Well, I fell for that, didn't I?

That sounds unpleasant (that laughed at the firebrigage in the boat!)

H spent the night on the M5 as he just couldn't get off it. He said it was awful as every twenty minutes everyone would move forward by 20 yards or so, so it wasn't even as if he could turn the engine off and get a good night's sleep.

Still can't believe it's only a year ago. Strange.

? Yeah, you could say that. I'm a Hypnotherapist! Glad it works for you though, you should actually be able to do it without the CD now if you try.

Ah, that explains the avatar. I'd spend a while thinking it was a kind of glass bead, then twigged, but hadn't realised that that's what you do for a living.

That's really interesting, how long have you done it for?

I've had a couple of sessions with two different hypnotherapists. One was fab but I ddin't click with the other and don't think I ever relaxed fully. Even with the CDs I don't find it easy to switch off and reach trance state, although I'm getting better.

I've got a couple of books on SH and am fascinated by the subject. The older I get, the more I am convinced that what we think has a massive impact on our lives. I have a perpetual negative script running in my head and would love to turn that to something more positive.

I'd love to know more about what you do and how you trained.

Oh, and on the tapes, I have a number of the Glen Harrold ones and once I got over the thought that he sounds like Grant from Eastenders, I really like them.

I've also got Supreme Motivaiton by Eddie Lester. That's also good, once I get over the fact he sounds very camp.

I did have Adventures of Well Being Now by Nick Kemp. That was just odd. And he sounded like Tony Robinson.

I quite like guided visualisations for relaxing and for feeling more uplifted, e.g. Shakti Gawain. I'm not entirely sure what the difference is between hypnosis and guided visualisations / meditations but I find they all have a positive effect.

The thing with SH is that you won't truly reach the level of relaxation needed unless you are initially inducted into SH by a Hypnotherapist. Once you've reached the point of relaxation necessary, the Hypnotherapist will then be able to instruct your subconscious to induct to that point within a simple count of 5. I can get there on a count of 3 for a quick session and a count of 5 if I'm particularly stressed.

I've used SH for loads of things, exam stress, making my periods shorter or delaying them a week, pain relief for a neck spasm until I could get to the doc and so on. Glenn Harrold is ok, definitely not the best out there but there's only so much you can do with a CD. Ignore the 'trance state' thing, hypnotherapists who talk about that are talking bollocks basically. They only use that word to make it sound more mystical - something it's not. Kind of feeding into the public persona that Hypnosis currently has. It's just relaxation that's all. If you are aware that you are not getting to the point you want to - it's because that awareness is stopping you.

Just concentrate on enjoying it, don't worry about drifting off and not doing the visualisations - they're only there to consciously distract you anyway, so if you're nicely relaxed, they're not that important.

Try it without the CD, I think you'll surprise yourself. I've never done it with a CD or aid of any kind. If you find it tricky, let me know and I can offer some tips.

And a tip, if you find that on occasion you can't induce, you get itches on the end of your nose, get fidgety or you can't concentrate. Give up and try an hour later - this is subconscious resistance, you won't get anywhere, just more frustrated.

Thanks for this. So would you advise having a few sessions with a hypnotherapist to achieve this? That's something I'd be very happy to do.

How do you go about selecting one? (I've moved since I had the one I rated).

It's interesting what you say about trance - that's definitely how I feel, that my mind is preventing me from relaxing the way I'd like to.

We use the CDs solely for getting off to sleep and they really do work for that. We both find we sleep much better and wake up feeling much more refreshed when we'ved listened to one.

I think I will try it without the CD, I do have a book or two so I'll give it a go. I'm taking it though that you can explore far more and achieve far more with a proper hypnotherapist?

There are hypnotherapists who actually teach Self Hypnosis, or if you look in your area there are sometimes classes run - just make sure they are by a proper hypnotherapists. the other reason it's quite important to see an actual therapist is because they need to put in safeguards. When I was taught, under hypnosis our subconscious' was instructed to not allow us to use self hypnosis for anything that would be detrimental. For example, getting rid of a headache that had a serious cause, or treating a symptom that needed medical attention. If i tried to use SH for a headache and I had (for example) a brain tumour - then it wouldn't work. I was taught when I trained so was lucky enough that I had the knowledge to allow me to induct quicker. Also, when you induct yourself, are you giving yourself a purpose for inducing? Is it always sleep related? Maybe you could try it for something else?

The thing is, if you only practise it at night - you'll find it easier because you are naturally more tired then. The key is to practise at times you aren't tired, so that you can induce at times of stress (which most people use it for!) and of tiredness. If you only do it at night, or when you're tired, you'll struggle to do it at the times when it'll be most beneficial.

Thanks again - really interesting stuff.

I guess I see my interest in both hypnotherapy and SH as falling into three main camps.

The first is that I am interested in finding a good local hypnotherapist to help me address some personal issues. Stress and anxiety being the main ones of these.

I'm interested in SH for the same purpose, and hence have a book or two with the aim of beginning to do this. When I finally do this, it will not be at night but at other parts of the day.

The CDs I have because they help us get a good night sleep. I don't really see them as being that useful for the purpose it states on the tin (IKNWIM) but I do welcome the sleep they give us.

I think I'll definitely try to find a local hypnotherapist to help with the first two of these. Thanks for your help.

No prob, and if you have any problems inducing or want to practice it for other reasons, email me and I'll give you some tips. I even use hypnosis to make journeys go quicker, it's a great practical tool to have, so fantastic if you can master it. Good luck!

Brilliant, thanks! I may well do that.

How do I find a good hypnotherapist?

Where are you? You can find hypnotherapists registered in a number of places but the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council is probably the best place.

Link here

Sorry butting in here ? What actually is self hypnosis? Is it just being in a really, really relaxed state and then thinking something positive or whatever? Just sounds really interesting ?

It's putting yourself into hypnosis with an aim in mind. You decide beforehand what you want to achieve, your subconscious listens and works at achieving it while you are relaxed and your conscious mind is distracted. Kind of like DIY hypnotherapy.

Sounds interesting! I have a feeling that I'd fall asleep first though ? Or I end up getting so relaxed that I can't move which is always a bit worrying ?

Doesn't matter, your subconscious will be aware of what you wanted to achieve, as long as you aren't asleep within 10 seconds of inducing it, it'll still work on some level.

Ooh, and if you're relaxed of course you can move. Your muscles will be relaxed too! I've had people cough, scratch their legs etc when in hypnosis - you're always in control and always aware, just very relaxed.

Thanks Cheesecake - I'm in Cheltenham so I'll take a look.

Gryfon - yes, as far as I understand ? Cheesecake will be able to say a lot more but I've always understood it to be getting very relaxed then taking on board new thoughts etc.