When it comes to self-protection, many people think of physical defense, but that's really not the only thing where self-protection comes into play. Therefore, hypnosis can also play an important role in self-protection for any person. Because mentally you can also do a lot to protect yourself from outside negative influences, which can prevent you from having to use physical force to protect yourself.
In what situations is self-protection necessary?
Self-protection can be needed in a variety of situations, such as finding the right love for you, finding friendships that add value, and finding work with a good work-life balance.
In addition, self-protection is sometimes necessary against yourself, such as when you think badly of yourself.
Self-protection in love
Self-protection in love and in finding friendship is very important. Especially when you have a fear of being rejected, it is important not to always give in to this.
In fact, with this fear of rejection, you may go beyond your own limits, when it is not always in your best interest, or may even be unhealthy (as with unsafe sex or drug use) just to be accepted by your (future) partner or friends.
What often happens after overstepping your own boundaries is that you still get a bit of a bad feeling from it, but then get rid of this unpleasant feeling by actually thinking positively about the situation. This allows you to perpetuate unhealthy behavior and that is very unfortunate.
On the contrary, it's better to be in the position beforehand that you guard your boundary well and don't have to push it and justify it afterwards.
Learning how to say "no" is therefore important. Building more self-confidence and a good defense against fear of rejection is then very important.
In these two cases, hypnosis helps, for example by using a guided visualization to practice how to say "no" and how to stay with your "no" in case those around you try to push you anyway.
For a guided visualization, you will be put under hypnosis. In the process, you can also learn techniques to remain calm in the moment when your "no" is not accepted. This makes it easier to hold your boundary.
A guided visualization can go as follows:
"You're at a party and suddenly a load of pills is dropped on the table. Apparently these people you like so wonderfully are drug users and you are cheerfully asked to join them. Despite the fact that you really like them and respect their choice you say "no, I don't like drugs.". There is a bit of whining about cozy participation, but you remain calm and say "No, it's not for me" if people still keep whining you leave. This makes you feel good. You know that drugs are bad for your health and these nice people obviously have a problem. You don't have to save them, but you don't have to fall in with them either."
Self protection as an independent business owner/employee
Even as an employee or entrepreneur, too much can be asked of you. The risk of burnout is then incredibly high. To prevent this, self-protection is important.
Who doesn't know that client or employer who has the question every day, "Can you just do this one more thing?" and before you know it you're making a 50-hour work week every week when you've only signed on for 38 hours.
Many entrepreneurs also get asked to do something for free, after which the client wants to recommend them. That's nice, but it doesn't make a living. So even then self-protection is important, you may be thinking "Who is going to work for nothing?" but there are more of them than you think.
If you are just starting your business, for example, this can be very attractive to gain more experience. Still, it is important not to do this. By doing so, you can prevent more people from coming onto you who want you to work for them for free.
Being able to say "No" is also important in this case. As with self-protection in love, this can be practiced with guided visualization.
If you find it more difficult to say "no" at work than in your personal life, it is important to find the cause. Perhaps you are afraid of losing your job if you say "no" once or you are afraid that your boss thinks you are not working hard enough.
If you don't know why you find it difficult to say no, hypnosis can also help you find the cause. For this, you can use regression, for example. With this technique, you go back to the moment when you received the belief that it's best not to say "no," and then you can determine with more emotional distance whether that belief still matters at this point in your life.
Another technique for finding out why you find it difficult to say "no" is to have a Socratic conversation. This cognitive behavioral therapy technique involves repeating the why question several times to get to the heart of your beliefs.
Self protection from yourself
Not only in your environment is it important to protect yourself from external factors. It is also important to protect yourself from yourself.
Negative thoughts can have a major impact on how you feel. Therefore, it is important to monitor your thoughts. If you often think you're not good at anything and end up as a shelf filler (or worse), it's time to take action on yourself.
Through mindfulness about your thoughts, you can already take the first step in protecting yourself. If you catch yourself having such a negative thought, it is important to realize this and then to focus on the here and now and especially not continue with the thought pattern you have at that moment.
Mindfulness is a good temporary solution to stop unhealthy thoughts, but unfortunately it is not a permanent solution.
Hypnosis can be very helpful with permanent resolution. For example, by repeating more positive thoughts out loud and even turning them into beliefs, you ensure that you protect yourself from negative thoughts.
In fact, negative thoughts have their origins in beliefs you hold about yourself. It is precisely these beliefs that hypnosis can change with a variety of techniques.
One technique, for example, is repeating hypnotic suggestions. You can then repeat those suggestions at home during self-hypnosis, these can be, for example:
"I'm awesome."
"I am unique."
"I am beautiful."
"I am appreciated."
"I deserve love."
"I deserve respect."
These are just examples of suggestions you can repeat during self-hypnosis. Depending on your beliefs, a hypnotist may come up with other suggestions for you to use at home.
Self-improvement as a technique for self-protection
Another technique you can use for self-protection is self-improvement. By improving yourself, you create more pride and vanity. Despite these traits being known as sin, they are certainly useful.
In fact, a certain amount of pride and vanity makes it easier to say "no" and easier to think positively about yourself. This is because improving your skills ensures that you achieve more things to be proud of.
Just as taking good care of yourself makes for more vanity, so you treat yourself to someone who also appreciates how much effort you put into your health.
Hypnosis also helps if you find it difficult to improve yourself. In fact, hypnosis can help you with your focus, such as while doing homework, and can even change your beliefs about healthy eating.
Whether it's at work or in your love life, learning something new already builds a buffer of pride around you, too.
You have invested in yourself, and you can be paid for that. This applies to the work you do, and in love, that partner may also invest in you.
Want to learn more about exactly how hypnosis can help you? Then come to the playshop or check out the Hypnosis Institute Netherlands calendar and sign up for an event.
Sources:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10463280802613866
