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Imagine yourself enthralled in a movie. You are
sitting on the couch watching a movie, and you are completely oblivious
to your surroundings. You are caught up in the action, or you may
be caught up in the characters. The scene is slowly developing and
you are waiting for the outcome. Suddenly the phone rings, and you
are startled, and you jump. The time you have spent watching the
movie is a form of hypnosis. Your sense of hearing, sight, smell
and touch are suspended for a period of time as you remain focused
on a particular stimuli, i.e. the movie.
There are many charlatans who utilize hypnosis for a variety of
ailments, falsely claiming a magical cure. WARNING: Hypnosis is
effective in smoking cessation only about 34% of the time. Subsequently,
66% of the time it is a failure. The same is true for weight loss.
Hypnosis CANNOT force you to do something you would not normally
do. Hypnosis cannot be used to take advantage of you.
Benefits of hypnosis include relaxation, meditation and anxiety
reduction. It can be used effectively in phobias, and has been used
in regression techniques to retrieve past information. Hypnosis
when used with certain medications can also be beneficial. Hypnosis
can be effective in forensic psychology, as well as certain traumas
that people have encountered in their lives.
As with any treatment intervention, individuals seeking out hypnosis
as a therapy tool for a medical ailment should seek out a second
opinion first. If hypnosis seems right for you at that point, check
the credentials and educational background of any hypnotist, as
well as how long they have been practicing. A professional hypnotist
will be able to document this for you. Don’t settle for anyone
less than a professional. Ask for a testimonial from a previous
patient, as many hypnotists graciously offer referrals from prior
patients.
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