The highs and lows of self-hypnosis

Self-hypnosis is a new procedure that is taking the country by storm. Despite being relatively new compared to the usual hypnosis procedures with professionals, self-hypnosis has enjoyed a lot of buzz in recent years. This is perhaps due to the fact that it is completely different from what people usually expect from hypnosis procedures which is a lot of control.

Although the same control can still be seen in self-hypnosis, that control will largely come from the patients themselves. There is no more hypnotist involved that can manipulate you into doing things that you don't want to do and not know that you are doing at all. This time the control and the power to change will be all in your hands. The procedure actually answers two of the things that critics question about hypnosis itself.

The first one is the idea that a person other than yourself is controlling you and is entering your mind. Mind control is something that people still fear about until now. With self-hypnosis, there will be no hypnotist. Although they will be there to teach you the basics and guide you through the procedure as well as check on your progress, all the hypnosis will be in your hands. You will have control of your own mind, which is how things should be even in real life.

The next thing is the fact that you are not some kind of patsy that will just sit around and let things happen to you through the hypnotist. Now there is an effort coming from the patient itself. Change is no longer something done to you. Now you can do it yourself. A lot of the critics of hypnosis in the first place comes from the fact that people are not actively involved in the process. They are only recipients of the cure instead of being the problem solvers themselves.

This is especially true when it is used to curb a bad habit or get over an addiction. When attempting to change, a person should work hard at it otherwise, it will not be a change that comes from something internal. As they say easy come, easy go. Self-hypnosis however changes this fact as the patients themselves are active problem solvers being the hypnotist themselves.

One downside of self-hypnosis is the fact that it is done by an amateur— the patient who will probably know nothing about hypnosis except that fact that it can somehow solve his problem. Although the hypnotist will be there to guide you, an amateur will still be the one to handle everything and when you really think about it, will any sane person let an amateur get hold of their minds even if those persons are themselves? This is why one of the things that are often asked about self-hypnosis is its safety. According to experts, it is as safe as any hypnosis procedure, maybe even safer because at least this way, you can be sure that you are dealing with someone who is not there to con you.

Another disadvantage of self-hypnosis is the slow progress. Still, responses of people will also depend on whether they are receptive to the task or not. There are people who are more suggestible than other people and those who are not so suggestible will surely find it hard to find change.