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Thursday, February 20, 2014

Tuning It Out

Photo courtesy of Fotolia

In hypnosis, you can teach your mind to focus on
what you want to notice--or not.

As the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, are drawing to a close, I continue to marvel at the athletes’ incredible physical and mental prowess. To even qualify to participate in an Olympic event, they must be at the top of their game—a national or even a world champion or finalist in their sport. (Hard as qualifying to compete in the Olympic Games must certainly be, qualification seems like it would be the “easy” part.) Once these athletes make their nation’s Olympic team, they must all face off against similar-ranked competitors of other nations—and then then their teammates—on the world’s stage. There is no time to be excited about the honor of being an Olympian, representing and earning medals for their nation. There is no room in their training regimen (nutrition, rest, training, training, training, competition, etc.) for feeling nervous. No matter what is going on around them, whether they feel sore from yesterday’s competition or are elated and excited about having earned a career “best” in the preliminary round, these athletes must remain focused on the job ahead of them. They must continue to give their all (and a lot more) to score that winning goal, do the most/highest/longest jumps, the most beautiful spins, the fastest runs down the mountain slope, half-pipe or chute until they have completed their last event. There is no time to ruminate over mistakes they have just made or whether the triple-triple jump combination in their ice-skating program has sufficiently intimidated their top-ranked opponent. So, how do these athletes keep it all together to bring home the gold or silver or bronze?

When I work with hypnotherapy clients to help them achieve their athletic goals, the first thing I do is reinforce and/or build their self-confidence about their skills and talent in the sport. If a person has won prizes or championships in this sport before, and/or had to qualify to participate in the upcoming event, I incorporate this information into the hypnotic script. I teach breathing techniques to help the person learn to relax his or her physical body; then, I introduce guided-imagery so the person has an opportunity (or several) to rehearse the event and even work through various competitive scenarios. If appropriate, and with my client’s permission, I may also invite the coach or trainer to help me incorporate sports-specific jargon or instruction about a technique that the person is working on, in the script. I also reinforce suggestions about continuing to follow a healthy lifestyle to support the client’s athletic program (e.g., eating nutritious meals, drinking plenty of water and getting enough rest and a good night’s sleep).

Equally important, I help my clients to tune out distractions during the competition, such as camera flashes, cheers or applause, or being in an unfamiliar environment. In these cases, I use imagery and systematic-desensitization techniques to not only “desensitize” the person to these stimuli, but to create an association in which these stimuli will actually help to increase their confidence in their athletic prowess and double their focus/concentration on what they need to do to succeed in the event. Many athletes are distracted and affected by negative self-talk; some receive discouraging or disparaging comments from opponents or even teammates, friends, family members or a coach/trainer. In these instances, I first desensitize the person to these kinds of negative messages. Then, I help my client to create powerful imagery to deflect and virtually shield the individual from others’ negative comments/energy, and to dissolve and dissipate negative self-talk before the person even knows or notices that it is going on.

While the client in hypnosis, I include a final suggestion about muscle memory: “Allow the athlete inside of you to give yourself permission to trust your body. Trust your training and all of those previous experiences of success doing [this sport], which you have been doing for so long. Allow your body to do what it does well, and you are doing it even better than you ever have, before.”

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/.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Turn It Around

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

When you get frustrated with a situation, "turn it around"
and create a positive outcome or benefit from the circumstance.

A neighbor calls you at 2 a.m. to let you know that your dog has got out of the yard, and you have to chase him through the neighborhood before he finally heels and you can get him home. Your car doesn’t start, and you have to call road-side assistance to jump-start the engine so you can get to the mechanic and buy a new battery. You rush to get to work to meet a client, only to find out that your 11 a.m. appointment is a no-show. You agree to stay late to finish a project at work, and then get stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic during the evening commute.

Have you ever had a day like this? Okay, maybe not exactly like this, but frustrating (“bad”) in its way? What did you do about it? How did you react and handle the frustrations—or did you handle them, at all? One of my favorite strategies about how to deal with an uncomfortable situation is to “turn it around.” My mentor, Cheryl O’Neil, C.Ht., introduced me to this philosophy when I was training to become a hypnotherapist at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute. HMI founder John Kappas, Ph.D. coined this phrase. It is similar to the idea of every cloud has a silver lining, except you play an active role in creating your silver lining.

For example, rather than silently (or verbally) curse your canine companion for his naughtiness, you thank him for making you aware that you have a hole in your fence or that your gate is broken. Another advantage of your late-night jog through the neighborhood is that you are getting a good cardiac workout. When you have to make the unscheduled stop at the car-repair shop, this delay to your morning commute likely saved you from having to deal with rush-hour traffic. As for your no-show appointment at work, this is a great opportunity to catch up on other work or projects that need your attention: return phone calls, answer e-mails, rehearse the presentation you must give to your department next week, etc. While you are stuck in stop-and-go traffic during your drive home—when you are not moving—practice diaphragmatic breathing to help you relax. Start by drawing a slow, deep breath through your nose and hold it for five seconds, then release the breath through the mouth. You know you are doing this technique correctly because your tummy will extend or push out a little bit as you inhale, but the shoulders will not move. Imagine that as you inhale, you are drawing in patience, calm and relaxation; as you exhale, you are releasing any frustration and negative emotion that you have felt during the day. The goal is to clear your mind of the frustrations you have successfully dealt with today.

Remember, the worst is over. Tomorrow is a new day, and all things are possible.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Why Being Uncomfortable Feels “Comfortable”

Consider the expression, “Better the devil you know (than the one you don’t).” If you have done some activity before, you will have a pretty good idea of what to expect (result) this time. Based on this experience, you probably even have a strategy or two for dealing with that or a similar situation. Well, your subconscious mind loves what is familiar, too! According to John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind, the subconscious mind even covets physically or emotionally painful experiences; anything that is “known” is deemed familiar or safe. That is how behaviors, including undesirable habits, are created.

People seek my hypnotherapy services to help them change (or get rid of) a habit that no longer works for them. For example, they want to be able to lose weight, to quit smoking or stop procrastinating, to increase self-confidence, and a host of other behaviors. These goals may make sense to the conscious mind, where logic, reasoning, will-power and decision-making reside; but the subconscious mind is not so easily convinced. The SCM is used to doing things a particular way—its way, the comfortable way, the “easy way”—and it resists changing its modus operandi. It doesn’t care that you (and your conscious mind) are worried that your habit of smoking two packs of cigarettes each day is likely to result in a debilitating lung disease. Your SCM quite enjoys eating that pint of fudge-brownie ice cream before bed; this indulgence is so much like reminiscent of the bedtime treats you used to enjoy as a small child. And as for procrastination, well, didn’t Miss Scarlett in Gone With the Wind always promise herself that she would deal with her problems tomorrow? That strategy worked just fine for her, so why shouldn’t it work for you or me?

If you are happy and comfortable doing things the way you have always done and continue to do them, that is fine. You are not ready to change your behavior yet, and your subconscious mind will likely reject any attempts to change this behavior. Remember, however, that any and every habit and behavior you have learned can also be unlearned. Moreover, hypnotherapy is an effective, drug-free and natural way to help you override (unlearn) that previous mental script and change or dump those habits that no longer work for you. Hypnotherapy is a great way to help you start living the kind of life you want and deserve to be living.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Driving Anxiety

Photo courtesy of Fotolia

Hypnotherapy is a great resource to help people overcome
their fear or phobia of driving.

For many people, driving a car is a way of life. It is not only a way to get things done; it is practically a prerequisite for being able to accomplish many of your goals. It is a symbol of independence: if you can drive and have a driving license, you can go and do just about anything you want to do. When you can drive, you must no longer rely on a friend, neighbor or family member to chauffeur you to an event or an appointment. It is a way of getting to work or simply of getting away. Driving a car is a privilege and a responsibility; and for many people, it can be the source of great anxiety and even social debilitation.

People can develop a fear or phobia of driving for various reasons. Sometimes, people become understandably afraid to drive or to even ride in an automobile after they have been in a car crash or narrowly avoided being in an accident. The same is true if they have been injured in a crash or if a loved one has been seriously injured or killed. Anxiety and phobias about driving can also develop in association with a sudden drop in blood-sugar level; it is common to associate (blame) driving with sudden symptoms of dizziness, feeling light-headed, confusion and nausea. However, the likely cause of this discomfort is being hungry because the person skipped breakfast to save time in the morning and then downed a quadruple espresso beverage to help stay awake for the morning commute.

When I work with clients to help them resolve their anxiety about driving, one of the first things I do is to contextualize the origins of their fear or phobia. I explain John Kappas, Ph.D.’s, concepts of the Theory of Mind to illustrate how this current fear/phobic reaction has successfully, albeit temporarily “protected” them from perceived danger by keeping them out of cars. Finally, I employ relaxation, systematic-desensitization and visualization techniques to help my clients work through and overcome their anxiety while they are in hypnosis so they can get back in the driver’s seat of the car, and their lives, once again.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Imagery, Visualization and Role Models

Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

Me with Jane Savoie at the 2014 Horse Expo in Pomona, California.

The subconscious mind does not know the difference between fantasy and reality. Consequently, imagery and visualization are invaluable tools with which to practice and perfect specific skills in your mind in preparation of actually doing them in the real world. Fantasy and imagination are also very familiar (known) processes to the human mind. Therefore, I employ a lot of therapeutic guided-imagery techniques when I help my hypnotherapy clients to overcome a subconscious block and accomplish their vocational and avocational self-improvement goals. If you can imagine delivering that stellar presentation at work, sleeping soundly and deeply through the night or mastering a skill or technique in your sport, you are well on your way to achieving that goal in real time.

One of the great things about imagery is that this exercise requires you to activate and use all of your senses: sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. All of the senses are more finely attuned during hypnosis, which makes imagery work such an effective tool. When I tell my clients to “Visualize, imagine, picture or pretend…” that they are in the middle of the specific scenario, they subconsciously incorporate the experiences of these sensations/perceptions, which also strengthens the hypnotic suggestion.

Sometimes, I also encourage my clients to think of a role model that they can emulate in these visualization exercises. Since imagery work activates all of the senses, the most effective role models are other individuals who not only possess the exemplary skill set or behaviors the client wants to adopt; they also have a similar physique or physical characteristics. For example, when I do imagery work to improve my riding, I think about equestrian champions such as three-time Olympic dressage coach Jane Savoie, Olympic silver medalist (eventing) Gina Miles and Olympic gold and silver medalist Isabelle Werth. Each of these women is a champion in her equestrian discipline, and I learn so much by watching them work with their horses and listen to them explain their training philosophies. Even more important, I identify with them because, like me, they are petite women who have a similar physique as my own. Whether they ride a 17.3-hand Irish Warmblood or a comparatively diminutive 15.2-hand Thoroughbred, the riders’ own physique will not change, just how they adapt their riding to communicate with their horse. Conversely, as much as I admire Charlotte Dujardin and Anky van Grunsven, who both hold Olympic gold medals in dressage, I cannot identify with them as well or in a similar way as I do with Savoie, Miles and Werth when I try to emulate their riding in my visualization work and in the saddle.

Friday, February 14, 2014

7 Keys to a Successful, Long-Term Relationship

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

On Valentine’s Day, many couples around the world are celebrating their love and relationship. Some people will exchange cards and love letters. Others will give their partner a box of chocolates and/or a bouquet of flowers. And, certainly, no other day of the year is more romantic to become engaged or get married.

In 2005, I attended an eye-opening seminar at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute about the keys to a healthy, intimate relationship based on the concepts of John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Emotional and Physical Sexuality. In this seminar, instructor Marc Gravelle identified the following seven qualities of a healthy relationship. In recognition of this international day of love, I am providing this list to help you evaluate whether you and your partner are ready to take your relationship to this next level:

1. You like each other. (This is the most important factor)

2. You trust each other.

3. You respect each other.

4. You have good communication, where you can honestly share your thoughts and feelings about an issue with the other person.

5. You have good sex (each partner gets his or her needs met).

6. You have similar interests.

7. You have separate interests.

Notice that the terms “love” and “in love” are not included in this list. That is because romantic love is what you feel during the honeymoon or early stages of a relationship. Yes, it is exciting, exhilarating and often intoxicating; but the high level of energy required to sustain this stage of infatuation eventually wears away. However, with these seven elements firmly in place, you can still enjoy and appreciate all of these ingredients (qualities) about your partner that first attracted you to each other, and your relationship will continue to flourish.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Hypnosis to Stop Stuttering

According to John Kappas, Ph.D., the founder of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, stuttering is a projection of incongruent behavior. For example, the person may have a way of learning (suggestibility) that is different from how he or she performs/acts. This individual may speak literally (physical suggestible) but picks up a lot of inferences from conversations and the environment. There is often another family member who stutters, he said.

Stuttering usually begins when the person is around five years old and is often observed in people who have very addictive personalities, Kappas said. “People cannot stutter when they are under hypnosis, performing visualization exercises or when they are not concentrating on what they are saying.” However, speaking on a telephone often induces stuttering, he observed.

There are typically no physiological causes of stuttering. As your hypnotherapist, my first objective would be to help you identify the circumstances around which the stuttering began. Once the cause of the stuttering is identified, while you are in hypnosis I would use relaxation, systematic-desensitization and behavioral conditioning techniques to help you resolve any issues that perpetuate this behavior. “Since people usually can’t stutter on purpose, one of the most effective techniques to replace stuttering with normal speech is to teach the person to stutter in hypnosis,” Kappas said.