Thoughts of the Day

Photo by 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.

• “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein

• “The purpose of dancing, and of life, is to enjoy every moment and every step, regardless of where you are when the music stops.” – Wayne Dyer

• “Stop rehearsing your failures! Write a new script for your life and start rehearsing that!” – Bruce Van Horn

• “To be able to look back upon one’s life in satisfaction is to live twice.” – Kahlil Gibran

• “The best way to get approval is not to need it.” – Hugh MacLeod

• “To succeed…you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.” Tony Dorsett, NFL Runningback

• “Life is like a camera. Just focus on what’s important. Capture the good times. Develop from the negatives and if things don’t work out…just take another shot.” – Unknown

• “Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.” – Rikki Rogers

• “You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Christopher Columbus

• “If we constantly focus on what makes us unhappy in life, then we will always be unhappy.” – Steven Aitchison

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/.

© 2016

Hypnotherapy and Impotence

Sometimes, anxiety about sexual intimacy can really break the romantic mood. While it can be frustrating and potentially embarrassing, however, one or two instances of impotence do not have to signal the end of the relationship. It is normal for men to experience impotence at some stage of their lives, particularly as they grow older. Hypnosis and guided imagery can be powerful tools to reduce anxiety and build and help the person sustain an aroused state. However, before employing these to treat impotence, the client must have a physical exam with his physician to confirm that there is not a physiological reason such as diabetes or prostate issues, etc., that are preventing him from achieving an erection. Once a physical cause is ruled out, the hypnotherapist can address the symptom from an emotional and behavioral standpoint.

John Kappas, Ph.D., advised that the first question the consulting hypnotherapist should ask is whether the client has been able to function well sexually in the past. Has the individual ever been able to achieve a full erection before this current episode of impotence? It is also important to ascertain whether the individual has experienced an emotional trauma during his life; this can also affect sexual arousal and performance. If so, it may be necessary to guide the client through the different stages of trauma or grief before addressing his impotence, the Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder said.

Dr. Kappas recommended using the Law of Association to get the client past the first stage of arousal (partial erection) to the second stage (a full erection). While he is relaxed in hypnosis, the hypnotherapist should provide suggestions where the client alternately visualizes or imagines that he is healthy and able to function normally in a sexual relationship. Alternate the suggestions between images of the client having a full erection, then a partial erection and then a full one. Next, have him visualize or imaging that he is with his current sexual partner talking about sex and developing an erection. Once this is achieved, have the client visualize or imagine that he has gone through stages one and two of the arousal cycle and is getting ready for sex. “Each time you think, verbalize or get into a sexual behavior or penetration, you’ll get a very rigid erection and feel very confident,” the hypnotherapist advised.

It is also important to explain to the client how drinking alcohol, taking certain medications or smoking cigarettes can impede arousal. Such abstention is particularly important on a weekday, when the person is more likely to experience stress from work during the day, Dr. Kappas said. Finally, provide a hypnotic suggestion that the client will have an early-morning venting dream to release any suppressed thoughts that prevent his achieving a full erection and facilitate the arousal process.

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/.

© 2016

Attitude and Suggestibility

“A bad attitude is contagious.” – Lolly Daskal

Photo by Rick Hustead

Have you ever noticed how quickly and easily you or other members of your family or peers at work get grumpy, fearful or some other negative emotion if someone else in that group has that attitude? Or, if you hear a news report that a particularly virulent strain of flu is going around and the first symptom is a really sore throat, you notice that you also have a sore throat? Even babies get in on the act: one crying baby can set off temper tantrums in every other infant or toddler in the room? Alternatively, some people are able to maintain an inner peace, patience and indifference to the emotional volatility of other people in their environment. What is that all about?

I believe that a lot of this behavioral mimicry comes from suggestibility. As I have explained in my previous blog titled Where Does Suggestibility Come From?, we learn behavior by identification and association of various message units that enter the subconscious mind. Some of this behavior—especially in the case of animals and very young children—is likely reflective of the fight/flight reaction that is triggered in the primitive area of the mind. The subconscious mind of young children is programmed very early that that when they fuss, someone should/is going to come along to make them comfortable. When a baby become irritable, the volume of its shriek can easily trigger that “fight” response in its young peers, who start to cry, too. These infants’ cries communicate the following message: Something is wrong, the noise is irritating/hurting me, take care of me now.

As for our reactions to stressful environments and other people’s emotional volatility, I also believe that a lot of our discomfort comes from the negative energy we pick up in that context. Each of us, to some extent, possesses the ability to detect subtle and obvious signs of threat or danger (intuition). This can be a nagging sensation of being watched in a crowd or feel like the air in a room you entered is very thick or heavy because others are arguing or fighting. We make these associations because we have learned (suggestibility, again) that emotions are easily transformed into physical sensations. The more sensitive and suggestible you are to the emotional miasma in the room, the more likely you are to take on this negativity (good or bad) as well.

To help maintain a positive attitude, I teach my clients simple breathing and relaxation techniques by which to dial down or even turn off the negative energy or attitudes they perceive around them. I also desensitize them to the stimuli that typically trigger this negativity in themselves. Therapeutic guided-imagery techniques enable my clients to find solutions for handling their own reactions to other people’s criticism or antagonism (including peers or family members) they are likely to encounter during a stressful situation. For more tips how to improve your attitude and de-fuse and diffuse negative energy, I invite you to read my blogs titled Energy Exchange and Energy Vampires.

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/.

© 2016

Coming in for a Tune-Up

Each year, most of us go to the doctor, or take our kids to the pediatrician or our pets to the veterinarian to get a wellness check-up. We take our cars in to the shop for a tune-up. If your profession requires you to renew your professional license to continue working, you might attend a conference to refresh your knowledge and take a written test to update your certification. And so on. 

Hypnotherapy is a great tool for “tuning up” our subconscious mind and conscious mind by reinforcing positive, healthy lifestyle choices and behaviors while you focus on pursuing new self-improvement goals. For example, athletes often describe how they continuously practice and hone their skills until they become muscle memory. Not only does conscious thought become unnecessary to achieve the desired technique, but many say that thinking about what they are doing, at all, is often an impediment to their success. Similarly, dancers continue to practice and review the foundation movements of their art even as they learn and perfect new techniques and choreography. They know that it is equally important to reinforce the subtle, mental nuances of their art as it is to keep their muscles strong and flexible.

 This is also true of everyday activities and habits. If we do not practice the desired behavior or belief system until it, too, becomes automatic. However, when we are confronted with a challenge or stressful situation, it is easy to slip back into those previous, unwanted habits or beliefs simply because they are so familiar and comfortable. A tune-up hypnotherapy session is an effective way to reinforce those positive, healthy and desired behaviors. In hypnosis, the physical body becomes very comfortable and relaxed, which enables the subconscious mind to accept and incorporate message units (information) into new subconscious knowns. The subconscious mind quickly and easily assimilates these hypnotic suggestions because they are simply reiterations of a previous script. In this situation, hypnotherapy is used to reinforce the desired behavior(s) being an automatic response even during a challenging or stressful situation.

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/.

© 2016