The ABC’s of Hypnosis: Ask the right questions.
In high school English class, we learned to tell a story by asking: Who, what, when, where, how and Why. The same questions apply when working with a hypnotist, except for why.
I wish I had a dollar for every client who has come into my office after YEARS of therapy and said, “I know WHY I’m doing it; I just can’t stop.”
Keep in mind, the subconscious mind is like the operating system of a computer. It only runs the programs you give it. If you ask it “Why am I doing this? ” it will make up an answer to give you.
The answer becomes an excuse for the behavior. (“I smoke because it is a way of identifying with my dead father.”)
As the hypnotist, I ask questions like: With whom are you having the issue? What does this person do that causes you to be angry? When are you most likely to get angry? Where do you see this relationship going in the next year?
Imagine a situation in which the client says: “This person is constantly belittling me. He makes me feel like I am five years old again.” I will most likely use a technique called memory chains to take the client through the sensations of feeling “belittled” (i.e, how they feel it in their body.) This technique keeps the subconscious focused on the what and the when to get to the original reason for the stuck feelings. Typically, the client is going back before age 4 and often times will go back in utero.
The goal is always to ask questions that allow us to fix the problem. I personally don’t care why the problem is occurring. The “whys” are as unique and varied as the clients. All I am concerned about is solving the problem. To me this is the biggest advantage of hypnosis over therapy.
We’ll talk about affirming in the next blog.