You have many people who suffer from a sleep disorder. With hypnosis, this can be properly addressed, except that many people confuse hypnosis with sleep. It is something completely different. The state of sleep is substantially different from hypnosis. So what is the difference.
Hypnosis and sleep
Sleep is something we all do. Some a little more than others and some deeper and better than others. Some people think they don't sleep but often those who do, just forgot. These are often people who have a sleep disorder. We all sleep, but there are differences.
In sleep, you distinguish different stages. Roughly speaking, you can say you have REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and Non-REM sleep. REM sleep is also called paradoxical sleep because the brain activity during such a phase corresponds to awake, concentrated or alert individuals.
In Non-Rem sleep, there are also 4 stages with stages 3 and 4 also called deep sleep. It is interesting to note that in all phases dreams are dreamed, only when you wake up during the REM sleep phase, you remember them.
Hypnosis comes from the word sleep and certainly has similarities. However, it is quite different. Namely, when you enter the hypnotic state, your consciousness is increased by about 2000%. Namely, you can suddenly remember things before your second year of life or during anesthesia. These are things you are not aware of now, but in hypnosis you can. That's a big difference from the sleep state.
In hypnosis you hear exactly what is being said, because how else can you follow the instructions of the hypnotist or hypnotherapist. After all, when you are asleep you cannot.
So why do hypnotists use the word "sleep"?
It's an easy instruction and it's kind of in our collective consciousness anyway. Everyone has seen a hypnotist say that and people kind of expect it. You had to know how many people in the right setting already go into deep hypnosis with the snap of a finger and the word "sleep. It's also true that everyone knows what the word means. It means relaxation and surrender, and that's what you want to achieve in hypnosis.
You see it is quite a difference whether you are asleep or in hypnosis. In hypnosis, you can reach the states that you also reach in your slack all happy to be "conscious" as it were. So it is a wonderful phenomenon.
Sleep Disorder
When you consider that about 30% of people have a sleep disorder and that you can do a lot for those people with hypnosis, you can see a difference. In fact, with hypnosis you can target and resolve the sleep disorder. When you are asleep you cannot do that, indeed in this case that is precisely the problem.
There are many variations with sleep disorders and I will mention a few that I have encountered in my practice:
- Teeth grinding or bruxism
- Nightmares
- Restless legs
- Insomnia
There are a few more but with the above "disorders" you can do a lot with hypnosis or self-hypnosis. It is often a matter of finding the cause and solving it. Consciously you often don't know the cause and can't do much with it. In hypnosis this is possible and very valuable. You can also work with ideomotor signals for a good result.
Nightmares can often be handled well by having the dream relived, but now as something comical. By putting a funny music under it (circus music, for example), it becomes comical. If you do this often, then the subconscious recognizes the pattern and it is no longer a nightmare. I'd love to hear your findings, so please leave a comment.
johnny van neerven
on08 Jul 2013