“About 99% of therapies focus on the conscious mind, but 90% of the mind is unconscious. It’s like if someone says they want to lose weight, and the answer is to stop eating food, it’s only addressing 10% of the problem. That’s not a conscious problem, it’s an unconscious problem," says psychologist Jason O’Callaghan.

Speaking to RSVP, Jason explains: “Hypnotherapy is a language of the unconscious mind, of the voice in your head. The voice that tells you you’re not good enough, that makes you doubt yourself; ‘I’m not successful enough, I’ll never lose weight, or quit smoking or stop drinking, I don’t deserve happiness’.

“Hypnosis talks directly to that voice in your mind and it learns through repetition, just like how you learned your A,B,C’s, through repetition you can change the way that voice speaks to you.

“If the problem is bereavement or marriage counselling, then other forms of therapy will help you work through that, but if it’s an unconscious problem like stress, anxiety or depression, the key is speaking the right language”.

Find your balance

Life is all about balance and anything to the extreme is cause for concern, even if they are healthy habits like exercise and diet. If you are overeating, not eating enough, not sleeping enough, or sleeping too much, it may lead to an unhealthy mindset.

Use hypnosis as one tool in your arsenal of healthy habits. For example. It’s proven that going for a walk everyday, no matter the weather, will reduce anxiety by about 50%.

A good psychological tip we recommend to people feeling down is to plan a perfect day for yourself. Either take a day off work or schedule it on a weekend and from start to finish plan a day to just do all of the things you enjoy.

I also think journaling is one of the most important things we can do in terms of self progression. Writing all of your goals down and planning how you intend to get there is everything, in my opinion.

Think of it like going on a holiday, booking your flights, picking the hotel, having something to look forward to, buying the clothes and packing your suitcase is half of the enjoyment. Use that same mindset towards planning your goals.

Before you start

Before taking on any kind of therapy, including hypnosis, it’s really important that you are willing to change and to put in the work. Whether it’s improving your confidence or reducing anxiety or finding love, you have got to want to change.

Setting a clear hypnotic suggestion is important for success. It should be positive, confident, realistic and set in the present tense.

For example: “I am calm” or “I am relaxed” instead of saying, “I am not anxious.”

Be realistic with intentions like: “I do not crave cigarettes” verus “I will never smoke again”.

Visualise how you feel when you reach your goal, what you look like, your surroundings, be as detailed as possible.

Put in the work

Hypnosis has the unique ability of helping people to cope with stress and anxiety by encouraging your body to activate its natural relaxation response.

Like anything in life, in order to achieve results, you need to commit yourself. Practice makes perfect and hypnosis is a skill that can be honed through patience, commitment and consistency. In order to see results you need to commit to about 20 minutes everyday.

Is hypnosis right for you?

The main drawback of hypnosis, or any therapy, is the expense. It’s expensive to see a therapist, it can be anywhere between €50 to €100 per session. But with hypnosis you can do a season for €150 that is recorded and you can repeat it daily for years. There are lots of free samples online where you can try it at home first before seeing a professional.

How to self-hypnotise

Step 1: Sit back or lie down in a comfortable position and quiet location and find a focal point to focus your attention on. Give yourself at least 20 minutes of peace and quiet.

Step 2: Set a clear intention for the hypnotic suggestion.

Step 3: Start inhaling and exhaling deep and slow breaths through your nose and out through your mouth. Focus on relaxing any tension in your body so that you can feel yourself sinking further into comfort.

Step 4: Affirm your relaxed state by speaking to yourself and repeating versions of the mantra: “As I count to three, I shall go deeper into a profound, hypnotic state; I will be more relaxed on the count of three.”

Then count to three, repeating the command with each count: “one… getting more relaxed, two… deeper relaxation…, three… totally relaxed, in a hypnotic state.”

Step 5: Reaffirm your goal mentally by visualising yourself achieving it, and verbally by repeating lines like: “I feel calm, confident, and relaxed” or “I’m sleeping peacefully through the night”.

Step 6: After about five minutes of reaffirming your goal, prepare to leave the hypnotic state by imagining each breath leaves your limbs feeling lighter until they return to normal.

Wake yourself by counting down from 10, telling yourself: “When I reach one, I will open my eyes, energised and alert.”

Find out more information on hypnotherapy at the D4 Wellness Clinic www.d4clinic.com