The subconscious mind is a subject of much debate. Some say that it wields more power over our everyday actions than we know, while others discount it as more or less an additional complexity of the vast human mind to be pondered, but nothing so powerful as to control our every choice. This is where self for weight loss hypnosis enters the picture.
First, let's start off on a little history lesson on hypnosis. Hypnosis as we know it today actually has its roots (arguably) in several different cultures, at around the same time, hundreds of years ago. It's roots go back to early Hindu cultures as well as early European civilizations as a means of healing one's body and treating ailments.
Here's where it gets interesting. It is believed that hypnosis may have crept into modern medicine and common practice inadvertently through what may have been the first failed "placebo" experiment on whether magnet therapy worked or not, performed hundreds of years ago at the request of the medical community.
Magnet therapy was put into practice and was believed to have helped heal many people's ailments until it was put to the test and found that the only effect it had on anyone was what was called a "placebo" effect.
A placebo effect is basically an effect that is physiologically real (you can feel it physically, and your body obeys the suggestion of the mind), but is in fact simply brought on, or conjured up, by the human mind. It is essentially the power of suggestion at work, and that is exactly what hypnosis is - the utilization of the power of subconscious suggestion.
Hypnosis is a deeply relaxed "trance" state where suggestions made verbally by the hypnotizer are grabbed by the subconscious mind of the person being hypnotized, and the power of suggestion is such that the subject's body and mind obey the "orders" of the hypnotizer, without even fully and consciously realizing why or how.
I experienced the power that hypnotism can have when I purchased some weight loss CD's and attempted self hypnosis as a means to help control my ballooning appetite - and waistline, and was shocked at how it actually worked and gave me an unshakable sense of self control and "calm" that I'd never felt before.
My previous attempts at losing extra weight that I had gained were not pleasant experiences. I am not "overweight" by most standards, but I definitely fluctuate in the ten pound bracket up and down all of the time because I really do love food. Just experiencing the different tastes and textures of food is such an experience to me that I sometimes don't realize that what I'm putting in my mouth is polluting my body and adding unnecessary extra weight.
Not only are the foods I choose wrong many times, but I also can tend to eat too much at one sitting, feeling bloated and moody afterwards. So, I wanted to take control of my eating habits again, and had always wanted to try self hypnosis to see if it could help me gain that quiet inner strength and that little voice guiding me to make the right decisions, and quelling my appetite.
And it did. The first time I listened to the it I was, as instructed in a deeply relaxed state which was accomplished by following the hypnotist's instructions to take several deep breaths. The soothing voice was accompanied by what sounded like trance music, and I became so relaxed I actually dozed off (which she said was ok, in fact, expected).
I did it right before bed, and I woke up the next morning pretty much forgetting that I had listened to it. I went through my day without the usual cravings for sugar and high fat, high salt foods that usually litter my day at work due to stress or boredom with mundane tasks (can't we all identify with that).
I tend to have somewhat of an oral fixation, especially when at work, meaning that I like to always be chewing or sipping on something. But I noticed this overwhelming urge did not hit me, and instead I just sipped on my water and some hot tea, and only ate when I was truly hungry. Strangely enough, I didn't even have my usual mid-afternoon craving for chocolate.
Often times I'd be hitting up the candy machine for Peanut M&M's around that time, and the afternoon came and went without the urge to eat chocolate. I thought this was a major accomplishment for me, but I also wondered if it wasn't some of that "placebo effect" entering in.
Since I knew that I had listened to the hypnosis CD, was I actually "talking myself into" believing the hypnosis was cutting my appetite and shaping my food decisions as well as my intentions to work out?
Well, isn't that what hypnosis is - that is, a placebo effect in itself? I suppose it doesn't really matter, because the end result is that I saw a dramatic change in my eating habits, all seemingly without the pain of a constant internal struggle to not eat.
As far as the root cause of it, I really could care less. It accomplished the task of giving me a renewed sense of self control and eating to live, not living to eat, and that is all that matters in the end!
Danna Schneider is the cofounder of Hypnotherapy for Weight Loss, where there's more about the self hypnosis CD's mentioned in this article, and more about people's real experiences with hypnotherapy for losing weight. She also founded a new blog dedicated to fitness and exercise equipment reviews and discussions called Fitness Equipment Reviews : Treadmill Reviews : Elliptical Reviews, a blog about physical fitness and health.
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