My Hypnotherapy Experience

[trishinnebraska]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

This is interesting...

I have been thinking about this since I first read this post Mike - I'd really like to quit smoking. I actually looked up hypnotists in the phone book yesterday. I wonder if they could do a "two-fer" smoking and alcohol? I think I'll call them today...

[Mackeral]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

But you said Mike you actually didnt feel like you'd been hypnotised..Do you think you were?
This is so interesting

[mikeupnorth]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

Yes, I think I was hypnotised. It's just that I felt fully conscious the whole time.

And trish, I am hoping to quit smoking too. Planning to ask Sam how I can work that into my hypno sessions...

[mojomuppet]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

mike pelicans cant smoke honey!:H

[Mackeral]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

LOL..

[Ivygoodluck]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

Wow, Mike

I have been toying with this idea myself. When he asks you to imagine a scene what is it? Not a bar, right? Ha ha. seriously, is he putting you at a beach?? I thought that they were supposed to give you a subliminal idea that alchohol is like poison. make you brain make that connection.?



Dying to hear how you are doing with this!


Good luck,

Ivy

[mikeupnorth]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

Ivy,

The scene was a cruise ship, where I was enjoying myself, mingling among the other passengers. Alcohol was present. Others were drinking, but I was drinking a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage. I was indifferent to the alcohol. It wasn't like aversion therapy, just indifference.

I have another session tomorrow. Can't wait!

Mike

[jerrybear]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

I WANT SOME FUCKING HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

NO ONE HERE HAS ANY ANSWERS, JUST WHAT THEY'VE DONE OVER THE PAST TWO DAYS!

I'M DYING FROM THIS GOD DAMNED DRINK IN MY HAND AND WANT TO LIVE BUT NO ONE ON THIS SUPPOSED HELP-YOU-RECOVER-SITE WANTS TO HELP ME RECOVER ! I, AND IM SURE OTHERS LIKE ME, DONT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR CRUISE, OR THE PARTY GOING ON THIS WEEKEND, OR MOJO'S TUX, FOR CHRISTS SAKE

[jerrybear]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

Im very sorry for the wording in my posting, I just dont know what to do. Im a nurse, critical care, and people are admitted to me in the icu to detox. Well, hell, I can't just go to the hospital to detox, because everyone I work with will then know, and I'll lose my job. If I havent already. I've detoxed myself a year ago, and went through DT's. I survived (Ive seen many who havent, by the way), but I am aware of the fact that every time the dt's get worse. So........this weekend (my planned detox weekend), is scaring the hell out of me. i just want someone who is NOT in the medical field and has been through the same to talk to me and tell me that come Monday morning I will still be alive and containing all of my brain function. please email me personally if you have so much as a little bit of hope. jerry_bear8@yahoo.com

[Waves 2]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

Have you had your next meeting Mike?

[mikeupnorth]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

Yes Waves -- back on track here.

The sessions go like this: about 30 minutes of talking, followed by about 10 to 15 minutes of hypnotism, followed by about 5 minutes of getting re-oriented.

We continued to explore the "benefits" I got from drinking. I put the word in quotation marks because everything I considered to be a benefit turns out to either be something I can get in some other way, or not really a benefit at all...

We started by talking about the last time I had a strong temptation to drink. He asked me to explain in detail how it occurred. I said that I was at work about 3 weeks ago, and the thought came to me that it would be nice to relax and unwind with some wine after work. He asked me to stop there.

That sentence has two parts.

1. It would be nice to relax and unwind... Is this true? Yes. It would be nice to relax and unwind indeed -- by taking a walk in the woods, by spending time with friends, by playing with my dog in the park (if I had a dog). OK.

2. ... with some wine after work. Is this true? Hmmm.. What is my experience with this? Every time for the past decade when I have tried to "relax and unwind" with alcohol of any type it has caused me profound grief. So, is this something that would be "nice?" And -- is it truly a way to "relax and unwind" when I know in the back of my brain that it is going to have the opposite effect in the long run? NO, NO, and manifestly NO.

OK -- so in the past, when I have fallen for this trick, what did I GET from it? Not relaxation, because that effect didn't last for more than an hour or two. It was overridden by the anxiety and remorse that I felt the next day. The lasting effect that I got from the experience, the one that I carried away with me, was shame, guilt, and fear. Now why would an otherwise perfectly healthy young man choose to do that to himself over and over and over again?

Long story short, if not too late: I did it to reinforce beliefs I took on about myself in childhood. The rest of the session was spent talking about letting go of those beliefs, dealing with the inner child, forgiving myself, etc. The hypnotherapy session was centered around forgiveness and love of myself.

Nothing too mysterious about it, folks. I mean, it's not like I go to a hypnotherapist and he puts me in a trance and snaps his fingers and *poof* the desire to drink is all gone. What is happening here is that he is working with me on the individual issues that reinforce my drinking behavior. I could have told you before I went into his office that anxiety and self-esteem contributed to my drinking. (Come on, they are factors for about 80% of alcoholics, aren't they?) But knowing they are a problem isn't enough. And stopping drinking doesn't DO anything about them. I think that is why RJ says this program is about more than just taking a pill. That's why AA says being sober is more than just not drinking.... there IS such a thing as being a "dry drunk." There has to be some healing that goes on underneath the surface. This would be true, I think, whether your goal is abstinence or moderation.

Anyway -- I have just come to realize that the hypnotherapy is very individualized therapy like any other, using hypnotism as an adjunct modality. So far, it seems to be helping quite a bit. I would recommend it for anyone who has the resources -- I would think most insurance would cover it if the person is a licensed therapist.

As for the CD's -- I think they are also helpful. They give you positive messages and reinforce your commitment. They give you a way to relax. They are a one-time investment that cost less than one session with a hypnotherapist.

I'll post again on this if there's anything really extraordinary to say about it! In the meantime, I would just say that I think some kind of behavior modification is extremely important for the program.

[Dar]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

gonna give hypnotherapy a try

Hi everyone and thanks Mike Up North for sharing your experience of hypnotherapy with us. I have been on this site for 3 days and before I read this string I had decided to try hypnosis. I have a tobacco and alcohol addiction and have always felt that my addiction was more psychological than physical. So I have an appointment with a clinical psychologist today after work who is going to use hypnosis on me for 4 sessions and give me some C.D.' s for stop smoking and I can get the C.D.'s for stopping the alcohol habit from this site. Smoking is probably my strongest addiction, but of course gotta have the booze with the cigarettes. It is a vicious circle, and I can barely walk around the block with my puppy because I am so out breath from smoking for so many years. That is what I hate most, and today is the day that I begin changing my behavior and take back my life.

Mike, your experience with hypno have really been encouraging for me and I will let you guys know how it goes for me

[lushy]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

Please do Dar. This is something I am very interested in as well, however, I was told my a hypnotist at a fair one time that I am unhypnotizable. Is that a word? I will be curious to hear about your experience. Mike, have you been again?

[Dar]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

Relaxing and saying goodbye to bad habits

Hi everyone & Mike,

Mike, I am having much the same experience as you with hypnotherapy. My therapist has given me the ability to make myself completely relax, to let all my fears and anxieties gently float away, to be comfortable and at peace with myself. This was usually something I thought I did with cigarettes and alcohol, but with very negative results. I have never felt such peace and calm as I have while under hypnosis. Self-acceptance, confident and empowered to accomplish any challenge.

The mind imagery is a little different for me though. It is about laying on a beautiful beach, a warm sunny day with a very gentle caressing breeze. I am surrounded by a very warming bright white light that starts at the top of my head and slowly work its way down to my jaw, relaxing all my mucsles there, then down my neck, back and spine, relaxing my muscles there, then into my abdomen, causing me to breath slowly and very rythmic, then it moves down into my hips, legs and finally to my toes. It is a gentle, healing and warming bright light.

Once, I am relaxed, my therapist asks me to picture a beautiful castle, where the architecture is beyond comparison and there is no other like it on earth. She tells me the castle is mine, for as long as I want it, all I have to do is open the door. So I slowly open the door, but once inside I see that it is musty, causing shortness of breath, the walls are covered in soote and what little sunlight is able to come into the room is doing a shimmery dance off the dust particles floating in the air. She asks me to start cleaning the walls, and once I do I see the most beautiful walls, with beautiful paintings and engravings, so unique that nothing could ever could compare. I am in awesome anticipation to uncover the complete inner beauty of this most magnificent castle. Then I open the windows and breathe in the cool, clean, crisp ocean air, that makes me glad to be alive. I step outside of the castle, and I have the most wonderful sense of well-being. Outside is a very beautiful river, always moving, always cleansing itself, and the water is so fresh and clean and I drink from it. My therapist then tells me all water that I drink will always taste like that, so refreshing and cleansing. She slowly brings me back to the reality room, allowing me to gradually awaken at the count of 5 I feel disorientated, but still very calm and comfortable.

Now I can see that the real castle is the body that contains my mind, spirit and soul. It is true, water has never tasted better. I feel like the drinking and smoking are just bad habits, something I have done all these years, like brushing my teeth, except that is a good habit. I don't feel like it is an addiction anymore. I have to admit, I was a little afraid to be hypnotised, because I didn't know what to expect, but I was completely aware of things at all times and my therapist told be that I would not do anything during the session that I did not want to do. Our next session I will be more relaxed and more accepting of the hypnotic suggestions and positive re-enforcements. There you have it, best regards to all.

Dar

[mikeupnorth]

My Hypnotherapy Experience

Dar,

Thank you so much for sharing. It sounds like you are working with a skilled hypnotherapist. And yes, the state of relaxation is wonderful isn't it?

I am also planning to use hypnotherapy to get smoking out of my life once and for all. Of the two bad "habits," drinking was the more immediate concern. It really *had* to go first, and I didn't think I could let them both go at the same time. Now that I have some sober time under my belt I feel I'm nearly ready to start working on the smoking issue.

I know that in my case, the hypnotherapy played a part in helping me stop drinking but it was only a piece of the puzzle. I could not have stopped drinking with hypnotherapy alone. I had to use the supplements, medication, change in diet and support (personal and discussion board too) in order to make it. I am hoping that with smoking I can do it with hypnotherapy. I also hope the same supplements and medication that help me abstain from alcohol can help me (at least in the beginning) to stay nicotine-free. There is some research that shows Topamax, which I am already taking, to be helpful in quitting smoking. I'm also planning to finally start exercising as I quit smoking. (That's been the main reason I haven't exercised. Smoking and physical activity don't go very well together...) Anyway, we can use all the tools we can get, right!

Thanks again for posting -- and please keep doing so as your hypnotherapy experience continues! It is great to hear from someone else who is doing this as well.

Mike