HYPNOSIS
The hypnotic state is a natural phenomenon: a state which occurs spontaneously in all of us, to some degree, every day of our lives. The daydream and the pleasant, drowsy, intermediate state between wakefulness and sleep are examples of natural hypnosis. During the trance state people are usually aware of what is going on around them, are always able to respond to the therapist, and always retain the power to reject any suggestion which may be unacceptable to them.

Hypnosis can be used therapeutically because it gives the individual greater access to the important, but subconscious, parts of the mind in which are locked our deepest beliefs, fears and emotions. This sometimes neglected part of the mind exercises a far greater influence over our personality and our behaviour, and works in a quite different way, than the more superficial, conscious part, which tends to think verbally and logically. The deeper, subconscious, mind thinks in sensory ways, using visual images, sounds, and feelings - which may have a far more powerful effect on our behaviour than words alone.

One of the most valuable uses of clinical hypnosis lies in helping people to cope with the stress and emotional upsets which overtake everyone at some time in their lives. Symptoms of such stress include fears and anxieties, depression, sleeplessness, and feelings of inferiority and inadequacy. In time these may give rise to physical tension, digestive problems, headaches, breathing difficulties, skin disorders, muscular aches and pains, high blood pressure, and many other bodily symptoms. Stress, of course, also underlies our unwanted addictions to various habits such as smoking, over-eating, and drinking, and taking unprescribed drugs - habits which bring their own problems in their wake.