Self-Discovery Through Hypnotherapy

How many doorways to your inner self have you passed through? Photo: Dustin Belt

How well do you know yourself? Do you understand why you do some things and not others? While there’s some mystery to life and to human nature in particular, it can be useful to understand yourself and your behaviors so that you feel more mastery over your life. However, not all behavior is rational or helpful, as you’ve probably noticed if you’ve been on the planet for a while. There is some information and understanding that must be felt to be understood. Hypnosis is useful self-discovery so you can feel better acquainted with your own inner life, which can be more empowering than acting without much reflection. This post explores the ways hypnotherapy helps with self-discovery and self-mastery.

Finding a bridge between the conscious mind and the unconscious mind

You might have heard that we have a conscious mind, the one that keeps track of appointments and takes care of everyday busywork, and an unconscious mind. This accounts for some of the mysterious things humans do. You might say you want to quit smoking or eating junk food, for example, yet find yourself repeatedly doing what you consciously don’t want to do anyway. What makes you do that? You might wonder. You know consciously you don’t want to do that, but here you are lighting up another cigarette or going to the grocery store at midnight for donuts. Understanding and communicating with your unconscious mind can help  you bridge that understanding gap and changing your behavior.

One key benefit of hypnotherapy is its ability to communicate directly with the unconscious mind. This allows the therapist to bypass the conscious mind’s defense mechanisms, as well as deeply ingrained habits and conditioned responses. You might consciously know what you "should" do—like not smoking, eating healthily, exercising, or getting enough sleep—but even when you try harder at the conscious level, progress is often temporary and sometimes superficial. Your efforts may seem to work for a while because you’re vigilant with your self-discipline and putting in a lot of effort. While this is partially necessary, you can’t ignore the unconscious patterns that drive your behaviors. Eventually, if those remain unchanged, they regain control.

Top Down or Bottom Up?

Top-down approaches are ones that address thoughts and involve the cortex (an evolutionarily newer part of the brain at the top of the brain) in making change. Bottom-up approaches focus on emotions, physical sensations, and subconscious patterns outside conscious awareness.

While I respect Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and other top-down approaches, they don’t always help change deeply rooted patterns, emotions, and behaviors that appear beyond a person’s conscious control. CBT can help change the way we think and address cognitive distortions (thought patterns that aren’t rational or based in reality). However, the emotional root of the problem, or the bodily cues that make a person want to continue doing a habit, remind firmly in the ground. If you only focused on changing the thoughts, you might relapse into old patterns because the unconscious mind isn’t fully aligned with the desired transformation.

Why tap into the unconscious mind?

The unconscious mind holds powerful forces that the conscious mind may underestimate. It not only motivates you but also connects you to your deeper emotions and desires—things you may not always consciously recognize.

You may know intellectually that a behavior like exercising or eating healthier would benefit you, but without emotional motivation, it can be hard to act on that knowledge. You might try to follow others’ advice or mimic people who have what you think you want, hoping for the right outcome. Yet you might end up frustrated and confused, questioning what went wrong. In these cases, discovering your true motivations and helping you connect with those desires on an unconscious level can dissolve the conscious resistance.

Your unconscious mind holds more power than you might realize.

Once that happens, your true power can emerge, unhindered. Without knowing how or why sometimes, you just start making the desired changes. That is the best outcome, because you don’t change made for anyone else’s benefit but your own. With the help of your unconscious mind, you start to do what’s right for you, without the conscious programming of what is possible and how you’ve failed before. The unconscious mind isn’t concerned with any of that; it just wants what is best for you, and it believes that anything is possible for you. It happens without coercion, shame, or guilt. There is no authority to resist, not even your own conscious mind.

Curious about self-discovery through hypnotherapy?

There are so many ways that this self-discovery can help you. Some are:

·         Habit control;

·         Increasing self-esteem;

·         Improving motivation;

·         Overcoming procrastination;

·         Resolving trauma;

·         Easing the pain of loss and grief;

·         Reducing anxiety; and

·         Boosting your mood, to name a few.

If you’re interested in discovering more about yourself and opening doors to new possibilities in your life, Ericksonian hypnotherapy might be a good fit for you. I’d be happy to talk to you more about how you want to improve your life, so please call me or click on the button below!

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