What I Learned Hypnotized

You’re getting sleepy…

I had the typical thoughts of what hypnosis was and how it worked. That was just a bunch of baloney so someone could charge you a $100 to say things to you while you sleep is what I thought. I didn’t think it would work on me for sure and yet as a natural living guide I couldn’t help but wonder if I was wrong about it. I knew people who had used hypnosis to stop smoking or to sleep better. One of my friends said it only took one session and she has never smoked again. The mere thought of it gives her a bad taste in her mouth years later. Perhaps this was the missing link I needed to put down the junk food and lose weight.

I signed up for a free consultation followed by purchasing a 3 session package hoping I was like my friend and it only took one. The first time I met with the hypnotist she explained how it works. She said she had been practicing it for the last 25 years and had a chiropractor that sent her referrals. As an example she said she often gets kids who have warts and through hypnosis those warts go away. I was disbelieving and asked “really?” She assured me this was true and she hypnosis works in our subconscious to bring out behavioral and physical changes in our body. The mind-body link being so strong that when we align them perfectly we can change our health. There was no swinging watch and the words you’re getting sleepy are just the props of movies.

From my own work personally to live more naturally I knew the mind-body alignment was key to reinforcement of healthy changes. It takes more than just determination and grit to make major changes in our life too. We have to be committed, consistent and empowered through making sure our mind and body are moving in the same direction. It is complicated work that makes achieving our goals often feel like a string of failures sometimes. It is why I believe dieting doesn’t work and punishing ourselves with excessive exercise is just torture. We have to find that connection between mind driven reinforcement through positive support and body movement that leads to action.

In the first session I was hypnotized I felt like I was trying too hard to make it work. My mind was focused on seeing if this was hocus pocus and what I was feeling rather than what she was saying to me. I wanted this to work. I was all over the place with trying to figure out how it worked during my session. Afterwards I didn’t feel any different and went about my day. The next session a week later, I just went with it not expecting anything again. She went through the same process and when I come awake afterwards I had this feeling I just had the best nap in my life! I was happy, energetic and wasn’t hungry most of the day. I remembered everything but yet it was distinctively different than the first time.

The trick she told me is to practice this on my own every day. Usually people do it at night before they go to sleep. It did seem to help me sleep very soundly and I felt deeper in sleep longer. Checking the recordings on my Fitbit showed that was true too. I didn’t weigh myself at all during the first month but rather just gauged how my clothes were fitting. No real difference yet there. When I first noticed the difference though was when I no longer wanted my regular snacks before bed. This consisted usually of ice cream, cookies and your run of the mill junk food. Also I was filling up at dinner without cleaning my plate. This was definitely new for me.

Once my initial 3 sessions were up, I continued practicing daily before I went to sleep. These small signs I was seeing encouraged me that something was shifting and I wanted to see more progress. In addition to slight changes in my eating, I also felt calmer, clear headed and even more focused each day. Maybe my subconscious was shifting and becoming more aligned. I didn’t want to jinx it so I stopped ques