After reading all of the introductory information about programs that can change your life or free you from bad habits, are you still confused? Perhaps you are still wondering whether hypnotherapy or Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is right for you. Just how do you make this important decision about which program will most help you change your life?
Chances are, unless you’re an expert, or unless you’ve had previous experience with these therapies, you don’t know a great deal about how these approaches differ. Hypnosis and NLP are more alike, and more different than you might expect. Both involve helping one to enter the “Alpha” stat of mind. Once in that state, both use techniques, which help provide solutions to problem behaviors and attitudes. The methods used for each approach, however, are very different.
Using “Traditional Hypnosis,” a hypnotherapist assists an individual to relax and enter a trance-like state called the Alpha state. Once in this state, the therapist offers direct suggestions to a client’s unconscious mind. These suggestions are designed to help the client relax, eliminate a problem behavior, or gain self-confidence.
Many people, however, are not easily hypnotized, because they put up a resistance – not because they are unable to enter the hypnotic state. People who think analytically or who tend to be resistant to direct suggestions do not usually find Traditional Hypnotherapy to be a useful method of treatment. For those individuals, Ericksonian hypnosis and NLP are typically much more effective.
Both of these techniques help you access the Alpha state of mind, but generally utilize more indirect methods than the more traditional forms of hypnosis.
Ericksonian Hypnosis uses conversational techniques that hide the suggestions from the conscious mind, and that effectively eliminates resistance.
NLP trains the unconscious mind to use the same thought processes that are creating a problem feeling or behavior, to eliminate the problem feeling or behavior. This helps clients reduce stress and change dysfunctional behaviors for more positive ones.
Thus, if you tend to be easily led, or open to suggestions, Traditional Hypnotherapy with its direct post-hypnotic suggestions may be extremely effective in helping you overcome obstacles to personal growth and development.
Summary: If you tend to use critical thinking approaches to problem solving, NLP or Ericksonian Hypnotherapy may be much more effective in helping you in your quest for self-improvement. Because people are different, these very different approaches can be used to effectively help people conquer their fears or improve some aspect of their lives. Only you, together with a trained professional, can truly determine which will work best for you.
Dispell the misconceptions about hypnosis.