Self-hypnosis: Learn To Program Your Subconscious

Self-hypnosis is a very useful psychological tool for making behavioral changes. In the same way, it can help you control the flow of negative thoughts, get you in a better mood, and even help you focus on specific goals. It is at least worth learning more about what it is and how to use it in everyday life.

When you hear “self-hypnosis”, an undeniable mixture of fascination and skepticism can appear in you. There are so many books and research papers that dive into its usefulness and limitations. Thus, we can answer the question  “Does it really work?”,  As we can with any other type of therapy. For some  people, it does not cause any kind of change. Others have benefited greatly from it.

If you are interested in the function of the human mind and its mysteries, hypnosis will fascinate you. To this day, it is a very effective treatment for addiction. It is one of the most widely used smoking cessation tools. In addition, in recent years, many people have begun to use self-hypnosis to program their subconscious mind to make changes and move toward a goal.

What is self-hypnosis?

Say you’re on the subway or the bus and  you’re staring at a certain place on the window and your mind wanders off. You are not going anywhere; you just go away in your mind for a long time. A few minutes later when you reach your stop, you wake up confused. It’s like you’re coming out of a trance.

Hypnosis has many similarities with this condition. It is disconnecting from reality to go down into the “basement” of your mind. And what you do in those moments can have a profound effect on your life. You can make decisions, set priorities, focus your desires, and even improve your mood. You sometimes practice self-hypnosis even without noticing it.

Here’s an interesting fact that people do not pay much attention to. Many of the actions you consciously perform come from your subconscious. Your taste, the way you react to certain conditions, and your inclinations are all products of an unconscious substrate. This place where your past experiences, personality, instincts and automations are kept, orchestrates a large part of what you do all day.

Therefore  , the goal of self-hypnosis is to exercise greater control over the unconscious to program it. You seek to re-focus it so that it will allow you to make behavioral changes. 

Techniques for practicing self-hypnosis

For some people, it would be best to practice hypnosis with a professional. However, if you do not have the time, access or resources, the following strategies can be very helpful. The key is to be persistent, use your willpower, and practice these exercises every day.

Visualization

To practice self-hypnosis  , you need a reference stimulus : the light from a lamp, a piece of paper, a glass, or an imaginary situation. It must be a mental refuge or a visual point that you can transcend inwardly, into your mind.

• What you should do first is cast your gaze on this stimulus and relax. You will pass from physical experiences to mental. Towards relaxation, calm and balance.

• When you reach the phase of deep relaxation, repeat a set of positive statements. You will enter into an inner dialogue where you will verbalize the things you want to achieve. For example:  “I will stop being afraid to talk to the audience”, “I will be less stressed”, “I will find a good partner”.

Fixation

Self-hypnosis can also be achieved by looking at a point above your eyes. Just focus on this place and slowly create a little mental blur. Then you sink into a relaxed trance where you just want to focus on your breath. Once you are there, you start reciting positive goals again:  I want to achieve…, I want… I have to… I am focused on…

Breathing

Another simple strategy for self-hypnosis is controlled breathing. Follow the steps below:

• Look for a quiet place. This is the setting you always want to use for self-hypnosis. Your mind must connect that couch, the corner of the pier or the room with the refuge where your thoughts can relax and sink into the subconscious.

• Once you have chosen a place,  start controlling your breathing  as follows:  inhale, hold, exhale, empty.
• It is ideal to repeat this cycle 5 to 6 times. Then, remain suspended in this relaxing emptiness. Stay in this void full of opportunities where you can talk to your subconscious and program it. Again, you will recite your goals and desires (always in a positive way).

Perhaps these simple techniques will remind you of relaxation techniques, which are very common in meditation. But it does more than help you rest and focus on the present. One  of the goals of self-hypnosis is to change behaviors, thoughts and moods.

The purpose of self-hypnosis as a therapeutic tool is to replace negative statements with positive ones. More than a relaxation exercise, it is exercise. As such, you should repeat these exercises between 4 to 5 times a day for 5 minutes. You need to be consistent and conscious. No one changes their unconscious thoughts overnight. You must have perseverance and confidence in the power of your mind.

Changes come faster than you think.