The Key To Control Lies In Your Unconscious

July 5, 2008 at 1:37 pm | Posted in Sports Psychology | 2 Comments
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You walk in to a room and freeze up. There are strangers all
around – and you’re paralyzed, thinking “Am I good enough for
these people? Am I attractive, smart, and wealthy enough?” For
millions of people all over the world, social anxiety and low self
esteem are a daily problem.

When someone has a lot of confidence, other people can tell and
they tend to treat that someone better. Without a strong feeling of
self-worth, people act like they’re not worth anything at all.
Almost all interpersonal problems can be solved with a healthy
injection of confidence and self-esteem.

The enemy of confidence is anxiety. If you’re constantly thinking
about what other people think, how can you be confident? There
are plenty of ways to deal with anxiety, from taking up watercolors
to going for a jog, but one of the most effective methods for
leaving your anxiety behind and getting on with your life is
hypnosis. For over 200 years, hypnosis has been used to great
effect to help those with anxiety and self-esteem problems.

When most people think of hypnosis, they conjure up an image of
some guy in a top hat and a cape making people quack like
ducks. This picture couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of what
goes on during hypnotherapy. The point of hypnosis isn’t to force
others to do your will; rather it is to attain a state of deep
relaxation so that your mind can operate without all the normal
blinders and restrictions of conscious thought.

Once in a state of hypnosis, the subject can work with his
subconscious mind, planting “suggestions” or ideas there to bear
fruit while in your normal state. Think of it as changing the
wallpaper in your brain. Rather than playing a constant loop of
“I’m no good,” you can replace the backdrop of your daily activity
with “I’m successful and intelligent.” Not only will this help you
feel better, but it will produce results at work, school, and on the
athletic fields.

A 2003 study by a group of German scientists gives us strong
reason to view hypnosis as the effective tool that it is. It showed
that in a meta-analysis of a group of 57 studies completed on the
usefulness of hypnosis, at least 64% of those treated achieved
success towards their goal as compared to 37% of those who
tried to do it without hypnosis. Even more surprising, when an
additional 76 studies on hypnosis were included, it was found that
an astonishing 74% of those treated were successful, while only
27% of those who were untreated achieved success.

Whether you want to feel better about yourself, get the confidence
to talk to that stranger at a party, or shave some time off your
mile, hypnosis may be the tool that helps you to achieve your
goals.

Until then…Peak into Your Future,
Coach Jim Guerci

What the Heck is Hypnosis?

June 23, 2008 at 3:47 pm | Posted in Mental Training, Sports Performance, Sports Psychology | Leave a comment
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Hypnosis is an odd word – it came into existence as a shortening
of James Braid’s 19th Century term “neuro-hypnotism.” The root
of the word is from the Greek “hypnos,” meaning “sleep,” but has
little to do with the state we know as sleep. Hypnosis is in fact a
deep state of relaxation, during which the subject has released
tensions and worries of everyday life, and can focus their will and
concentration in a way that is usually impossible.

As far back as ancient Egypt, people have been using hypnosis
for healing. In Egypt, India, and Greece, there were places known
as “sleep temples,” where those suffering from physical and
psychological ailments could go to experience ritual healing.
Usually, they would gather in a large chamber, and sacred
chanting and dance were used to induce a hypnotic state, during
which the sufferers were more open to the suggestions of their
physicians.

In the modern world, it is easy to dismiss hypnosis, as most of us
are familiar with it only in the context of the entertaining stage
shows. However, hypnosis can be very useful in treating a variety
of ailments, from anxiety to compulsive behaviors to the treatment
of chronic pain. The British Medical Association and the American
Medical Association have both endorsed hypnosis as an effective
treatment as anesthetic and for psycho-somatic disorders and
neuroses, in 1955 and 1958 respectively.

We’ve come a long way since sleep temples – hypnosis is now
used as a remedy for a variety of problems, from smoking
cessation to dealing with asthma and irritable bowel syndrome.
Even Sigmund Freud was an enthusiastic supporter of hypnosis
as a tool to assist his patients with analysis – however, because of
the rather small number of hypnosis practitioners at the time, he
abandoned his work with the technique. In 1919, he wrote “It is
very probable, too, that the application of our therapy to numbers
will compel us to alloy the pure gold of analysis plentifully with the
copper of direct suggestion [hypnosis].”

A 2003 study completed in Germany gives us even more reason
to believe in the efficacy of hypnosis in treating health issues. It
showed that in a meta-analysis of a group of 57 studies
completed on the usefulness of hypnosis, at least 64% of those
treated achieved success towards their goal as compared to 37%
of those who tried to do it without hypnosis. Even more
surprising, when an additional 76 studies on hypnosis were
included, it was found that an astonishing 74% of those treated
were successful, while only 27% of those who were untreated
achieved success.

Hypnosis is a powerful and effective tool in dealing with a wide
variety of ailments, neuroses, and conditions. The research backs
up these claims. Looking at all the evidence, it seems that it
would be wise for the modern world to reevaluate our views on
hypnosis and start using it to better our lives.

Until then…Peak into Your Future,
Coach Jim Guerci

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