Starting a new life: New start with hypnosis

When you're a little older and you look back on the choices you've made and where you are now, you may think, I want to start a new life. But that's all easier said than done.

Moments like this often come during summer vacation and holidays. It's as if being with your loved ones suddenly makes it completely clear that there really isn't that much love.

Or when it comes to your work, for example, that you find that after the vacations you find it quite difficult to do the things that are required at work.

How to make sure you don't fall into the same traps in the future as you have in the past. How do you make sure you do enter into loving relationships and do work you enjoy?

And starting a new life is also very drastic, which can involve:

1. Starting a new career
2. Stopping relationship(s) and getting to know people again

So this can involve much more than just your romantic relationship. You might even be done with certain friends and want to change that completely.

But is this really the case? If you find that your friends, partner or other people around you are really just bringing you down and making you unhappy, then it may indeed be time to turn your life around.

It may also be time to set your boundaries, if you haven’t already done so.

To make a fresh start, there are a number of steps to take. These can be both practical and mental steps.

Insights on starting new lives

For example, research shows that starting a new life does not mean saying goodbye to your old life all at once. Research shows that if you have friends who fit into both stages of life, this accelerates your own self-image about your new stage of life[1].

So also check in your `old' group of friends to see if there is someone among them who can be your bridging buddy, so to speak. And if this is difficult, know that finding friends quickly in your new phase of life can be helpful in dealing with the awkward moments of change (source 1).

Refugees often need to start a new life as well. There is a lot of research on this that we can learn a lot from. The feeling of " belonging" in the new country (= new life) is important for their well-being[2].

So if you’re looking for a new group of friends or want to change careers, see if there are any associations or clubs you can join.

These are a few practical considerations, but making new friends is also often easier said than done.

It is important that you do not fall into the trap of choosing the wrong job, lifestyle or social environment again, for example.

Identifying and changing beliefs

Life consists of certain facets, and many people have adjusted their personalities accordingly. As a result, you may feel that you are someone different at work than you are at home.

Especially if you find that you can't really be yourself anywhere, chances are you want to start a new life.

But perhaps a new section will do as well.

For each aspect of your life, you can at least ask yourself: Why have I ended up where I am now? What choices led to this, and what beliefs were those choices based on at the time?

A hypnotherapist can help people with this. With hypnosis, you can explore memories—such as moments that led to certain subconscious beliefs. For example, the belief that anyone who pays you attention is your friend, or something similar.

These kinds of memories can be changed with hypnosis, causing you to view certain problems differently[3]. Then, for example, someone is only considered a friend if what he says to you keeps you at least neutral and does not make you feel worse.

Dismantling automatic processes

Another thing hypnosis is very good at is breaking down automatic processes. For example, do you have certain behavioral patterns, such as always saying “yes” when someone asks you something, or turning to food when you’re stressed?

If you get triggered and always react the same way in such moments, that’s a kind of automatic mental process.

A hypnotherapist can provide insight into these unconscious processes and, through specific suggestions, break through those patterns and help you “install” new, helpful ones.

Such as that when someone asks you if you can do something, you check your calendar or to-do list before answering and then if you don't have time you say no more easily.

In the process, you can use visualizations to practice saying "no" so it feels less crazy, and you can even give multiple polite options, such as "No, but I know X will like that."

The SWISH technique, for example, is often used to develop new habits. If you want to start over—this time with a healthy lifestyle—you might receive the suggestion that, when you’re stressed, you should take a moment to stretch or go for a walk. Instead of reaching for chocolate or something similar.

Processing trauma to change your life

Unfortunately, it’s often the case that a life not lived as one would wish is triggered by a specific trauma. This trauma can be so painful that you’ve turned to substances or no longer trust people. As a result, you actually end up in a kind of downward spiral.

If you can already clearly see that trauma is the reason you’re at a certain point in your life right now—which is why you want to start over—then it’s good to know that hypnotherapy can even stimulate post-traumatic growth .

For example, you may still experience all kinds of uncomfortable emotions long after the event and think about it a lot. In many cases involving veterans and children who have experienced abuse, dissociation occurs. In such cases, you don’t really feel a strong connection to your body or your life, which can lead you to act “the way you’re supposed to” for a very long time, without it actually making you any happier.

Processing the trauma can then do much to reconnect with yourself and, as a result, a new life can begin.

Hypnotherapy can help people who have experienced trauma to process it, recognize their inner strength , and place their suffering within a broader context, thereby allowing it to take on a different meaning[4].

Sometimes there are also circumstances that require you to start a new life, such as when you have been in an accident that requires rehabilitation. Even in those cases, hypnosis can help improve your self-confidence and your sense of "I can do this,"[5] making it easier to move to part 2 of your life 😉.

Boosting self-confidence for new work

Starting a new life may mean making a career switch, or working somewhere new. If you want to change careers, chances are you will need to learn new skills. This can often be done with some sort of apprenticeship. Many colleges, for example, offer this to pull teachers out of the field.

But then, of course, you have to believe you can learn something new. Hypnosis helps people believe in their academic skills[6]. And that, in turn, makes you enjoy starting a new life this way as well.

Many people who take the Hypnosis Institute of the Netherlands’ training program , for example, do so alongside their current job because they want a different life—at least professionally—than the one they have now.

Strengthen self-confidence for new relationships

Perhaps you have been dealing with a divorce, or even the death of a loved one, and therefore want to start a new life. However, we humans are social creatures so it is helpful to also make good connections in your new life.

Here, too, self-confidence can help you form new relationships and friendships.

If you want to start a new life, it may also be that the people you have had in your life so far have not made you happy and have even given you social anxiety. This may be the case unconsciously, for example, if you see yourself as a loner.

Hypnotherapy can help you overcome social anxiety. This helps you prevent panic attacks in new social situations and makes it easier to form new relationships[7].

Learn hypnosis for your new life

Whether you want to help people transform themselves for a new life or gain your own understanding of hypnosis that can help you with the new life. Learning hypnosis can be helpful.

Join our free masterclass to get started.

Or register for one of our events and trainings.

Click here for our calendar.

Click here for a list of our training programs.

Sources: