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Established 1995 in London and now located in Grantham's Town Centre

Welcome to Elevated Therapy’s renowned FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Section concerning Hypnotherapy and Hypnosis for Grantham and Newark, and the surrounding areas in the East Midlands from a UK Hypnotherapist since 1995 and an accredited Hypnotherapy Supervisor.

There are many false beliefs around hypnosis, and hypnotherapy. Hypnosis is a genuine therapeutic tool, and it can be used as an alternative medical treatment for several conditions.
This includes insomnia, anxiety, depression, and pain management.
At Elevated Therapy you can be assured that you will be working with trained and trustworthy professionals with welfare, compliance and good practice at the heart of everything to do with your therapy where you can trust the guided-hypnosis process.
Below is a list of common questions people have about Hypnotherapy, and I do hope my answers from Grantham here help all clients and prospective clients in Newark, Nottingham, Lincoln, Stamford, Bourne, Bingham, West Bridgford, Sleaford, Melton Mowbray and Peterborough.

Hypnotherapy in Grantham and Newark

Dr. Michael G Millett and Dr. Jacqueline Preston – together leading the right holistic way forward and advancement for therapy and coaching for all clients at Elevated Therapy in the East Midlands.

Elevated Therapy's Hypnosis FAQ

The questions below are covered with the answers to them further down the page.

  • What is Hypnosis?
  • Hypnotherapy?
  • How does it feel to be hypnotised?
  • How do you put people into hypnosis?
  • Is hypnosis “mind control?
  • What about those stage hypnotists that make people do strange and silly things?
  • How much will I remember?
  • How deep will I go?
  • How do I know if I can be hypnotised?
  • What does hypnosis feel like … or … How can I tell if I’m hypnotised?
  • Can I “get stuck”?
  • Can hypnosis hurt me?
  • Is hypnosis a 100% consent state?
  • What if I’m under a doctor’s care or taking medication?
  • Can hypnosis help me?
  • What Is Self Empowerment? How can I learn more about it?
  • What Areas Can Hypnotherapy Be Helpful In?
  • Why don’t more people use self-hypnosis or get hypnotherapy sessions?
  • What’s the difference between self-hypnosis, “guided imagery,” “creative visualisation” or meditation?
  • How quickly will I experience results from hypnosis?
  • Can Hypnosis be Spiritual? I Don’t Believe in Religion!
  • How can I learn more about hypnosis?
  • Elevated Therapy`s Self-Hypnosis Routine

What is hypnosis?

Hypnosis is a very normal and natural altered state of consciousness (an altered state of awareness), one we all experience from time to time in which the mind remains clear, alert and focused on something.
Have you ever “become really absorbed” while watching TV? Or driven to work on “auto pilot?”
That’s the same kind of altered state as hypnosis.
Some misconceptions about hypnosis are that it’s a frightening or eerie state, or that it feels very weird, but it’s actually very normal and very pleasant.
Some people ask if they’ve really been hypnotised, just because it feels like such a normal state and they were expecting something very strange. The zombie-type states you see depicted in movies and on TV are pure fantasy.


 

Hypnotherapy?

Hypnosis itself is unlikely to assist in a relief of symptoms, whatever those symptoms might be.
It is the therapy – hypnotherapy – which is carried out within the altered state that is significant.
It generally adopts three altogether different forms in its clinical approach.

Suggestion Therapy
This clinical form of treatment is ideal for helping to cope with such things as self-development, particular fears, doubts, nerves, smoking, certain habits, some weight-control problems, stress, hypno-healing (working with the body`s immune and healing systems) and so forth.

Analytical Therapy
This is used for the more fundamental or deep-seated problems or issues. This approach aims to find and eliminate the underlying rudimentary cause of such things as irrational fears, emotional problems, relationship difficulties, psychosexual problems, lack of confidence, personality problems, sleeping difficulties, stuttering/stammering, anxiety, inferiority complex, unhappiness, phobias, etc. and most other problems and issues where there is a psychological factor at work.

Regression Therapy
This focuses very specifically on past events and how they influence the way we behave in the present day. They are often behind the problems bothering us in the present. Working with them may help people improve emotional and cognitive health by resolving past events.


 

How does it feel to be hypnotised?

It feels great! Hypnosis is a natural state that feels similar to that feeling you get right before you fall asleep at night.
When you awaken, you feel refreshed and revitalised.
You just feel as if you are relaxing in a very comfortable space with your eyes closed. You can hear everything–my voice, the sounds outside the building, a car going down the street outside, whatever.
Think about it – your unconscious mind uses the same set of ears that your conscious mind hears with!
How effective would it be if, once you entered the trance state, you suddenly lost all ability to hear the hypnotherapists’s words?
You’re mindful the entire time, aware of everything going on around you as well as what your unconscious is revealing to you.
I liken it to watching TV in one room while a radio plays in another; you can shift your awareness back and forth between the two, concentrating on one but still aware of the other.


 

How do you put people into hypnosis?

Using words, a soothing tone, mental imagery and various exercises and techniques (such as deep breathing) to induce a pleasant, lethargic state to begin with.


 

Is hypnosis “mind control?

Not at all. No one under hypnosis can be induced to do anything against his or her will. Whatever moral and ethical codes you hold in a normal waking state will still be in place under hypnosis. You can actually lie when in hypnosis.
Your unconscious mind was formed when you were about age five. Its job is to protect and help you. Just like you cannot be made to do anything against your moral code, you will not say anything that is embarrassing and will not reveal more than you are comfortable doing.
Usually, if a hypnotherapist`s suggestion conflicts with a client’s value system, the client simply brings him or herself up out of hypnosis; they just “wake up.” You are in complete control at all times.
Hypnotherapy is a gentle, loving process and most hypnotherapists are trained to not judge.
You will heal and change in your own timing.


 

What about those stage hypnotists that make people do strange and silly things?

The “control factor” is still zero. Think about it: we’ve all seen or heard about those stage shows–we all have expectations about what happens in them.
If you have never been formally hypnotised before, you may be expecting “fireworks.”
When that doesn’t happen, you think, “Oh, it’s not working on me,” and STOP TRYING, open your eyes and sit there waiting to be let off the stage.
The people who will do well as volunteers are the people who do not expect to be transported to another realm.
They understand that they will still “know what’s going on” and still “hear everything the hypnotist says.”
They stay with it and follow the hypnotist’s instructions, even when they’re not sure if it’s working.
You cannot simultaneously BE the show and SEE the show! You have to pick one and stick with it!
Does anyone really think that if they volunteer to go on stage that the hypnotist will suggest they do something BRILLIANT?
Anyone who volunteers is agreeing to play the part, whether they consciously admit it or not.
For some, hypnosis (like alcohol) is a convenient “excuse” to act out and not take responsibility for their behaviour.


 

How much will I remember?

You’ll remember everything–everything I say and everything you experience or everything you need to remember.
However, because most clients receive a great deal of information it may take days, weeks or months to really process.
I often encourage you to write your experience down as soon as possible. As with any experience, it’s not unusual to lose the subtler details with the passage of time, and some of the patterns you uncover may not “click” into place until much later.


 

How deep will I go?

Depth of the hypnotic state is an idea that used to be a focal point, but lately the hypnosis community and hypnosis professionals have realised that depth (or not) has little bearing. My view on this is that my clients go as deep (or stay as light) as they need to and what is appropriate for them, and we still get good results.
It is a fact that the more hypnosis one undergoes, the greater and easier one drops down into the altered state.
It is a skill and like all skills – improves with practice.


 

How do I know if I can be hypnotised?

Everyone can be hypnotised but one has to be willing to do it. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis, which means if you want to do it, you will.
The very small minority of people who have difficulty in a session are usually those who a) don’t really want to be hypnotised (perhaps to debunk the idea); or b) can’t relax and let go enough (perhaps fearing loss of control, which we know is a myth, or fearing the unknown) to go with the experience.
Some things you can do to increase your ability to go under hypnosis easier and faster are practicing meditation, visualisation, yoga or relaxation techniques.


 

What does hypnosis feel like … or … How can I tell if I’m hypnotised?

Many of us experience a “trance-like” state while being given a good sermon at church, listening to some good music on the radio, reading a gripping novel, or even while watching TV! Here are some personal feelings one may experience when in a hypnotic state:

1. Physical relaxation (Body muscles feel relaxed).
2. Fluttering of eyelids when entering and coming out of hypnosis.
3. Mental relaxation.
4. General feeling of drowsiness as if ready to doze.
5. Eyelids heavy (extreme effort to raise them).
6. Eyes smarting and/or tearing. Remove contacts; they create dryness.
7. Eyelids locked together, unable to open.
8. Jaw muscles relaxed.
9. Teeth unclenched.
10. Tongue loose and natural. When tense, the tongue goes higher.
11. Dryness in mouth.
12. Desire to swallow.
13. Moisture at corners of mouth.
14. Desire to scratch an itch, but not sure of doing it.
15. Twitching or jerking in any part of the body.
16. Euphoria (state of well-being).
17. Tingling or numbness in any portion of body.
18. Heavy feeling in any portion or entire body.
19. Desire to laugh, smile, giggle, or cry.
20. Lack of desire to open eyes (relaxation feels too good).
21. Body warmth or chill.
22. Feel personal freedom, carefree or uninhibited.
23. Sexual/sensual stimulation or awareness.
24. Time distortion (minutes seems like hours and vice versa).
25. Voice sounds fading in and out.
26. Letting go as if falling asleep.
27. Occasional involuntary sigh.
28. Feeling of lightness.
29. Feeling of floating.
30. Partial body detachment as if part of the body is not there.


 

Can I “get stuck”?

No. Again, hypnosis is a very natural and normal state and cannot hold anyone against his or her will. If a client were to go so
deep as to enter a truly unconscious state (a very rare occurrence), they would simply go into natural sleep and awaken when they were rested. It is impossible for anyone to be `left or lost` in hypnosis.
After hypnosis, a person awakens naturally, just as they do after sleep! If the hypnotherapist were to leave before counting them awake, the subject would eventually realise that the session had ended and would awaken on their own.
During the session, if there were an emergency, or the subject no longer wished to participate, they could easily awaken themselves at any time and simply stop.


 

Can hypnosis hurt me?

In well over two hundred years of recorded hypnosis history, there is no documented case of anyone being hurt with hypnosis.
Hypnosis can only be used in a positive way.
If anyone tries to give you suggestions against your morals, religious or spiritual beliefs or anything you feel strongly about, you could instantly emerge from the state of relaxation on your own.


 

If at any time you want to emerge from the state of hypnosis, for any reason, you will instantly, naturally open your eyes and become fully alert. No one can keep you in hypnosis against your will.


 

What if I’m under a doctor’s care or taking medication?

If you have any questions about whether or not hypnosis will help or conflict with a present medical condition, ask you GP.
The interesting reaction of hypnosis on medication is that, over long periods of time, it tends to “potentiate” medication, which means if you’re currently taking medication, after a series of hypnosis sessions you may find that you need less amounts of it, or a lesser strength of the drug. Hypnosis can often complement traditional medical care and better or more informed doctors favour it. It can act as an adjunct to medical treatment.


 

Can hypnosis help me?

“Helping me get past my fear of public speaking?” “Improving my golf game?” “Helping me relax during exams?”
“Curing my insomnia?” etc.
Let’s put it this way: think for a moment about any issue in your life that you’d like to improve and ask yourself,
“Does my mind interact with this issue/activity in any way? Do my thoughts/beliefs affect my performance?
Do my feelings contribute to my experiences in this area? Have I had past experiences that are reinforcing my beliefs/thoughts/emotions in a negative way? Is it my expectation that I will NOT get the results I desire?”

Are you getting the picture? The mind, body and emotions are all connected. Therefore, I’m not aware of ANY issue that can not be at least significantly improved/relieved through the regular use of hypnosis.
Generally, there is a positive effect from hypnotherapy. When pain and trauma is released from the unconscious mind and the physical body’s stored stress is also released from your cells. You can experience calmness. peace. and a feeling of joy from resolving an old issue, changing your behaviours and old patterns, leaning new information connecting with your inner wisdom, changes in how you perceive yourself and others.
You can actually learn to let go of old hurts and angers, so they no longer affect you physically and emotionally.
Your unconscious mind holds our keys to health, happiness and self-empowerment!


 

What Is Self Empowerment? How can I learn more about it?

Self-empowerment is the process of tapping into your own inner sources of power and wisdom, becoming more aware and conscious of how powerful you are, and incorporating this knowledge into your daily life.
At Hypnotherapy Grantham (Elevated Therapy), it is incorporated from the very beginning to increase independence, self-reliance and self-love. When we are afraid or dependent upon another, anger and emotional need is created. This can lead to repetitive patterns of behaviours and habits that are not beneficial.


 

What Areas Can Hypnotherapy Be Helpful In?

Stress, Health, Tension Headaches, Allergies, Insomnia, Visualisation, Relaxation, Self-Confidence, Motivation, Sadness, Emotional Pain, Addictions, Creativity, Goal Setting, Medical Procedures, Trust Issues, Inner Child, Self-Improvement, Regression, Test Anxiety, Weight Management, Anxiety, Childbirth, Spiritual Development, Sports Performance, Pain Management, Fears/Phobias, Smoking Cessation, Mind/Body Healing, Dental Procedures, Co-Dependency, Developing Skills and much more…….

 


 

Why don’t more people use self-hypnosis or get hypnotherapy sessions?

Why don’t more people take their vitamins? Or exercise? We KNOW what’s good for us but that doesn’t mean we’ll do it. We’re busy.
Most of us barely keep up with all the things we feel we HAVE to do, let alone all that stuff that seems “optional.”
The other reason, I believe, is that hypnosis appears very simple.
So simple, that when people first try it, they think it’s too easy to do any good. So they stop, thinking either it doesn’t work or they’re not doing it right. The truth is, an activity does not need to be complex in order to be beneficial. (Consider sit-ups and flossing and swallowing those vitamin pills!)
Our society is very geared toward DOING. Most of us are not comfortable with just BEING. Practice sitting quietly on a daily basis for even 5 minutes. You’ll be surprised how challenging this is!


 

What’s the difference between self-hypnosis, “guided imagery,” “creative visualisation” or meditation?

Truthfully, there’s not a tremendous difference at all. I believe that the widespread misconceptions about hypnosis have made people afraid to call the process by its rightful name–especially in the business environment. “Guided Imagery” or “Previewing” perhaps sound a little less mystical than “Hypnosis” and “Self-Hypnosis.”
All of these processes are simply procedures to relax the body and focus the mind. The state you attain can feel similar for each–no matter what you choose to call it.


 

How quickly will I experience results from hypnosis?

How quickly do you WANT to see results? There’s a lot of factors at work here. First, and foremost, there’s your motivation level and commitment.
If you’re “trying” to quit smoking because your partner has put you up to it, you’re not really all that motivated yourself, now are you?
My advice there: just quit wasting your time and money and be honest. There’s no such thing as “trying to quit.”
You’re either ready to be a non-smoker or you’re not.
Same is true with just about anything.
If your motivation and commitment level is HIGH, you’ll likely experience results straight away or very quickly.
If it’s low, you may stop going to the hypnotherapist or stop listening to that new tape long before you see any results.
Other factors that determine your success can include your comfort-level and respect for the hypnotherapist you’re working with, as well as the regularity of your hypnosis sessions.
Hypnosis Grantham, Nottingham, Lincoln, Newark and Stamford at Elevated Therapy, is NOT a magic pill. Sorry!
You will actually have to do some WORK along the way, such as attending your hypnotherapy sessions or listening to your self-hypnosis tape on a daily basis.
If you are expecting to be “put to sleep” and awaken “never wanting to eat chocolate again,” you’re probably destined for disappointment.
It just doesn’t happen that way.
On the other hand, I have most clients who quit smoking after my `one smoking session`, they were what I’d call HIGHLY MOTIVATED and have COMMITMENT. Have you?
Many people expect to be rich by not doing anything to make it happen !


 

Can Hypnosis be Spiritual? I Don’t Believe in Religion!

There is a huge difference between religion and spirituality. Religion nearly always comes with rules, regulations, “shoulds” and “should nots.”
Spiritual awareness is an individual, positive, inner process based in the belief that the Source of all life is everywhere and in everything including oneself.
Therefore, there can be no separation from your Source of life, however we choose to call It.
My Transpersonal, Alchemical, Metaphysical, Past Life/Other Life, Neo-Shamanic work honours all the expressions of Spirit, and seeks to help you release your judgements, particularly about yourself. I help you learn to consciously manifest when you want to experience, rather than responding to events in your life that you don’t want. I am a fully qualified Metaphysician.
I extend to you the concept that you are totally loved, accepted, powerful and creative, and that you cannot NOT be these things.
I believe this is a loving Universe we live in that is giving, accepting and non-judgemental, here to love and assist us in our human journey.
Elevated Therapy when working within these realms creates an open, accepting (sacred) space for you to learn more about yourself and expand into who you want to be and who you really are. This occurs as you learn the skills of working with the unconscious and superconscious minds and experience your own healing as you expand and grow.

I create an ambiance where this experience is filled with fun, love, laughter, understanding, acceptance, the free exchange of knowledge and wisdom, and respect for you and your life experiences.


 

How can I learn more about hypnosis?

Depends. What exactly do you want to learn ? If you’re just curious about hypnosis, try reading a book on the subject or buying a self-hypnosis tape that will guide you through the process.

If you are trained in hypnosis and would like to further your skills and enhance or develop your competence and expertise, then have a look around this website and what Elevated Therapy International (Hypnotherapy in Grantham, Nottingham, Lincoln, Newark and Stamford – the Elevated Therapy way) has to offer such as the Hypnotherapy Supervision Service.


 

Elevated Therapy`s Self-Hypnosis Routine

Prior to trance, decide for how long and how deeply you want to relax. Say it out loud or in your head – it doesn’t matter which but do this so that you can programme a wake-up time. If you do this you should awaken around the exact time that you chose. Any suggestions or healing affirmations you want to be absorbed by your unconscious mind can be read or spoken out loud at this point. Decide what you want to gain from this self-hypnosis session and then:

1. Take a deep breath, hold it and count to three, then slowly release your breath. At the same time as you breathe out, close your eyes and relax.

2. Allow the whole of your body to sink down and become heavy. Imagine that you are going into deep hypnosis and that you are becoming more deeply relaxed.
Tell yourself that you are becoming more and more relaxed.
Remember that the most profound relaxation comes at the bottom of the outbreath, so collapse your stomach muscles on each outbreath.

3. Let your breathing become slower and deeper and imagine that you are going deeper into hypnosis with every outward breath.
Tell yourself that you are sinking deeper and deeper, until you reach a level at which you feel comfortable.

4. Use some form of visualisation to go to a place of peace and tranquility – your own sanctuary, perhaps a holiday or fantasy place and just relax; or if you want to improve some behaviour, you can use auto-suggestion or affirmations at this point.
Power suggestions are stated in the present and the positive. Use these sentence stems: I feel…, I am…, I have…, I know.
Remember, the unconscious mind is literal and can assimilate suggestions or affirmations in this relaxed state even though the conscious mind might not yet believe they are true.
That is the beauty of hypnosis !

5. When you are satisfied that you have benefited from the relaxation or have programmed your mind with the new information, you can count back from five to one telling yourself that when you get to one you will feel (whatever it is you want to feel) and return to your normal waking state, having benefited from the trance.

Hypnotherapist from Grantham serving Melton Mowbray, Long Bennington, Lincoln, Stamford, Sleaford, Grantham, Newark, Bourne, Oakham, and Nottingham.

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