hypnotized?

[WhiteSands]

Hey, you guys remember me? I was here a few days ago asking about the hypnosis and scared of it because my therapist wanted to try it on me...well i went in yesterday and he did it but i don't know if i was hypnostized or not. I will tell you my experince and what happened and I'd love to hear you opnions on it. When i went in he started off by telling me close my eyes and imagine a wave and the wavs is a relaxing wave and to feel it relaxing me as it washes over me. Then he said imaigine the wave at the top of your head and feel it relax the muscles in your head as it touches your head..then he said feel it over your eyes making them relaxed and heavy and he did almost each part of the body like that until finally he recahed my toes. That took a while lol Anyway, so then after that he told me how he's gonna recah over and touch my right hand and I will feel a tingle when he does that so he did it and yes my hand did feel a slight tingly when he did that but I usually feel that tingly sensation normally sometimes so I can't say if at that moment when he said I'll feel tingly is because of hypnosis or if its because I normally feel like that anway. So then he said imagine a 1,000 helium balloons and they're made up of my fav colors and he said imagine they're tied to my right wrist by a string and to feel my hand lift into the air as they blow with wind and then after awhile he said imagine that the balloons are slowly losing air and deflating and on the count of 3 I ill open my eyes..so he counted and then he said open my eyes and I did and i felt sortta disoriented and i looked around the room like in a daze and he asked me how i felt and i said dizzy and then he askd if i was relaxed and well i told him i only felt slightly relaxed but that was at the end, when he was almost done...Wht do you think? Is this how your therpist did the hypnosis on you? Is this how you expereinced it? I am still wondering if i was hypotized or not because thru out the whole thing while he was telling me to imagine the wav,etc i could still feel my heart palps and i was istting there and a whole range of thoughts were running thru my head like a freight train as usual...like i was thinking how he (my therpist) don't know wht he's doing and how this is not gonna work and then i started thinking am i hypnostized yet? is this wht is feels like? Then i thought i am so not hypnotized cause i am aware of everything going on and i am conscious, then i thought i am fully conscious so he can't put any unethical thoughts in my head and then i was thinking is he done yet? Can i open my eyes yet? I had all these thoughts..it wasn't till the end i really decided to not have any thoughts and let go a litle bit and thats when i felt slightly relaxed and the heart plaps felt less.....wht do you think? Was i hypnotized or not? I normally feel dazed sometimes normally, or dizzy and plus i didn't get enough sleep the nite before and then i woke up early in the morning to get to the therapist appoinment and when i don't get mcuh sleep sometimes i also feel like that..so my feeling of being dizzy or dazed don't have to mean that i was necesaarily hypnotized since i feel like that normally sometimes. He didn't put any suggestions in my head, wht i told you here is exactly wht happened nothing else was really said....I was a little bit calmer thru out the day though but again that culd be from the lack of sleep and i was tired and something is strange cause yesterday after i came home and anytime i say the word wave or balloons i feel weird..like sort of calm just like when he was hypnotizing me eralier on like i remember that state and it triggers it or osmething although that could just be my imagination right? I dunno wht to think , i can't figure if i was or wasn't hypnotized....I would love to hear your thoughts on this and if your experinces was anything like mine.....Thanks.

[vernon]

hi white that is what happens in hypnosis and maybe it didnt have much effect on you as you where nervouse and tenced about going? Hypnosis dont feel any different cos realy its just like deep relaxation. Its good for you to relax fully like hypnosis, but it does take lots of practice. Read up a bit on self hypnosis and deep relaxation, you could also ask your therapist for a cd or tape to practice your hypnosis/relaxation at home. Take care. Vernon

[carlin]

Hi there, read your post with interest. i was hypnotised appx. a year ago it was a strange experience, i relate mainly to how you felt straight afterwards, i too suffer with dizziness as a symtom of panic, but after my 'session' i felt a different type of dizziness, i didn't like it at all, but was ok shortly afterward, i too, was quite relaxed for the rest of the day, and a few days after that too. i had three sessions, and i actually managed to get on a plane for our family holls. so it must have done me some good. Couldn't afford any more sessions. I had a long session previous to that trying to relax me and get me to find a 'safe' place, i had to laugh 'cos my safe place was home and, boy, did i want to be there!, then i was sat in a chair that lent backwards, which i hated, and then she tried to cover me with a blanket, which i hated, both of these things sent me into a real bad panic attack, and funnily enough the therapist didn't know how to cope with me! Next session, after i had threatened her that if she tipped me backwards or covered me in a blanket ( i suffer with hot flushes at present), i think she got the picture, and we did settle down together to try again. i had to envisage my safe place on the wall, which i found a bit silly,and then i sat upright in the chair with no blanket, it was 90 degrees outside, and we carried on, i was thinking of all different things all the time and thought what will i have for dinner, etc.. but i could not, no way, open my eyes, until she down the countdown, and i tried hard, and yes, i did tingle, and i don't normally. gosh sorry to have gone on a simple yes or no would have done wouldn't it.

[Karen]

Hi Whitesands

Hypnosis is merely a narrowed focus of attention, ie like when you daydream. When you have hypnotherapy the therapist uses this with methods of deep relaxation. You can still think freely under hypnosis and may find your mind wandering to things other than what the therapist is saying, but this does not mean it isn't helping.

It can take some practise to get the most from hypnosis and it is particularly helpful if you do some self-hypnosis at home, perhaps using a tape or cd.

I've been having hypnotherapy for a while and found it difficult to relax with the first therapist I saw when she was doing the hypnosis. However, the therapist I am seeing now is really good and I find it very relaxing.

Keep with it and give it a few more sessions to see how you get on.


Karen



It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

[Phill2]

My therapist tells me I can be completely cured in one session but I'm scared cause my head is already screwed up and I don't want it made worse.
Has this therapy actually cured anyone?

Yesterday's History,Tomorrows A Mystery,Today Is A Gift - Thats Why They Call It The Present

[removed]

I dont want to freak anyone out, but I would be very careful of hypnosis, especially if you are really anxious. About 10 years ago I bought a hypnosis video tape for anxiety by a very famous therapist(better not say his name, but you probably know who I am talking about.)I was watching it on a daily basis and actually started to feel worse. I persisted with it because I was so desperate for some help, and then one morning I woke up and I didnt know who I was inside, I had totally detached.
I ended up in a terrible state-couldn't make sense of the world or myself in it. I was told that I had depersonalisation-but I would say it was more than that.
My GP sent me to see a friend of hers who was a hypnotherapist, to discuss it with him and he told me that he had seen my sort of thing before, where people had their sense of self totally blocked by hypnotism.
I would say-be very careful. This therapist didnt attempt to hypnotise me because he could see what state I was in. He just talked to me a lot and listened a lot and helped me understand what had happened.
Its taken me 10 years to fully get my sense of who I am back. I know I am probably a very unusual case but I wouldn't now go near a hypnotherapist with a bargepole. To be fair I have a friend who went to see a hypnotherapist for depression and she was ok with it. I am sure in most cases if you are careful it would be ok
Janet c

[nomorepanic]

Janet

I have never been hypnotised but I have had hypnotherapy lots of times and found it very relaxing.

I guess each person is different with their reactions and experiences.

Nicola

"Nearly all happiness comes into our lives through doors we don't even remember leaving open"