Hypnotherapy Articles
Celebrities such as Lily Allen, Madonna, Michael Ball and alternative health proponent Deepak Chopra are advocates of the Emotional Freedom Technique®.
Among the holistic alternatives that have gained popularity in the Western world for their natural and whole-body approach to healing, one type of healing modality that has proven effective is Energy Psychology, a practice that relieves mental health problems by eliminating emotional traumas or blockages from the mind-body continuum by touching or tapping key points on the body.
The most widely-used form of Energy Psychology is the Emotional Freedom Technique, a simple, effective, yet widely unknown way of removing emotional blockages .
- CORE BELIEF—The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is centered upon the belief that while tapping on certain meridian points on the body while focusing on a stressful event the body’s energy flow is balanced and the negative emotions associated with the event are diminished.
- TAPPING POINTS—Meridian points are many of the same ones used in traditional acupuncture therapies. These points include the eyebrow, the side of the eye, underneath the eye, the crease between the nose and upper lip, the area between the lower lip and chin, the collar bone, the sternum and the underarm.
- USES—Practitioners of EFT use it to alleviate both physical and emotional pains including stress, depression, dyslexia, allergies, relationship troubles, MS, addictions and more.
- PRACTICES—EFT is practiced by holistic healthcare workers, many of whom are also certified in hypnosis. EFT practitioners can be found at therapy clinics and private practices in almost any city; make sure to choose a practitioner that has been certified in the technique.
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Insomnia is becoming a major epidemic these days with so many people tossing and turning all night trying to sleep. Insomnia is when a person can’t sleep or stay asleep all night and this goes on night after night. They are tired but can’t turn off their mind or they wake up and can’t go back to sleep.
There are many causes of insomnia but most of them seem to be connected to our unhealthy approach to dealing with stress and not having peace of mind. We are worrying about our finances or all the things that we need to do or all the things that are going wrong creating fear, nervousness and anxiousness in our bodies. We have been running on caffeine all day, burning our adrenals out and when it is time to sleep, we can’t shut them off or our mind talk.
We are constantly talking to people or listening to TV, radio, non peaceful music or being on the internet or playing video games. This all leads to constant mind chatter and creating more stress in ones life and insomnia. When we burn out our adrenals with constant caffeine and not eating properly and taking time for meditation, walks in nature, or yoga we create a imbalance with our hormones & neuro-transmitters (melatonin, serotonin, dopamine) in the brain which play a huge role in our ability to sleep.
One way to get back on track is by seeing a hypnotherapist that will help you stop the mind chatter when you are going to sleep at night and can help you deal with stress better. The hypnotherapist can train your brain to go to sleep when you crawl into bed at night, to let go all your fears and worries. They can help you get rid of your anxieties, fears and panic attacks by helping you find the true cause of the fears and release them. He or she can also give you suggestions so you handle stress better throughout the day and give you tools to reinforce staying centered and peaceful. Stress management hypnosis is extremely successful and can bring you back in balance so you handle life better.
Things you can do to sleep better at night:
1. Cut out caffeine completely or drink only low sugar free caffeine drinks, such as green or white tea.
2. Have quiet time : Meditate at least 30 minutes a day or go for walks in nature or do yoga.
3. Go to bed on an empty stomach – don’t eat food 3 hours before going to bed
4. Eat healthy regularly throughout the day – don’t go long periods of time without eating and then fill up on junk food
5. See a hypnotherapist for stress management or sleep issues to quiet your mind
6. Drink chamomile tea at night
7. Take a good quality magnesium supplement- which helps the muscles relax and relieves anxiousness
8. Take valerian root herbal supplement right before bedtime, which helps you calm down.
9. Don’t watch TV in your bed at night and make sure the TV and radio are turned off. You will not have peaceful sleep with constant noise going on in the background programming your unconscious mind.
10. Make sure your room is dark – the darker the room the better, light disrupts the production of healthy neurotransmitters
One of the best ways to learn to relax is through hypnosis or hypnotherapy. Many people have a hard time relaxing on their own because most people live their lives being stimulated with constant noise around them (TV, radio, cell phones) that they become addicted to the noise and have a hard time quieting their mind and being in silence. Hypnosis is a guided visualization technique to deeply relax the body and can help train the client how to relax on their own through self-hypnosis. Through hypnosis you will learn how to quiet your mind and slow down or stop the mind chatter from your ego.
Once your mind and body has made the connection and learned how to relax and go into an altered state, it will be very easy to achieve this on your own without the hypnotherapist. This is really the beginning stages of learning how to meditate, going within and quieting the mind. Many studies have shown that your health and life improves through meditation and hypnosis. People are happier, handle life better, healthier and more connected to the flow of life, so life is just easier.
Usually in 3 sessions with a hypnotherapist, most people will have learned a deep state of relaxation and will be able to do self-hypnosis or meditation. The practitioner can make a tape for the client which can help deepen the state to make it easier until the client feels comfortable doing it on their own. People who can benefit the most from hypnosis would be anyone who is feeling lots of stress, who is constantly on the go, can’t sleep at night because of mind chatter or who is having health problems.
Hypnotherapy and Relaxation Exercises
Self hypnosis and meditation are relaxation techniques, which are very similar in many ways, both providing substantial health benefits by reducing stress. Some of these techniques are also used to relax the body and mind. Here are some techniques that readers can perform on their own to help reduce stress:
1. Always go to a quiet place, turn off the television, radio and get really comfortable; loosen any tight clothing.
2. Close your eyes, put your hands on your abdomen, take 3 slow deep breaths, counting one 1,000 two 1000, 3 1,000, breathing deeply into your abdomen through your nose without lifting your shoulders. When exhaling, let out a loud, deep ‘ahhh’.
3. Return to normal breathing, in and out of your nose, but continue breathing from your abdomen.
4. Roll your eyes up gently and focus the on the point between your eyes in the middle of your forehead
5. Imagine yourself in a super comfortable setting, such as a bubbling Jacuzzi or floating on top of a cloud. Imagine all the tenseness leaving your body and imagine yourself becoming as light as a feather. Imagining all the stresses leaving your body often aid in relaxation.
6. Another option is to imagine being at a peaceful and safe place. Now, imagine being there, using all your senses. For example, imagine being on a beach, it is a beautiful sunny day and you can feel the warmth of the sand underneath your feet. As you squish your toes into the sand, you hear the sound of the waves as they break at the shore. The more you imagine being there and using all your senses, the more you’re body will de-tense and relax.
Celebrity stress relief: Emotional Freedom Techniques® – by Dr. Funda Kahn, DDS, CH
Hypnotherapy & Relaxation – by Karen Erickson
Hypnotherapy for Insomnia – by Karen Erickson