazine. In 2005, I completed my hypnotherapy training at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute and opened hypnotherapy practice, Calminsense Hypnotherapy®.  I no longer drive stick-shift—it is actually more expensive to buy a manual transmission vehicle here—but the concept of feeling or listening for “the bite” plays a big part in my day. It is the metaphoric exhale of a relaxed breath that my clients take as they drift into hypnosis. It is the optimism I feel about the success of my hypnotherapy practice when I pick up the phone to answer someone’s questions about hypnosis and whether hypnotherapy really works. (It does.) It is the excitement and pride I feel for a client when the person achieves his or her self-improvement goal, glowing with pride and renewed self-confidence at this accomplishment. It is the sense of calm and joy I experience when I first climb onto my horse’s back, as we transition smoothly between his gaits or amble down the street on an impromptu hack.

For me, ultimately, “the bite” represents achievement, success, accomplishment. I know that if I ever absolutely needed to, I could probably still drive stick-shift without stalling the engine too many times. To this day, I still always listen and feel for that moment when my car automatically shifts gears. It makes me happy that I can tell when that happens and even feel bad for the car when the engine seems to be straining too hard going up a hill. Most of all, I enjoy hearing and feeling the bite when, if only for a moment, most things in my and my clients’ lives are comfortable and smooth.

Have you felt your “bite” today?

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/.

© 2016