Hypnosis and weight-loss are words that go together like salt & pepper, Mutt & Jeff, Cagney & Lacey. Well, not entirely. But a lot. Right there next to hypnosis and quitting smoking.
How does hypnosis work? Think about it this way: positive suggestion changes your self-talk. Positive self-talk changes your behavior. What is a hypnosis suggestion anyhow? It's really a replacement for the self-limiting and self-limiting self-talk that persuades you that you "can't." For instance, if your self-talk is negative (i.e., I'm a loser; I'll never succeed at XYZ), you follow that direction. If your self-talk changes to positive (i.e., this is easy; I've succeeded before, I can succeed this time, if others can do it, I can do it too, etc.) your behavior changes to be in alignment with this new view.
A note for you hardcore NLP-ers: "self-talk" can be in any modality. You can see yourself as a failure or a success. You can hear yourself mocking your failures or encouraging your successes. You can feel the feeling of failure or the feeling of success. For the sake if this discussion, “self-talk” applies to any modality.
With that idea in mind, let's see how it applies to real hunger for food. If your self-talk is "I'm full" your body responds by feeling "full," then you eat less. If your self-talk is "I can't live without my chocolate fix," you can't live without your chocolate fix.
Interestingly, the process is thought to be: thought/idea >>>emotion/response>>>behavior/action. If you "think" you are comfortable, your body will supply opioid neuropeptides to block pain. If you think/imagine you're swimming, the exact same areas in your brain lights up as if you are really swimming. This is an established and proven fact through the use of functional MRI studies.
Think about what this means in terms of our behavior and responses. If you think the girl in the next cubicle hates you, you will filter every perception through that filter.
Your brain/body/mind/spirit will provide the behavior that will prove your belief to yourself. So if she frowns, it won't occur to you that she might have gas or a headache. It will likely be interpreted as a scowl proving that she hates you. See how it works?
The physicists of today are working feverishly on what reality really is in our entire Universe. So, doesn't it seem reasonable that your mind/brain/body could create such phenomena in our perceptions?
There has been a lot of research done on the "placebo effect," both negatively and positively. You can "think" yourself sick and you can "think" yourself well. (Not 100%, but significantly). You can "think" yourself happy or depressed. You can "think" yourself in pain or pain-free. Amazing, isn't it?
There is a significant amount of research being done on the subject of your "thoughts' " ability to bring you money, clients, wellness, a perfect mate. Nothing has been proven scientifically but there sure are a lot of unexplained phenomena. Believe it or not! At your own risk, too!
Back to the perception of being physically hungry or physically full. Your brain/body/mind/spirit will provide you the necessary neurotransmitters to make that your (perceived and experienced) reality.
You might wonder then, if you 'believe' that you can live without food, water or oxygen, if it will remain alive? That is a question for Stephen Hawking or Bruce Lipton. I'm far too impressed with the possibilities suggested by the theories of quantum mechanics and quantum physics to give you an objective answer. Miracles (things that happen with no known explanation) happen all the time. I am the wrong person to ask.
Back to physical hunger. If you feed your body enough to survive but your 'thoughts' block your perceptions of being hungry, losing weight should be easy. And it is totally easy if the suggestion for satiety that is given is accepted unconditionally by your brain/mind/body/spirit.
When a hypnotist suggests that you are completely comfortable on five hundred calories, and it is accepted into your self-talk, your body will provide whatever is needed biochemically to support that belief. A five-hundred-calorie-a-day intake may not be the best for your body but the jury's still out on most facts about calorie deprivation.
Let's return to our beginning statement "Hypnosis - Perceptions of Hunger." If you imagine and believe that you are totally full and satisfied, that is exactly what you will experience, despite all of the "reality" that defies that idea.
If you're still with me, you should now have a reasonable sense of why and how hypnosis works to help your overweight struggles. If you want proof, talk to Stephen Hawking or Bruce Lipton. All I know is that it works for hundreds of people will to submit to perception-changing suggestions through hypnosis. Yes, I love that sweet refrain in my own ears: "you are blissfully full, ecstatically satiated."
How about you? Are you sick of carrying that same ten, twenty, fifty, two-hundred pounds? Hypnosis works. Maybe it's time to give hypnosis a test drive. If you think so, give me a call or send me an email. Set up a free consultation. I will happily answer any questions you have.
Here's to your success...
Susan French, M.A., CHt
888-333-3688
San Fernando Valley & Los Angeles area
