“Music in your head does not mean you are mad”

Have you ever arrived at work but cant remember  your journey there?  Relied on ‘auto pilot’ to complete a task? Yes – well you allowed your subconscious mind to take control temporarily while you were in a state of complete relaxation, your subconscious mind is there for your protection and you will never do anything your subconscious self deems to be dangerous so don’t panic – we are all amazing!

On Friday the 10th January our guest speaker Liz Poulton took the group into a guided hypnotic state , happily for us we were not turned into chickens but were taken to a place of imagination relaxation and self discovery.

Liz describes herself as originally being a complete sceptic , but had her views challenged when beginning her course at Keele University and today is an accredited practioner by the NCH. She believes that hypnotherapy can increase an individuals response to positive suggestion, and it allows our subconscious minds to take control in helping us achieve our goals.

Liz spoke about her passion for hypnotherapy as a tool within the NHS, who are currently trailing ‘Hypnobands’ where the patient believes they have had a gastric band fitted but without the surgical risks. Hypnotherapy can be used to help people achieve a huge variety of goals- stopping smoking, sugar addiction, anxiety, stress, depression, poor self esteem and low confidence to name a few.

To assist their clients a hypnotherapist first assesses the individual’s character or ‘modality’ so they can tailor their own approach. Liz described people as falling into one of three categories –  auditory, visual or kinaesthetic.

An auditory individual will have shifty eyes, they will breath from the middle of their chest, generally they will be good at maths and will be good communicators  . Typically a visual person sits very upright, has shallow breath with quick breathing frequently sits on the edge of their seat is well groomed neat and organised. Finally a kinaesthetic individual moves and talks slowly, talks about own feelings freely, responds very well to physical rewards, enjoys close contact with people and can be very good at memorising things.  What type are you?

A hypnotherapist will take their client into a light trance by encouraging relaxation from the top of their head to the tips of their toes, this opens the subconscious mind before beginning to work on an individuals goals. Primarily the key is to remember that hypnotherapy is focused on “helping and not exploiting “.