How Self-Hypnosis can calm your anxiety

What does Hypnosis do?

During Hypnosis you are gently guided into a calm state of relaxation through your breath. By using guided imagery and visualization you access the resources of your subconscious mind where you can create more positive thoughts, feelings, and beliefs and this is anchored by positive affirmations.

When hypnosis is done correctly it is an appropriate complementary treatment for anxiety, anger management, stress relief, smoking cessation, weight loss, overcoming fears and phobias, for pain management and numerous other conditions.

Hypnosis is also successful when used for personal development by cultivating positive thoughts, feelings and behaviour that create a positive mindset.

Our subconscious mind can sometimes work against our goals

Your subconscious mind is responsible for taking care of your behaviour, habits, beliefs, and it also chooses your responses in any situation without your conscious mind being aware of it. Your subconscious mind is working automatically in the background and it does this to make it easier for your conscious mind. This is a challenge if there is a behaviour, response, or habit that you would like to change.

An example is to be aware of a goal such as following an exercise plan to feel healthier. Your subconscious mind might not be in alignment with this new plan and might resist this vision you have by creating obstacles such as telling that you are tired, that you don’t have enough time or that you can exercise tomorrow or even better … telling you that you can start your exercise plan on Monday.

You might find that the challenge you face is an internal one of self-sabotaging.

Your subconscious is merely choosing the responses which it thinks you would like to have because of your previous reaction in the same situation or by how you are influenced by the people around you and the society you live in.

How do I reprogram my subconscious? 

The positive news is that you can teach your subconscious mind to react differently in the situation you find yourself in, so that you can have a different outcome and achieve your goals.

Your subconscious mind will obey the instructions that are given to it and is particularly receptive to change when you are in a state of hypnosis.

When you are asleep your conscious mind shuts off and your subconscious mind is most active and free to create images and stories which seem real – and often you are the star in them. During your waking state when you reflect on these dreams, they might be unusual or fantastical.

During Hypnosis or deep relaxation, just like in your sleep state, your conscious mind steps back and your subconscious mind is more active. Your conscious mind is the overthinker, and it is important that it is less alert during Hypnosis so that it does not interfere with, or argue about, the positive affirmations and suggestions it is hearing. Your subconscious mind can not rationalize and obeys all suggestions as truth.

How does Self-Hypnosis work?

We all face different personal challenges and let us presume yours, for the exercise, is a lack of self-love and you want to increase your feeling of being worthy of being loved.

If in your waking state, you hear the statement, “You are overflowing with self-love and confident in your ability to give love and receive love at all times”, your conscious mind will shut down the suggestion based on your belief of not deserving love because of your current lack of self-love.

However if you are in a state of Hypnosis (where your subconscious brain has been allowed to ‘take over’), and you hear this statement, your subconscious brain will hear this statement as a truth, as it is not tied down by your preconceived limitations.

The more positive affirmations are repeated about self-love, confidence and inner peace, the more your subconscious makes the words feel like the truth.

All Hypnosis is really self-Hypnosis, and no one can force or manipulate you to do anything against your will. During a Hypnotherapy session you would have a Hypnotherapist facilitating the session either in person or virtual on Skype (or similar) in real time.

Self-Hypnosis can either be done by listening to a pre-recorded script read by a Hypnotherapist or the second option is learning and recording the script yourself to play back as often as required. You will benefit from whichever process you decide to follow.

I can say with certainty that self-hypnosis recordings are the quickest and most effective way to transform yourself.

For self-Hypnosis, when you are doing the process on your own it is beneficial to decide what challenge or self-limiting belief you are working on first.

I like to use self-hypnosis in the form of an audio recording. This is like a guided meditation. The Self-Hypnosis facilitator will guide you into a deeply relaxed state through visualizations and positive suggestions and affirmations that reframe your mind in positive ways in the self-hypnosis audio recording.

Just to reaffirm the difference between Hypnosis and self-Hypnosis is that Hypnosis has a live person in real time facilitating the session and self-Hypnosis is listening to a recording of yourself or a facilitator speaking, or learning the script off by heart and facilitating it yourself in your mind.

Self-hypnosis audios are a powerful tool on your transformation journey. By listening to them you get some of the benefits you get that are similar to those you receive when you visit a Hypnotherapist, as they allow your subconscious to play a new program.

By listening to the recordings, you communicate with your subconscious and change can occur in your subconscious through your thoughts, feelings, or behaviour.

When you find yourself challenged, for example, by lack of self-love or anxiety try these easy steps to feel calm and grounded. I find the following simple self-help steps a good start to learn self-love affirmation or anxiety-reducing self-hypnosis and often suggest them to clients or friends.

How to practice Self-Hypnosis

Choose the affirmation you feel you need today. An affirmation can be quite simple such as “I am worthy of love and I am loved” or for a specific situation such as anxiety, “I am calm and present and loved”.

Find a place where you can sit comfortably and quietly with no noise or distractions around you. You can use self-Hypnosis anywhere but find a safe and calm place as it will help you focus when you are new to the practice.

Sit quietly and find a position where you are comfortable, with your hands resting softly in your lap. Now gently close your eyes. For the next few moments become aware of your breath.

As you breathe in deeply and breathe out slowly finding your own rhythm for a few breaths. Now inhale to the count of four, hold for a moment and exhale to the count of four. Repeat this a few times. Finding a rhythm that feels calming and relaxing to you.

Picture yourself in a place that brings you comfort and peace. It might be a beach, a forest, a mountaintop, or a pretty garden. It can be a real place, or a safe place in your imagination. Just bring to mind a pleasant environment where you would like to be in.

Next connect to all your senses in your visualized surroundings. Feel the sun on your face, or feel the breeze on your skin, hear the waves or the sound of birds, smell the sea or the flowers. Visualize yourself lying back on a white blanket in this place and allow you yourself to relax even deeper.

Say your affirmation out loud or in your head. Now focus your attention on these words and play them on auto repeat in your mind a few times feeling the words and believing these words.

Repeat these words as many times as you need to and stay in your meditative state as long as time allows. Stay in this meditative state for as long as you like or feel comfortable with.

Bringing your awareness back to your body, feeling the seat beneath you. Become aware of where you are. Breathe in deeply and open your eyes, feeling calm and relaxed. Smile and stretch.

Tell yourself “I am calm and relaxed and loved” or “I am worthy of love and I am loved”.

Self-Hypnosis is available any time and a great practice to follow.

I have created a free self-hypnosis guided meditation to calm anxiety. You can find the audio guide here.

If you are interested in learning more about Self-Love, I have a free online course available at this link.

Enjoy your journey.