I am going to reveal to you the secrets of how to hypnotise yourself. You don’t think us clinical hypnotherapists pay each other for therapy do you?! Well sometimes we swap therapy, but most hypnotherapists will regularly hypnotise themselves in order to stay happy and health.

You can save money, and gain independence by using self hypnosis. While hypnotherapy is rapidly gaining popularity for being a safe, yet powerful tool for change, many people are put off for a variety of reasons. It may be that they cannot find a reputable clinical hypnotherapist; do not wish to spend so much money; or don’t wish to discuss their personal issues with a stranger. Self hypnosis is very useful to learn, since you can do it whenever you wish, and in the comfort of your own home.

To begin with, you will need to make sure that you will not be disturbed for at least half and hour, preferably an hour. Turn off phones, and tell family not to bother you for a while. Find a comfortable place. Somewhere that is neat and tidy, and of a comfortable temperature. Subdue the lighting. If you wish, you could light some candles and burn some incense, if it helps you to relax. You can be seated, or lie down – whichever you prefer.

1) Close your eyes and take 10 slow deep breaths – in through the nose, and out through the mouth. Say to yourself the word ‘Relax’ on each out breath.
2) Now imagine yourself at the top of 10 steps, with a door at the bottom. With every slow step you take down, feel yourself getting deeper and deeper relaxed.
3) When you get to the bottom open the door to your ideal place of relaxation. It could be a beach, a garden, anywhere. It could be somewhere real, or imagined.
4) Try to use as many senses as you can. Take a good look around. Pause and listen to any sounds. Perhaps you can hear birds chirping, or the breeze gently blowing. Perhaps you can smell the sweet scent of flowers, or the salt in the sea? Touch objects, and make it as real as you possibly can.
5) Explore your relaxing haven, and enjoy it.

This is a great technique to help relaxation. Most of us do not relax anywhere near enough, and it damages our health in many ways. Stress weakens our immune systems, causes irritability, anxiety, and unhappiness amongst many other things. Even if you just do relaxation work, you will massively improve your overall health in almost every area. If you are struggling with this technique, then persevere. Getting into a hypnotic state is a skill that will improve over time. Don’t expect too much, you will probably still be aware of what is going on around you. It may be worthwhile visiting a clinical hypnotherapist, or buying a recording to experience the feeling of a trance. When you have experienced it once or twice, you will be more informed as to the state of mind you are seeking.

You can also take this self hypnosis a little further if you wish. You can learn to give yourself specific therapy the more you practice. Here are a few techniques you can use after you have reached number 5.

What the mind imagines, it believes has really happened. If you imagine something bad happening to you, you will feel the emotions as if it is really happening. Success breeds success, so if you visualise yourself achieving something, then it will help you do just that. You may wish to visualise yourself slimmer, healthier or wealthier. Or you may wish to visualise yourself having achieved something, such as a promotion or a new job. Make the image as real as you can, use all of your senses, and do this as often as you can.

You are only limited by your imagination. In fact you should notice that your creative powers should increase the more you use self hypnosis, and your overall health and happiness will increase. Stick with it. What I sometimes find is that people will stop using hypnosis once they have made the necessary improvements that they wished to make. However that will only deny the overall benefits of the increased relaxation, and things can slowly slip back to where they started. Set a specific time to do it, even if it is only once a week. If you have specific issues that you wish to deal with, then increase this accordingly.

I hope me sharing this technique with you will help some of you to improve your mental and physical wellbeing, and realise what a useful tool for change hypnosis is. Feel free to contact me to share your success stories, or for further advice.

Jon Rhodes is one of the UK’s leading clinical hypnotherapists. Click here to visit his site http://www.hypnobusters.com