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During a
typical hypnotherapy session, I reinforce hypnotic suggestions in various ways
during the hour or so I spend working with a client. An effective way to strengthen the message of the suggestion
is to employ the Law of Reverse Action or misdirection.
You might
already recognize a common, colloquial example of this law: someone tells you
not to think about pink elephants anymore, at which point you can’t help
yourself but think about that
subject. This occurs because “pink elephants” is the stronger part of the
command than “not to think about.” (How can you not think about a pink elephant when that image is suggested to the
mind?)
In a
therapeutic context, the hypnotherapist might suggest that someone who suffers
from a fear of public speaking imagines being in a situation in which he or she
must make a speech and try bring up that fear. Meanwhile, the hypnotherapist
would repeat the suggestion that the harder the person tries to actually bring
up that fear response, the more relaxed
he or she actually feels. In this case, becoming relaxed is the more powerful
suggestion than “trying to” bring up the negative response.
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/.
© 2015
