16/01/2026
WHAT IS HYPNOSIS?
People are often unsure about hypnosis and I try to reassure them it is a familiar state everyone experiences frequently and not something unknown or out of their control. Here is a little explanation....
Hypnosis is not so much about achieving the right amount of relaxation but more about the focus of your attention.
It is when you suspend your own self monitoring and inner critique for a time and become absorbed into the activity of the moment.
It can be when you are lost in a daydreamy state where you forget to consciously assess your surroundings. Like staring out the window of a train or as a passenger in a car on a long journey, lost in deep thought.
We can even go into this state whilst doing an action. Have you ever been driving a car on a familiar route, yet completely lost in thought, almost as if your driving were happening on ‘auto pilot?’ You may not even remember some of the journey and might wonder if you even looked properly at the junction!
This is when your deeper, subconscious mind is operating and you have momentarily left the more conscious and aware part of your mind.
We can intentionally go into this state, such as when engrossed in a good movie or book, being absorbed by a creative activity, intensely focused on a hobby or really engaged listening to a talk.
It is when your interest is deeply captured and you forget everything else for a time. It is a state of pure concentration and focus, rather than your conscious mind, which is alert and busy, judging, analysing, assessing performance, planning and processing.
Whilst captured by and intensely connected to your experience, you become more open to receiving information, learning or improving skills and knowledge. Open to changing your perspective without responding to habitual worry or anxiety and the natural defences they create.
In this state, words can resonate, teach, inspire, comfort and reassure us. They can change our thinking by opening our frame of reference from a previously fixed position.
How we think, determines how we feel and how we behave.
Hypnotherapy (with a trusted Hypnotherapist) can help you to think differently about certain fears, phobias or physical symptoms. Previous learned responses and behaviours can be altered when we are able to think and feel more positively, with less fear. We can become detached and indifferent to previous triggers, providing us with much more calm in situations we struggle with.
This undistracted state of focus and concentration can happen when an activity completely captures our interest. People who like to practice skills such as a sport, creative activities or playing an instrument, describe this state of mind as going into "Flow".
When in our flow, or “in the zone” we ‘feel’ more relaxed, more effective and more efficient. Movement becomes softer and more coordinated and performance becomes less effortful yet more precise. When we surf that wave perfectly, achieve a difficult yoga position, play a piece of music without mistake, carve fluidly down a snowy mountain or play a smooth faultless round of golf.
We also go into this kind of relaxed and regulated state when doing mindful activities, such as painting, crafting or gardening. When we feel absorbed but safe, and naturally drop our tense hold on our physical bodies and our vigilant minds for a time. This gives our nervous system a welcome break - as does having hypnotherapy.
If you would like to learn to relax your mind and body more with hypnosis. To quiet your inner chatter or doubt, overcome unwanted fears, phobias or annoying, unwanted behaviours, please get in touch.
I am pretty busy currently and do need to keep myself operating efficiently by not taking on too much at once 😊, so there may be just a small wait. Thank you for your patience.🙏
