Self hypnosis is a great way to improve your life and make long-lasting changes. The best part about self hypnosis is that you can do it on your own, for cheap or for free. You do not need a hypnotist to stand over you any time you want the benefits of a hypnotherapy session. You can do it for yourself.
What Exactly is Self Hypnosis?
Self hypnosis is a technique of putting yourself in a trance state, so you can make positive suggestions to yourself. It might sound difficult to put yourself into a trance, but it is actually not as hard as it sounds. As human beings, we all go in and out of mild trances during the day. As you fall asleep at night, you are also going into a light trance state.
The human brain operates on brain waves, and the normal “waking” brain waves are called beta waves. The next level down are alpha waves, followed by theta waves and then delta waves. Beta waves are the fastest waves out of these four, with delta waves being the slowest. (In case you are wondering, brain waves are not ordered from fastest to slowest by the Greek alphabet letters but rather the order in which the brain waves were discovered.) To take yourself down into a trance state, you want to come out of beta into alpha and ideally down into theta. You don’t want to go all the way down to delta or you will fall asleep.
The Many Benefits of Self Hypnosis
Self hypnosis has many benefits to the body and mind. The most obvious benefits are the changes you might be able to make in your life due to the positive suggestions your subconscious mind is incorporating.
Other benefits include improved sleep, more balanced hormones, and reduced stress.
What is the Difference Between Self Hypnosis and Meditation?
In both self hypnosis and meditation, you are taking yourself into a mild trance state, and optimally your brain will be producing theta waves once you are there.
The main difference is that you would not use “positive suggestions” in meditation, although that may also be semantics to a certain extent. Certainly, for thousands of years, yogis and gurus have used mantras as a way to reprogram the mind towards more positive thoughts.
Also, both meditation and self hypnosis can incorporate guided visualization to increase the power of the trance.
When to Do Self Hypnosis
Sometimes, the hardest part of engaging in self hypnosis is getting started. It will work best if you set aside some time each day for your self hypnosis practice. Put it on your calendar.
You can also perform your self hypnosis in bed as you are about to fall asleep. You will likely fall asleep during your self hypnosis session, but that’s OK.
You at least won’t be tossing and turning as you try to fall asleep, agonizing over the little insults of the day, if you are doing self hypnosis before bedtime.
15 Tips and Techniques You Can Try with Self Hypnosis
The basics of self hypnosis are simple in theory but sometimes difficult in practice. Here are some self hypnosis tips and techniques you can try:
1. Use a Self Hypnosis Audio
If you are having a hard time hypnotizing yourself, then use a self hypnosis audio to get you into the trance state for you. There are tons of different types of hypnosis audios you can listen to for free on YouTube or purchase for at reasonable prices.
Most self hypnosis audios are marketed simply as “hypnosis” audios.” These are basically where a professional hypnotist records the audio and you can listen to it whenever you want. It is considered self hypnosis since you are by yourself and not working directly with the hypnotherapist.
You can find audios from professional hypnotists such as Dick Sutphen or Rick Collingwood on a variety of topics from growing old to getting over hay fever or allergies.
2. Make Your Own Self Hypnosis Audio
If you can’t find a hypnosis audio with the suggestions you want, you can make your own. You can often find hypnosis scripts online that you can modify for your own use. Record yourself (or have a friend record it for you) and use this for your self hypnosis audio.
Make sure your suggestions are positive and in the present tense. You can use a directive style “You are getting better and better” or an affirmation style “I am getting better and better.”
3. Focus on Your Breath
Take a tip from yoga: Focus on your breathing. Use long slow deep inhales and even slower exhales. Count your in breath and your out breath. This can help your mind calm down and put you into a trance state quickly and effectively.
4. Write Down Your Hypnotic Suggestions
Get clear o what your hypnotic suggestions are going to be before you start your session. Keep them next to you. Don’t be worried about “cheating.” If you need to, during your self hypnosis session, take a peek at your hypnotic suggestions and then repeat them in your mind as you close your eyes again.
5. Memorize Your Hypnotic Suggestions
Memorizing your hypnotic suggestions is the next step – and it will also embed those suggestions even more into your subconscious mind.
6. Watch Hypnosis Gurus on YouTube
Watching a hypnosis guru on YouTube, especially one using conversational hypnosis, can help you learn how suggestions work. It can also put you in a light trance state to start your self hypnosis session.
7. Take Classes in Meditation
By learning to meditate, you will learn how to get into a trance state fairly quickly. From there, it is an easy thing to add some positive suggestions to your “meditation.”
8. Practice Slow or Gentle Yoga
The entire purpose of yoga asana was originally to settle the body down so it could sit for lengthy periods of meditation. By practicing yoga – the slow and gentle kind, not the hyped up Western workout yoga – you will be well prepared for self hypnosis and meditation.
9. Listen to Binaural Beats Audios While Doing Self Hypnosis
Binaural beats audios are audios designed to take your brain waves down into a different state for the purposes of meditation and trance. You will want to use binaural beats that take the brain into the theta wave state. Many are on YouTube and are free. Use headphones for the best effect.
10. Put on Nature Sounds While Hypnotizing Yourself
The natural sounds of birds, gentle rain, ocean waves, or crickets at night can help relax the mind and body and support you going into a trance state.
11. Try Self EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a technique from psychology that involves moving the eyes to the right and left while processing an issue or trauma. You can perform self EMDR by using audio or video that moves from one side of the brain to the other. Or you can just move your eyes from side to side during self hypnosis – see what happens!
12. Incorporate EFT Before Your Self Hypnosis Session
EFT stands for “Emotional Freedom Techniques” and it is an easy-to-learn form of acupressure that involves tapping on meridian (energy) points while focusing on an issue. Using EFT at the start of your self hypnosis session will make it that much easier to go into trance and improve its effectiveness.
13. Use Your Imagination to Visualize
Visualization is a powerful way to reprogram the mind. Use visualization during your self hypnosis to imagine a better life for yourself. See yourself healthy, happy, and well. Or, just see yourself in relaxing environments: on a pleasant beach or relaxing at a sunny campsite.
14. Have a Mantra to Use
Not sure what to do during your self hypnosis session? Use a mantra. You can select a traditional mantra to use, such as Om Mane Padme Hum, or come up with your own mantra in English (or your native language), such as “I am peaceful and relaxed.” Return to it any time your mind drifts during self hypnosis.
15. Practice, Practice, Practice
The absolute best way to get better at self hypnosis is to do it daily. You can even do it a few times per day in short spurts. Keep it at consistently for best results. You may also find that initially, it may be harder to practice, but you get better as you go along. Perhaps you start off with a guided hypnosis audio but soon are able to go off on your own. Keep it up!
Self Hypnosis Is for Everyone
Self hypnosis is a highly safe and effective way to use the power of your subconscious mind to make positive changes in your life.
Last update on 2024-04-24 at 23:55 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
