Welcome: June 2021

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

With Your Permission, and Only Your Permission....Part 2

To minimize risk of exposure to and spread of the COVID-19 virus and COVID-19 variants, I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE!

(This blog was originally posted on January 21, 2014)

Photo by Rick Hustead

I could not believe it. Right before my (and thousands of viewers’) eyes, a random hypnotist essentially ambushed a beloved character of the television series I was watching. Bam! Right in the middle of a critical scene in the episode, the hypnotist addressed the character by name, gave a command (eye fascination) and did a rapid induction to knock him out long enough for critical elements of the plot to make sense and the storyline to move along. Following are my reasons why this scene worked—and made sense—in the context of Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D.’s definition of hypnosis and the following key elements of the plot:

According to Dr. Kappas, hypnosis is “[a state] created by an overload of message units that disorganizes our inhibitory process (critical mind), triggering our fight/flight mechanism and ultimately resulting in a hyper-suggestible state [that provides] access to the subconscious mind.” The character was distraught and in a state of high anxiety when the hypnotist approached him. He didn’t want to/wouldn’t physically leave the scene, but this opportunity for temporary “escape” into hypnosis was an easy way to escape the trauma and drama going on around him.
The hypnotist was calm and in control—and took control of the situation. He spoke the protagonist’s name and commanded the character to look at him.
The hypnotist appeared to use a variation of the direct-gaze shock induction to hypnotize the protagonist. This is a legitimate rapid-induction technique in which a hypnotist has the person look him in the eye and supports his or her upper body during the physical aspect of the induction.
The hypnotist used the key phrase, “deep sleep” that is typically employed during hypnosis. At the end of the scene, once key plot details had been resolved, the hypnotist counted the character back up to full awareness.

When I saw this scene unfold every cell in my body screamed “foul!” at the irresponsible depiction and unethical/immoral application of hypnosis. The technique that the hypnotist employed, and the context in which he used it, was in no way hypnotherapy. However, considering the protagonist’s overwrought emotional state and the activity going on around him, it was easy to understand how this scene was a perfect example of Dr. Kappas’s explanation of how and why hypnosis works. I think the inclusion of a rogue hypnotist doing a rapid induction to temporarily overwhelm the character’s already-overloaded subconscious mind was an ingenious, extra detail that will keep fans talking about this episode for a long time.

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/.

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

With Your Permission and Only With Your Permission.... Part 1

To minimize risk of exposure to and spread of the COVID-19 virus, I have temporarily suspended in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office, but they will be returning soon! Meanwhile, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE!

(This blog was originally posted on January 20, 2014)

Photo by Rick Hustead

If you do not want to be hypnotized—whether you do not believe that hypnosis will work for you or resist being hypnotized because you are afraid—you won’t be. I repeat the statement, “with your permission and only your permission” throughout the hypnotherapy session to remind my clients that they can choose to be hypnotized and actualize their desired behavior changes. I also use my clients’ own words to reinforce their emotions, reasons and motivations for making these changes. As a certified hypnotherapist, I use hypnosis is a tool to help you change behaviors that no longer work for you and replace them with behaviors, strategies, etc. that you want and believe will improve your quality of life. During hypnosis, you are completely aware of everything going on around you. If you wouldn’t say or do something when you are completely alert, you would not and could not be made to do anything in hypnosis that opposes your beliefs, morals and ethical principles.
Therefore, I tend to be very critical of how and why hypnosis is depicted on television and in movies: a protagonist is “commanded” to do something that is completely out of character; the hypnotist erases and then replaces a character’s memory with a new, fictitious personal history and personality; or, a person is “hypnotized” to behave in a particular way simply to move the plot along. In these scenarios, the character is completely unaware that he has been hypnotized and just does whatever the hypnotist tells him to move the plot along. Imagine my surprise that I not only bought the hypnosis-ambush of a character in a popular detective series, but it made absolute sense why this scenario worked and was believable.

Special Offer!

When you book your FIRST (Introductory) hypnotherapy session with me you are eligible for a $25 discount on BOTH your Second AND Third follow-up, a la Carte appointments! This promotion may not be combined with any other offer. It is non-transferable and may not be exchanged for cash. Discount does not apply for hypnotherapy-package discounts. Valid through June 30, 2021.

Monday, June 28, 2021

Am I Suggestible, or Just Gullible?

Am I Suggestible or Just Gullible?

(This blog was originally posted on January 28, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead

Many years ago, someone told me that she would happily give someone the benefit of the doubt and believe what another person was telling her to be true until that “fact” was called into question. Her implicit trust impressed me—especially since this statement was made around the time that The X-Files was at the height of its popularity. During the late 1990s, just about everyone I knew kept reciting the series’ famous tagline: “Trust no one.” Some mutual friends liked to tease her for this gullibility, but I respected her open-mindedness. It’s a lonely world to question, doubt and double-think everything that somebody tells you. When I started my hypnotherapy certification at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2004, I learned that gullibility is really just a disparaging description of hyper-suggestibility. Furthermore, we are all probably susceptible to being led down that too-good-to-be-true rosy path to some extent, at some point during our lives.

John Kappas, Ph.D., a psychologist and founder of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, described suggestibility in terms of how a person learns. It develops between when we are born through the first eight or so years of life, through interactions with the primary caretaker (usually, mother). If Mom’s communications were typically direct and literal—i.e., “I say what I mean and I mean what I say”—you’re more likely to take other people at their word because that is how you were taught/learned to communicate. This is type of communication and understanding is a hallmark of Physical Suggestibility. Conversely, someone whose caregiver who did not always follow through or support her words with congruent actions is more likely to always wonder if there is a hidden meaning behind what was said. For example: Mom tells you to finish your homework before you’re allowed to play with your friends but eventually she gives in to your begging and whining and allows you to play first (for just a little while). In this case, you also rely on the speaker’s tone of voice and context of the communication/action to infer the meaning behind her words: She “said” I can’t go play but she just pointed to the door and indicated I should leave the house. The comparative ambiguity of this communication creates Emotional Suggestibility.

Now, as very young children, most of us are taught at a very young age to listen to and respect adults and to always tell the truth (not lie). This is all well and good until the first time an older relative comes to visit at the holidays and teases or pranks you. Deep down, you know that Mom has only run out to the market to pick up some ingredients for the meal; but your grandparent or an older cousin tells you (smiling) that mom has actually gone away on a trip without you. You have been taught to trust and believe grown-ups—and you basically do—until Mom saunters back into the house with an armful of groceries and you realize that you have been “had.” Where does that trusting instinct go from here?

Our suggestibility will continue to be challenged throughout our lifetime. Often, this happens willingly (with our permission), such as when we suspend our disbelief about a plot-twist while watching a movie or reading a book, or even when we go shopping for groceries or clothes. Yes, I really do want to buy that chocolate cake/those Jimmy Choo stilettos; I just “need” someone to persuade me to give into that whim. When we are engrossed in a thrilling story or interacting with a highly motivated salesperson, it is even more difficult to be skeptical and overcome the power of the hypnotic modalities that increase our suggestibility in the first place.

Someone who is ready and willing to believe anything and everything probably possess a somnambulistic suggestibility and go through most days in hypnosis. (The friend I described at the beginning of this essay probably fit this description.) As I explained in a previous blog, it is not uncommon for me to have to de-hypnotize a client before we can work on the issue the person wanted to address. This technique is also effective for increasing our critical thinking, logic and reasoning faculties in the conscious mind that enable us to resist and/or avoid the temptations to which our suggestibility can make us vulnerable.

Special Offer!

I am extending my May 2021 special offer! This month, when you book your FIRST (Introductory) hypnotherapy session with me you are eligible for a $25 discount on BOTH your Second AND Third follow-up, a la Carte appointments! This promotion may not be combined with any other offer. It is non-transferable and may not be exchanged for cash. Discount does not apply for hypnotherapy-package discounts. Valid through June 30, 2021.

Thursday, June 10, 2021

To All the Horses I Have Loved Before

To All the Horses I Have Loved Before…

(This blog was originally posted on September 27, 2016)

Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

Me and Galhoso (“Gally”), the horse who brought me back to riding.

This blog is dedicated with love to the memories of Galhoso (“Gally”), the Lusitano stallion who reignited my love for horses and riding; and to Geeves, the first-ever horse of my own. Rest in sweet peace, dear boys.

When I started my hypnotherapy training, an important focus of my original business plan was to help equestrians improve their communication and relationship with their equine partners, including overcome anxiety around horses and achieve competition goals. Of course, not all of my practice focuses on horses and riding. Smoking cessation, weight loss, overcoming fear of public speaking/performance anxiety, grief resolution and dealing with stress/anxiety are just a few of many other self-improvement goals I help my clients achieve. But I named my hypnotherapy practice Calminsense Hypnotherapy® in homage of my special interest in horses and riding. “Common Sense” is a colloquial expression that means “horse sense,” and I use the word “calm” many times during every hypnotherapy session. Recent queries about my work with equestrians inspired me to pay tribute to some of the horses that have been so special to me over the years.

Paent (pronounced “Paint” and probably named because of his coloring). I rode him on a trail-ride during my one-and-only summer camp experience. He was probably an average-sized horse, about 15 or 15.2 hands high, but I was very little at age eight and he seemed huge. He was a gentle giant—i.e., he didn’t run off or try to dump me during the ride—and I begged my parents to let me take him home with me when I went home.
Renege. I rode this grey gelding for a few years between the ages of about 11 and 15. My first-ever riding instructor owned him and his doppelganger, a gelding called Charlie. Trivia fact: Clint Eastwood is riding Renege in the first 10 minutes of High Plains Drifter. The gelding was very dirty in this scene, but he is definitely in those scenes. My trainer’s husband worked in the movie industry and owned the horses—or bought them right after the movie, I can’t remember. Renege was a little smaller than Charlie and rarely used in jumping lessons—which made him less popular in lessons—but I really bonded with him. I can still remember how slow and smooth Renege’s trot was; in fact, it was probably better categorized as a Western jog. His canter (lope) was also comparatively slow compared to the bolder stride that is desired in dressage. My memory of how wonderful his canter felt probably created the subconscious mental script that my subsequent trainers and I had to work hard re-write so I would feel comfortable riding a true medium (bold) canter.
Galhoso (“Gally”). One of my dear friends co-owns a Lusitano stallion called Galhoso. Sadly, he passed away last week at the very respectable age of 31. His death may not have been completely unexpected, but it has been keenly felt by everyone who loved and cared for him. I am grateful that I was able to visit Gally a final time at the beginning of 2017, and he was as impressive and sweet as the first time we met about 15 years ago. At that first meeting, my friend asked if I would like to sit on him after their training session. She knew that I used to ride when I was a teenager and loved horses. The opportunity to get on a horse again and even trot him around on a lunge line for a few minutes was too good to be true. I admit that the idea of riding a stallion (!) was thrilling, and it still tickles me that I had that experience. That ride also was the beginning of my re-introduction to horses and riding as a passion and life-style. The following year I started taking regular riding lessons again and bought my first-ever horse. I now own a Lipizzaner/Arabian gelding named Galahad whom I affectionately nick-named “Gally-had” a few months before Gally died. I don’t know why I started calling my boy that, but I will continue to do so in loving memory of that tremendous stallion who brought horses and riding back into my life all those years ago.
Geeves. I bought him from my trainer at Silvergate Farms when I turned 35. As I liked to say, I knew I loved him before I ever met or rode him. Having lived in England for seven years I was a fan of the Jeeves and Wooster novels and television series. As soon as I heard there was a horse with that name at the barn I knew I had to meet him. My trainer was surprised when I asked to ride Geeves, but we soon became recognized as a kind of item at the barn: “Sara and Geeves.” At 16.2 hands high, the dark-brown gelding was (and remains) one of the biggest horses I have ever ridden. He was always very gentle with and even protective of me, as I was of him. He taught me how to enjoy every aspect of loving a horse—not just riding but grooming, hanging out on rainy days and worrying about every little thing that horse owners worry about, often unnecessarily. Geeves and I were together for nearly eight years and it’s nearly six years since he passed away. I still miss him every day, and I remember every lesson he taught me.
Candy. I leased this sweet part-Arabian mare for about a year after Geeves died. I had actually been riding her at the end of Geeves’ life because his arthritis was getting worse. I wasn’t ready to own another horse yet, but the schooling mare and I were a good fit as far as size and my riding goals/ability. She took me to my first horse shows and even though I knew she wouldn’t be a permanent part of my life, I am grateful for the time I got to spend with her while I was grieving for my horse.
Galahad. I met Avalon’s Galahad in 2011. Our introduction was similar to how I discovered Geeves. A friend (former trainer) owned a training barn and Arabian-horse breeding facility; when I finally started looking for a horse of my own, she gave me a DVD of some of the horses she was offering for sale at the time. My interest piqued the instant Galahad appeared in the frames. Learning about the horse’s part-Lipizzaner pedigree was like a dream come true. The dancing white horses of the Spanish Riding School symbolized the ultimate of classical dressage training, and I could have a chance to become part of that story. The first time Galahad was brought out for me to watch him work at liberty, even my trainer agreed he seemed to be flirting with me in a way he didn’t behave with another prospective buyer. The first time I got on him for a ride, the gelding cocked a hind leg and dropped his head, waiting patiently as I adjusted my stirrups. “Well, he’s made up his mind!” the trainer said with a laugh, noting Galahad’s relaxation with me on board.

We’ve been together ever since.

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Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Real-Life Application of Suggestibility

A customer walked into a music store the other day and the shop assistant said, “Good morning.”

The customer replied, “You too.”

The assistant said, “Second shelf, first aisle on the left.”

I have been a certified hypnotherapist, officially, for nearly 16 years. Suggestibility—specifically, the difference between emotional and physical suggestibility—is one of the first concepts I learned about during my training at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute. All these years later, I continue to be fascinated by and amused with the way people’s suggestibility influences people’s day-to-day interactions and communication.

Briefly, HMI founder John Kappas, Ph.D., described suggestibility as the way we communicate and learn. Specifically, physical suggestibility is a literal and direct communication style. Emotional suggestibility entails inference and metaphor; the person looks for meaning behind the words.

Suggestibility occurs along a spectrum and it is not determined by your gender or sexuality. It is a behavior that we typically learn from our primary caretaker. Typically, although not necessarily, “mom,” a primary caretaker is the person whom we identify as the individual that met our most basic survival needs from when we were born until about age 8. So it is very common to have a different suggestibility and communication “style” from our secondary caretaker (e.g., dad), as I recently experienced.

My dad: Can I get you anything from the grocery store?

Me: I actually need more black-tea bags for hot tea. Thanks!

My dad: Okay. And he purchased, literally, a box of black-tea bags.

What I meant, though, was that I wanted more bags of Tetley tea, which we both prefer for hot tea. Because I meant a specific brand, I assumed he knew that, too. Nope. A physical suggestible, he literally purchased what I asked for, and I could only laugh about that.

A few days later, during a riding lesson, my trainer told me to ask my horse to go “forward.” I honestly cannot remember what her specific words or instructions were; they were very general and vague. Literally, a metaphor. But those words resonated so deeply and comfortably that I knew exactly what she meant and what she wanted me to do. They created a picture in my subconscious mind, and that picture became a feeling. My body instinctively knew what I needed to do, so I did that. Once again, I had to laugh. This was also a superb example of suggestibility in action.

In reference to the fun exchange between an employee at a music store, who do you think was the Physical Suggestible? Who was the Emotional Suggestible?

I wonder how the rest of the conversation might have gone…

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Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Flight Syndrome: What Does Your Behavior Say About How You Feel?

(This blog was originally posted on September 14, 2014)

Photo by Rick Hustead

According to John Kappas, Ph.D., whenever a person represses or does not express an emotion the displaced energy from that experience is converted into a physical “symptom” of that emotional trauma. The phenomenon is called a body syndrome. There are no nerve endings in the brain; however, sensory perception (e.g., smell, taste, sight, hearing, touch) that begin there send electric impulses that carry this information through the body. These impulses ultimately begin to manifest physical discomfort in areas of the body that are specifically associated with a certain repressed emotion. Once we are aware of which emotion is being manifested, we can treat the syndrome, the Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder stated.

A few nights ago, a late-night talk-show host told his audience that he tends to wander across the stage while he does the monolog during his show. In fact, the host confided that he never really noticed this behavior until one of his producers showed him a clip from a previous episode. Sure enough, within a few minutes he had drifted several feet to the left of his mark (tape) on the middle of the stage. His studio audience laughed. My mind whirred and came up with an immediate explanation for his nightly migrations across the stage: Flight Syndrome.

Flight Syndrome represents physical symptoms and behaviors that affect the legs and feet. In this syndrome, a person manifests his or subconscious desire to run away from a situation or problem that may be inducing fear or anxiety. Physical symptoms affect the muscular/skeletal structure of the legs and feet (e.g., bunions, breaks or sprains) or even disorders of the circulatory or nervous system (e.g., varicose veins or neuropathy). Flight syndrome behaviors include pacing, toe-tapping and an inability to remain still.

As a certified hypnotherapist, it is out of my scope of expertise to diagnose an illness or to recognize/identify specific symptoms that have a psychological or physiological basis. Therefore, I do and will refer clients to an appropriate licensed medical or psychology professional to determine the cause and/or treat that specific physical symptom that. However, once this other expert has ruled out a medical etiology of your symptom, with a follow-up referral from that licensed professional, I can continue to work with you in hypnotherapy, which can provide complementary therapeutic benefits and help to alleviate and/or control these symptoms and help you to pursue and achieve your vocational and avocational self-improvement goals.

People generally do not know the cause of this presenting issue when they seek hypnotherapy. Therefore, the first step to treating someone who is manifesting a flight syndrome is to explore what the client is running away from and possible reasons why the client needs or wants to run away. Once the possible cause(s) has been established, I would use systematic desensitization to help the client neutralize the intensity of the stimulus that triggers his or her physical symptom or flight behavior. I would also incorporate guided therapeutic imagery and teach the emotional freedom technique to increase the person’s perception of being able to control and prevail over the flight triggers and manage symptoms of physiological discomfort.

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