Some Things to Remember About Habits

 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 August 8, 2016)

 

 

Photo by Rick Hustead

 

Most people who come in for hypnotherapy want to change or get rid of (quit) an unwanted habit. Whether you want to lose weight, quit smoking, stop procrastinating, improve sleeping habits or any myriad of behaviors, hypnosis and therapeutic guided imagery are powerful, effective tools to help you achieve your self-improvement goal. While I do not typically need to delve into your entire back-story to understand why you started, and want to change the unwanted habit, I will need certain, specific details about it to create an effective hypnotic script. Following is some important information about habits and habit-change to keep in mind.

·         You must be coming in for hypnotherapy because you want to change the behavior for this therapy to be effective.

·         While you (your conscious mind) want to change an unwanted habit, the subconscious mind is unlikely to share that goal. Changing habits entails getting out of your comfort zone (rejecting a subconscious known) which the subconscious mind considers “pain.”

·         Hypnotherapy can help create and establish healthier/more productive and desirable behaviors in the subconscious mind to replace the unwanted one(s). However, habits do not begin overnight and habits do not change overnight. Furthermore, the longer you have been practicing that behavior, the more time it may take to change it. Remember, each time you have engaged in the habit strengthened its positive association in your subconscious mind.

·         Increasing awareness of when you engage in the undesired habit helps you gain greater control over that behavior.

·         Some behaviors may be a defense mechanism to avoid change and thereby protect the subconscious mind from the pain induced by change. In this instance, it may be necessary to address the cause of the behavior (habit) to help you achieve your vocational/avocational self-improvement goal.*

 

*California law allows access by California residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are not providing services that require medical training and credentials. The purpose of a program of hypnotherapy is for vocational and avocational self-improvement (Business and Professions Code 2908) and as an alternative or complementary treatment to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is not a licensed physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not licensed by the state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not include the practice of medicine, neither should they be considered a substitute for licensed medical or psychological services or procedures.

 

 

Special Discount for First Responders

 25 percent discount off the first hypnotherapy session for all active/retired military personnel and first responders (police, fire-fighters, EMT/paramedics, ambulance personnel, emergency dispatchers, ER doctors, ER nurses) plus $10 off a la carte sessions!*

*This promotion may not be combined with any other offer. It is non-transferable and may not be exchanged for cash. Promotion ends on November 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

 

Thoughts of the Day

 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! 

 

Thoughts of the Day

 

Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

 

Every now and then I like (and need) to take a few moments and remind myself about what is really important to me, in my life. If you follow me on my Calminsense Hypnotherapy Facebook page you may have seen some of these quotes before on this page, or will in the future. Many of these Quotes of the Day are beautiful examples and illustrations of the work I do as a hypnotherapist, so I will probably draw on them in future essays.

 

• “To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain and play with it.” – Charlie Chaplin

• “Any great goal you have in life likely requires a long period of sustained effort. If you lack patience, you’ll likely burn out and give up before you reach the promised land. Don’t give up!” – Linda Parelli

• “Every life has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine.” – Neil Armstrong

• “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” – Thomas Campbell

• “Indulge with confidence.” – Willie Nelson

• “Love gives hope a chance.” – Unknown

• “How we walk with the broken speaks louder than how we sit with the great.” – Bill Bennot

• “You must let life flow naturally, for life’s secret is patience; you must stop pushing for change and allow things to unfold.” - Leon Brown

• “When we believe, there's nothing we can't do.” – Chevrolet ad

• “Your life is a result of the choices you make… If you don’t like your life, it is time to start making better choices.” – Cameron Morissey

 

 

Special Discount for First Responders

 25 percent discount off the first hypnotherapy session for all active/retired military personnel and first responders (police, fire-fighters, EMT/paramedics, ambulance personnel, emergency dispatchers, ER doctors, ER nurses) plus $10 off a la carte sessions!*

*This promotion may not be combined with any other offer. It is non-transferable and may not be exchanged for cash. Promotion ends on November 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

 

 

It's Just a Thought

 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 December 6, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead

 

 

Perhaps someone has said this to you—or you used this expression, yourself—when making a suggestion: “It’s just a thought.” In fact, this statement is probably used most frequently if the reception (openness) to a particular idea seems likely to be rejected. In this case, that particular thought is symbolically dumped or thrown away. “It’s just a thought” is the excuse we make for ever having entertained the idea in the first place.

I have two thoughts about this situation.

On the one hand, most of us have had to deal with some kind of negative chatter (self-doubt) in our mind when we are trying something new or are in the middle of an important project at work: I have never been able to do X before; what makes me think I will be successful at Y? Or, I have no business wearing this outfit; it was obviously designed for someone with a completely different (better) physique. More common, a thought pops into our mind just as we are drifting off to sleep: Did I remember to lock my office door? Does my boyfriend/girlfriend remember that tomorrow is our one-month anniversary of dating? Why is my acne flaring up now? In these instances, it is very helpful to remind ourselves, “It’s just a thought. I can control my thoughts. Since I can control my thoughts, I can put this one aside for a little while and do what I need to do.”

Conversely, our thoughts originate in the subconscious mind. To automatically reject a thought or idea as a way to deflect possible criticism from other people could mean that you miss (or at least delay) the chance to experience a creative opportunity. As Thomas Edison famously stated, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” What if that “thought” you have at your next business meeting could save your failing company millions of dollars and/or several employees’ jobs, create the next great video-game or script for a blockbuster movie, etc.?

Thoughts and ideas are products of our life experiences and feelings about them. The moral of this story is, before you reject one of those throw-away thoughts remember that you can control it and ultimately even use a behavior the idea inspired to benefit you in the future.

 

 

Special Discount for First Responders

 25 percent discount off the first hypnotherapy session for all active/retired military personnel and first responders (police, fire-fighters, EMT/paramedics, ambulance personnel, emergency dispatchers, ER doctors, ER nurses) plus $10 off a la carte sessions!*

 

*This promotion may not be combined with any other offer. It is non-transferable and may not be exchanged for cash. Promotion ends on November 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