Because…That’s What You Like

                In last night’s episode of Sherlock, that ever-perceptive and insightful sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, pointed out the obvious to his good friend and colleague, Dr. John Watson: Watson had experienced certain stressful, potentially traumatic and even life-threatening events during his life because he had invited those situations to occur. Even his choices of friends (Sherlock) and life partner were being dictated by these subconscious messages, preferences, choices that Watson kept making over and over again because, basically, that is what the good doctor liked.

                Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., explained this behavior in his Theory of Mind: Each person’s subconscious learns and adopts behaviors and ways of thinking from a very young age. By the time you are about 5 years old the blueprint of your future beliefs and behaviors is established, based on what you have learned during these early years of your life. For example, if you like (or even hate) to eat a particular kind of food, it is likely that you were given this or a similar item as a youngster. You associate the experience of eating this item with memories about how it tasted, if you like the taste, who served it to you/who was with you, etc. Other behaviors and interests (preferences) are learned in a similar way: Some people prefer to stay at home on a Friday night and curl up with a good book or watch something on television, instead of going to a party with their friends. Others enjoy skydiving and participate in various high-adrenaline sports; they think nothing of skiing down a “widow-maker” slope. Some people enjoy the hustle and thrum of having a busy social life while living in the center of a bustling city. Others prefer a quiet family life in the suburbs.

These are extreme examples of personalities at either end of a spectrum, but the drive or motivation behind these preferences comes from the same place: the subconscious mind. This is the place where you store and reinforce your beliefs and behaviors by doing what you do—without thinking about it—every time you say, think or do that behavior. Even if you do not consciously like or enjoy the belief or behavior that you reinforce, by now it has become comfortable, familiar (pleasure) to you—even if it is not “pleasurable.” According to Kappas, everyone carries the association and enjoyment (or not) of our “known” behaviors and beliefs throughout your life or, until you are motivated to change this belief or behavior.

I help my hypnotherapy clients to change their various unwanted behaviors; hypnotherapy works because and when the person wants to make this change. Your subconscious mind may know what you really want, but in your conscious mind you have the will-power, decision-making, reasoning and logic to literally change your mind.

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

Two Sides of the Same Coin

 

 

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Are you able to turn a stressful situation
into an advantage?
 

                It is easy to go off course during a project. You don’t know what to say when someone asks you a question during a presentation at work. You forget how to play a piece of music at a recital for which you have spent months rehearsing. Time seems to stop as that crucial event and the split second in which “it” occurred are burned into your mind and memory, forever. But time continues to march on and, you still have your life to lead and that project/performance/game, etc. to complete. When your focus is disturbed, are you able to maintain your composure and carry on as if nothing is changed? Will you use the disruption to your advantage, or will you freeze and miss out on later opportunities to recover because you are still focused on what has already happened?

                I saw both scenarios play out tonight while I watched the Super Bowl. The Denver Broncos lost control of the football to the Seattle Seahawks in the first 10 seconds or so of the game. Seattle quickly took advantage of their “advantage” and kept powering through the game. You could see their athletes’ confidence grow with every play. Football players are big guys, anyway; however, Seattle’s players literally seemed to get physically bigger every time they scored a point or got an inch closer to the end zone. They had more spring in their step on the field and on the sidelines. Conversely, the Broncos were stuck in an endless loop of that first scrimmage. I could see the frustration and disappointment on the team’s faces and, more importantly, in their demeanor. Each time a pass was intercepted or one of the Broncos missed or dropped the football, everyone on that team seemed to deflate a little bit more and their opponents got that much bigger.

 

                Two sides of the same coin.

 

 

 

                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

Great (and Not-So-Great) Expectations

It is Friday night. Perhaps you have just completed your work week; or, maybe you just clocked in for the first of several night/closing shifts at one of your jobs. The promise of Saturday and Sunday—the weekend—looms large. Will you have time to complete all of those projects you promised your spouse that you would definitely, absolutely complete by Sunday night? Has your employer agreed to give you Sunday afternoon off so you can watch the Super Bowl with your buddies? Perhaps your boss refused to give you that day off, after all, and now you are bound and determined to remain in a foul mood all weekend so others can know how angry and frustrated you are. Or, are your friends and colleagues amazed that, yes, you are actually very happy to have to be working or on-call at work because you are thankful to have a job in the first place…and who cares about football, anyway?

Believe it or not, your subconscious mind largely determines everything that you will do this weekend, from whether you will have the weekend “off” or will be at work. The “knowns” in your subconscious mind will influence whether you get together with your best friends to watch the championship game or even know that February 2, 2014 could be a make-it-or-break-it event for some athletes. Your subconscious mind influences whether you will make a genuine effort to fix the kitchen cabinets or ultimately postpone the project another week. Your subconscious mind influences which tasty tidbits you expect to be served at your boss’ Super Bowl party: you really don’t want to attend, but you just can’t resist Domino’s pizza and Buffalo wings combination and, anyway, it would look really bad if you are the only person from work who is a no-show.

Finally, the mental scripts, or “known” beliefs and behaviors, in your subconscious mind will determine how you react to everything that occurs this weekend. A rule in physics states: “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” Similarly, over the years you have learned that specific relationships exist between emotions about/reactions to a specific, related event: If my team wins a championship, I will be happy; if it loses, I will be sad/angry/etc. If I do my best, hard work to complete a project that I promised to do for my spouse, I will feel good about this work, my spouse will be happy and this task is over; if I do not complete this job, everyone will be angry and defensive. If you attend your boss’ Super Bowl party and the food is as tasty and wonderful as you expected it to be, you might find that you will have a better time at the event than you expected; but if the host only provides chips and salsa (or any/every other dish other than the one you wanted), you will wish you never showed up in the first place.

This weekend, why not try something different to break this chain of expectations and behaviors? Before you start your shift at work, or when you get home and kick off your shoes to relax on the sofa, or before you head out to watch the big game with your friends, take several slow, deep breaths. Visualize, imagine, picture or pretend that you are doing “x” activity, and you feel relaxed and comfortable the entire time. You are focused on doing your very best at work or to complete a chore at home. You see yourself smiling and enjoying yourself as you socialize and with the people around you. Visualize, imagine, picture or pretend that you see yourself being polite and humble about the results of the game, even if your team doesn’t do as well as you had hoped or expected it to do. Since the subconscious cannot tell the difference between fantasy and reality, allow this visualization exercise to create new “knowns” in your mind and become your new reality or experience.

I hope you have a great weekend!

 

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

Reinforcement for Hypnosis



Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

I provide a CD or digital track for my clients to reinforce what
they worked on during their hypnotherapy session.

                When I work with a client, it is very important to me that the person feels relaxed, comfortable and secure about the work that we do together to help the individual achieve his or her goal. In the 21^st Century, hypnotherapy is definitely becoming a more mainstream a therapeutic modality. Nonetheless, previous myths about hypnosis being a form of “mind control” continue to linger in many people’s minds. Therefore, I provide several tools for my clients to use after they leave my office to reassure them about how and why hypnosis is an ideal tool to help them achieve their vocational and avocational self-improvement goals.

·         Get to know you. The first time we “meet” will probably be when you call me to inquire about my hypnotherapy practice and to set up an appointment. During this conversation, I take note (literally and metaphorically) of your therapy goals and presenting issue and other details about your social/emotional background so I can prepare for your hypnotherapy session.

·         Reinforcement CD. I provide a CD or digital track for you to listen to at home. This track is typically made during the hypnosis session, but I am happy to create a new or modified version at your request. The function of this track is to reinforce your goals and motivations to change unwanted behaviors. You should listen to the track before falling asleep at night. Warning: Do not listen to it while driving or operating heavy machinery, etc.

·         Provide relevant reference material. I will provide relevant articles from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute website’s digital library for you to read and keep for future reference. With your permission and/or at your request, I will also periodically send you digital links to motivational articles and/or news stories that are relevant to your hypnotherapy.

·         Maintain contact. I will maintain phone and/or e-mail contact with you throughout the duration of your hypnotherapy to answer questions and help you set new therapeutic goals.

·         Make appropriate referrals. From time to time, someone has a presenting issue that is out of my scope of expertise. As a certified hypnotherapist, I can work with you to help you achieve an avocational or vocational self-improvement goal (Business and Professions Code 2908). However, I must and will refer you for a consultation with a licensed physician or licensed mental-health worker to assess those other therapeutic needs you may have (e.g., persistent headache or other physical symptom, threaten to harm self or others). I will be happy to continue working with you to complement your traditional medical/psychological therapy if appropriate and with a reciprocal referral from the other licensed practitioner.

 

 

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

Never Say “Never”

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

I help my hypnotherapy clients to change their mental script so
they can give their subconscious mind a positive goal to achieve.

                When I was at college, my friends used to joke, “Never say ‘never’, because that is an absolute guarantee you will do what you say you will never do!” Oh, how prescient that advice turned out to be. Now, I understand why.

                The subconscious mind does not understand irony. It does not get a joke. The subconscious mind will try to fulfill whatever messages it receives. Whatever you say or think, it takes literally and conveniently ignores terms such as never, not, won’t and can’t. For example, I occasionally make the mistake of thinking or saying to myself, “I will not fall off my horse today.” Guess what? I do fall—or come very close to it. Some people might say those are examples of a self-fulfilling prophecy, but isn’t a self-fulfilling prophecy an example of a person behaving in a specific way to achieve the subconscious mind’s goal?

                When I work with my hypnotherapy clients, I teach them how to frame (or re-frame, as the case may be) their thoughts and self-talk so they are always giving themselves a positive message or suggestion. Rather than say, “I can’t be late for this meeting!” tell yourself, “I will leave five minutes earlier so I will be on time for my meeting.” Or, in the context of my first example, I now tell myself, “I am a strong rider. I can stay on my horse and have a good ride.”

Your subconscious mind will work just as hard to fulfill a positive goal as it will to achieve a negative one, so why not set it up for success, right from the start?

 

 

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

Age Regression…and Why I Don’t Use This Technique to Uncover Traumatic Memories

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Using hypnosis to help someone remember details about a
past trauma is like pulling a scab off of the mind. 

We often see characters on television or in the movies use age regression to solve a crime or resolve a mystery in a protagonist’s life. During the 1970s and 1980s, hypnosis was used as a crime-solving technique. During this period, there was a widely held belief that all psychological problems were caused by sexual abuse. Some people theorized that hypnosis would be a useful technique to rewind a person’s memory of a traumatic incident to discover what had happened. Once this information was revealed, hypnosis could also help the person to vent out these memories and resolve his or her feelings about and reactions to the issue. Eventually, experts realized that this technique did not help either the client (alleged abuse victim) or lawyers to prosecute their cases. Memories are filled with distortion and amnesia; furthermore, a person under hypnosis is highly suggestible and becomes very eager to please the hypnotist. A highly emotional-suggestible client will infer that the hypnotist wants to hear certain information, and will duly provide those details.

In some situations, age regression is considered a therapeutic technique: to help an adult remember a license plate after a car crash or to find a personal item that he or she lost several weeks ago. I also use it as part of an imagery exercise to remember every cigarette that the person has smoked when I help a client quit smoking. However, I do not use age regression to discover (or help my client discover) information or memories that the person is not ready to address. When a terrible trauma has occurred, a person knows how to breathe, sleep, eat and eliminate. If a memory is too traumatic, the mind creates a “scab” over that memory to protect the individual from further trauma or stress. Just like you wouldn’t pull a scab off of an abrasion, I do not use hypnosis to rip a similar scab off your mind. Again, since there is no way to prove the veracity of any memories that a person regains while under hypnosis, this information would not be allowed in a court of law.

My first responsibility to my clients is to do no harm. As a certified hypnotherapist, my role is to help them achieve a vocational or avocational self-improvement goal. However, if a client spontaneously remembers a traumatic incident, I will use hypnosis to help him or her present reality more powerful than the past, and refer the person to a licensed psychologist or other medical professional for additional professional support in areas that are outside my own scope of expertise in hypnotherapy.

 

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

Duration of Hypnotherapy

 

                The duration of hypnotherapy is comparatively shorter than traditional psychotherapy, such as psychoanalysis. However, an issue is seldom resolved in just one, two, three or even four sessions. “[Hypnotherapy] is not a miracle cure,” Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., explained. “It can relieve initial trauma in a few sessions, but it may take longer to deal with other issues.”

                My goal as a hypnotherapist is to help each of my clients effectively resolve his or her specific vocational and avocational self-improvement goal(s) in a realistic amount of time. For example, hypnotherapy for weight-control usually lasts 28 sessions; smoking cessation can typically be dealt with in six sessions. Simple problems may take less time to resolve; but for general self-improvement or lifestyle-change issues, hypnotherapy is an ongoing process that can last for years.

                I do not set limits on the amount of time the therapy will take, because these perceived deadlines can set the client up for frustration and disappointment if the process takes longer than expected. I can typically identify the true causal factor or issue that a client is dealing with during the first hypnotherapy session, even when this is not the issue the person has originally come to resolve. However, I will not try to draw out this issue and potentially cause unnecessary stress for my client until he or she is ready to address it and let it go.

For example, weight is only symptomatic of an emotional issue in approximately 20 percent of people who come in for weight-loss therapy, Kappas said. “If you don’t eliminate the cause of a problem, it could come back.”

                 

 

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