Weight Loss and Hypnotherapy

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

(This blog was originally posted on January 2, 2014)

 

 

Whenever I work with a hypnotherapy client to help the person lose weight, the first thing I do is to establish the motivation for losing the weight. Is there a health reason such as diabetes control? Does the person want to improve his or her physical fitness or just take off a few pounds after indulging during the holidays? Sometimes friends or relatives in the person’s social circle put on pressure to drop the pounds. Or, a client may use excess weight as a “shield” to protect against emotional rejection or even a subconscious fear of returning to a previous lower weight where an emotional trauma may have occurred, said John G. Kappas, Ph.D., founder of Hypnosis Motivation Institute.

“If you are not personally motivated to achieve the weight-loss goal, the weight-loss program is unlikely to be successful,” Dr. Kappas explained. 

Once the client identifies what is motivating him or her to lose weight, I help the person to resolve any previous issues or resistance to losing weight* and develop a strong, positive self-image about being at the desired weight and feeling comfortable with being physically attractive. When appropriate, I also refer the client to be examined by a physician for guidance about an appropriate exercise and nutritional regimen, which I will reinforce during the hypnotherapy sessions. All hypnotic suggestions would incorporate the client’s feeling motivated to feel physically, emotionally, mentally healthy and happier every day and to project positive feelings and ideas of successfully losing weight in a healthy way.

*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.

 

 

 

 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/.

Our Thoughts Create Our Reality

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

“Our thoughts create our reality - where we put our focus is the

direction we tend to go.”– Peter McWilliams

 

                You have probably heard the expression, Be careful what you wish for. You might have just had a random thought or made an observation about a situation going on in your environment and then, bam! Without even particularly “wishing” for something, the thing you have just been considering manifests into a real-life experience. Suddenly, you are the unintentionally intentional recipient of a particular life lesson.

It is almost spooky how that happens. There you are, having a seemingly random thought about the frequency of car crashes that happen close to home, and then you get in a fender-bender of your own two blocks away from your house. Or, you see a stranger on the street who reminds you of a friend or relative you haven’t heard from or seen in a long time. Lo and behold, you receive a post-card or e-mail or even get a phone call from that person. And how many equestrians reading this blog have been warned that when you look at the ground while you are riding, you are selecting the spot where you will fall off your horse?

                Hypnotherapist and Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., believed that everyone follows a subconscious mental script that we create very early in our lives. Every minute of every day, our thoughts and behaviors are constantly being influenced by the ones we already store and follow in our subconscious mind. Furthermore, he stated, we will behave and even think in ways that are consistent with it even when the script does not facilitate achievement of our conscious personal goals or may even be detrimental to them.

                When someone seeks hypnotherapy to help get out of a rut or “unstuck” from a perceived pattern of negative circumstances, I help the person reframe his or her negative thoughts/beliefs/expectations in a more positive or optimistic perspective. I also work with the client to increase self-confidence, which in turn increases the person’s belief in his or her ability to control and even transform a potential negative outcome to a positive one. Ultimately, the willingness and ability to transform (control) an initial negative response by looking for and enacting positive solutions to that challenge are keys to creating a more favorable outcome.

 

 

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/.