Correction Not Perfection

Photo by Rick Hustead

As with any behavior-modification program—which hypnotherapy is, by the way—clients typically come in with a list of all the things they believe are “wrong” with them. They can’t stay away from sweet or high-calorie/high-fat foods. They can’t give up cigarettes. They can’t get over the former spouse or lover and accept that the relationship is truly over. They don’t like to be or even feel safe when they are outside their comfort zone, an area that may not extend beyond the confines of their home. They “completely freak out” when they see a spider. And so on.

In addition to changing or abolishing the negative behavior, clients often want to know how it took hold in the first place. I couch this explanation in the context of John Kappas, Ph.D.’s model, Theory of Mind. Basically, the person learned to do “x” or adopted “y” belief by imitating, or modeling, these behaviors they observed in their social environment. A parent or guardian, peer or another role model explicitly or implicitly taught the individual to do it, and the person derived some kind of reward for doing it, too.

Another factor comes into play here, too: constant repetition of the behavior reinforces its strength and significance in the subconscious mind. There is a lot of truth to the expression, “Perfect practice makes perfect performance,” and this is especially true when it comes to reinforcing any behavior in the subconscious mind. Remember, the SCM does not know the difference between fantasy and reality, objective observation and a joke. So long as the behavior is giving the person some kind of positive feedback (pleasure), the individual will continue to do (practice) that activity. Furthermore, this practice is perfect, as far as the subconscious mind is concerned.

I help my hypnotherapy clients change unwanted behaviors or beliefs by rewriting the content of the subconscious mental script that previously reinforced those old patterns. Since everything we do and believe has been learned, these patterns can also be corrected and even un-learned when we decide they no longer work for us or serve our best interest. Then we can create a different, positive mental script and continue to reinforce the behaviors and attitudes that will help us accomplish our new self-improvement goals.

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

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 are born in one day. We die in one day. We can change in one day. And we can fall in love in one day. Anything can happen in just one day.” – Gayle Foreman

• "Let a man lose everything else in the world but his enthusiasm and he will come through again to success.” – H. W. Arnold

• “The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

• “Maybe it’s not just about finding the perfect friend, partner or tribe, but finding the perfection in those you’ve already found.” – Mike Dooley

• “We have to be honest about what we want and take risks rather than lie to ourselves and make excuses to stay in our comfort zone.” – Roy Bennett

• “If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there's no need to worry.” – Dalai Lama

• “Be a good listener. Your ears will never get you in trouble.” – Frank Tyger

• “Your voice is the one you hear most often through the day, and what you think influences what you do.” – Lolly Daskal

• “If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” – Thomas Edison

• “Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.” – Gilda Radner

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

Miracle on the Hudson: Pilots’ vs. Passengers’ Reaction to the Impending Plane Crash

Photo by Rick Hustead

On January 15, 2009, US Airlines pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger successfully landed the crippled US Airbus A320 he was flying, on the Hudson River after it was struck by a flock of geese. Sully’s and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles’s actions that day were a veritable master class in over-riding the instinctive fight-flight emergency response and staying out of a natural state of hypnosis to successfully do their job.

Clint Eastwood directed the movie Sully, which is based on Sullenberger’s memoir about the crash and the subsequent National Transportation Safety Board investigation about it. I remembered the incident when it happened seven years ago; until information was available that the jet had a problem, I was one of many people who wondered if the crash was a failed terrorist attack. The image of an airplane flying very low over New York City brought back memories of 9/11; only this time, the plane landed on the water and, miraculously, everyone on board survived and waited for rescue on the wings or inflatable rafts.

 When I watched the movie a couple weeks ago, I was fascinated by the way the Sully and Skiles were able to focus on their jobs throughout the ordeal. As the cockpit warning system continuously announced their imminent peril (“terrain”), Sully continuously updated officials at La Guardia Airport’s air-traffic control office of their status while trying to fly the doomed to a nearby airport for an emergency landing. Meanwhile, Skiles consulted the in-flight manual and tried every trouble-shooting technique it listed to re-start the stalled engines. Talk about a subconscious overload! As Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., explained, hypnosis is created by an overload of message units, disorganizing our inhibitory process, triggering our fight-flight mechanism and ultimately resulting in a hyper-suggestible state, providing access to the subconscious mind. Somehow, no matter what Sully’s and Skiles’s survival instincts were likely screaming at them to do, both men were able to over-ride the instinctive fight-flight reaction and remain alert, aware and able to do what they needed to do, to land the jet in one piece and save lives. Even when the captain realized they would not make it to a runway, his voice remained calm and measured as he made the announcement: “This is the captain. Brace for impact.” 

Meanwhile, the director successfully juxtaposed the crew’s relative calm with evidence of growing panic and anxiety of the passengers after the strike. They were already suspicious that something was wrong after a loud bang reverberated through the main cabin followed by brief turbulence, which were caused by the birds impacting the engines. As flight attendants walked down the aisles to remind people to keep their seat-belts on, whispered questions and reassurances became more urgent. When the pilot told everyone to prepare for a crash landing, the terrified passengers began to pray, scream/cry in earnest. Loved ones embraced each other; people flying alone sent frantic “good-bye” texts to family members at home. Even complete strangers reached out to hold the hand of someone sitting beside them, not wanting to be alone if this was the end of their lives. These behaviors are consistent with drifting into the hyper-suggestible state of hypnosis.

Then the plane hit the water and floated rather than sink directly to the bottom of the river. The passengers realized that they were somehow still alive and in one piece; many people started to laugh and cry again as endorphins flooded their bloodstream. The flight attendants immediately started to hustle people out of their seats and move toward emergency exits to evacuate the flooding plane. A couple people jumped right into the icy river and started to swim toward the distant shore when they were told to get out. Watching this scene, I knew that this reaction was in response to a direct and literal instruction (Physical suggestibility). However, during an emergency like this, they were more likely—quite simply—in a hyper-suggestible state (somnambulist) and were already retreating into a trance or dissociated state of awareness. Surviving a plane crash is an ultimate example of a fight-or-flight- inducing situation, and these passengers were prepared to fight (swim) for their lives.

Meanwhile, Captain Sullenberger, First Officer Skiles and the flight attendants continued to usher the frantic passengers out of the jet, reminding people to leave personal belongings while offering whatever reassurances they could that rescue was on the way. When Sully finally exits, himself—after taking a final check for any remaining passengers that might still be cowering on the plane—we see him grabs the flight log and his uniform jacket from the cockpit. It is possible that his conscious mind directed these actions: It’s bitterly cold outside so I should take the coat; and this information will be helpful to figure out why the plane went down. However, I believe they were more likely examples of a subconscious known, behaviors he learned and reinforced over and over during nearly 20,000 hours of flying experience. From the moment he stepped into the cockpit and went through the pre-flight checklist to take-off and landing, the captain would automatically followed flight and safety protocols until the end of the flight/journey.

When the NTSB concluded their investigation into “the Miracle on the Hudson,” Captain Sullenberger’s experience piloting glider airplanes was also credited with facilitating this life-saving emergency landing. When every manual correction and over-ride failed to re-start the jet’s engines, Sully reportedly used his instinct, judgment and some of his glider experience to “land” the plane. Previous attempted water landings of other commercial jets had resulted in mass casualties, and it took 17 tries for pilots in flight-simulation tests to “successfully” land after a bird strike like the one that felled US Airways Flight 1549. It wasn’t just a miracle that saved 155 lives on the Hudson River, but Sully’s experience as a pilot and subconscious mental script that enabled him to do exactly what needed to be done at exactly the right time.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation about Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2016

When the Presenting Problem is a Symptom

(This blog was originally posted on June 10, 2015)

Photo by Rick Hustead

Sometimes, an issue that a client presents to the hypnotherapist during a therapy session is a symptom rather than the cause of another problem. For example, increased anxiety and various signs of physical discomfort such as light-headedness, headache or nausea may suggest that the individual is experiencing symptoms of low blood-sugar levels rather than just responding to a specific stress trigger. Low blood-sugar levels can also trigger a phobic reaction. (For more information about this relationship, see my blog titled Nutrition and the Development of Fears and Phobias.) In this case, it is important for the hypnotherapist to work with the client’s physician to create an appropriate nutrition program to control the blood-sugar level and incorporate suggestions about nutrition and healthy eating during hypnosis to reduce these symptoms.

However, it is also possible that a client’s behaviors or emotional responses/reactions are actually manifestations of his or her repressed emotions: i.e., a body syndrome. Once a licensed medical doctor has ruled out a physical etiology (cause) of the symptom, the hypnotherapist may explore the cause of the symptom in the context of body syndromes. For example, persistent pain in the client’s shoulders and upper back (Responsibility Syndrome) may provide a secondary gain of being “allowed” to avoid participating in certain activities undesirable at work or with the person’s family.

For example, Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., explained how a client’s persistent hoarse throat and fatigue was actually a symptom of her subconscious resistance toward the woman’s husband/manager’s pushing her to accomplish something. The client, a singer, also experienced symptoms of low blood-sugar that were brought on by her husband’s demands for perfection in her performances. The hypnotherapist determined that his client was subconsciously motivated to use her hoarse throat as a way to avoid having to sing when she didn’t feel like it. Consequently, Dr. Kappas approached her therapy by first addressing her behaviors (e.g., feeling tired and hoarseness). He explained how her nutrition contributed to her feeling tired and recommended ways to change her diet that would increase her energy. Next, he explored with her the various reasons why (cause) she was experiencing the hoarseness and addressed the client’s perception of her husband’s perfectionist tendencies as a source of her stress and subconscious resistance.

Once the client understood how the various sources of perceived external and internal pressure on her to perform were affecting her behavior, the hypnotherapist discussed ways of treating her symptoms. First, Dr. Kappas encouraged her and her husband to separately work with a therapist to work out some of their professional conflicts. Then he worked with the client to help her husband agree that they could change their interactions with each other and how this behavior change could be achieved. Ultimately, the woman’s symptoms would dissipate as her relationship with her spouse/manager improved, thus ameliorating her subconscious desire to avoid singing/performing because their pattern of interacting with each other became less stressful.

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