How not to cause the opposite effect?
It is much easier to instill negativity in yourself because it happens unconsciously. Any fear or self-doubt can interfere with the fulfillment of a desire, displacing it from the subconscious
This is why it is so important to believe in the thought form you are repeating.
The Law of Reverse Effect is explained by the phrase “Reality has boundaries, but fantasy has none.” If you pit your conscious and subconscious heads against each other, the second will always win. To be more precise, its contents will win - fear and low self-esteem or self-confidence and faith in the fulfillment of desire.
To understand how the opposite effect works, just imagine a 50 cm wide board lying on the ground. It won't be difficult to walk along it. But if you raise it to a height of two meters, then the task will seem more difficult, although it is still the same board on which a person can comfortably fit. And now the board is raised even higher and placed between two high-rise buildings. The fear of falling makes the task of walking across it almost impossible.
If you have tried different methods and still don’t know how to convince yourself that your desires can be fulfilled, Coue’s main thesis will be useful to you. He argued that there is no such thing as suggestion, only self-suggestion. A person who resists his own desires and does not believe that he is worthy of them or that they can come true will be impervious to any suggestion coming from within or without.
How to track and control negative self-hypnosis
To make life better and more successful, it is necessary to monitor and eliminate negative self-hypnosis. Change bad thoughts and wording to the opposite. Repeat positive attitudes often. Tracking negative thoughts in your head is not easy, but with time you will be able to do it.
Negative programming must be controlled. The following rules will help prevent it from happening again:
- confidence in the final result - if you doubt, negative thinking will repeat, the technique of getting rid of it will become invalid;
- positive thinking - do not use the particle “not” in your thoughts and subconscious, there should be no negative wording in speech;
- do not force yourself - coercion will cause internal conflict;
- think about the present - concentrate on these moments;
- send the correct instructions to the subconscious. Brevity, capacity, clarity are the main components of formulations.
Controlling negative thinking is not difficult. The main thing is to overcome your own fears and remove negative attitudes from your subconscious. Do not forget. That the realization of thoughts is carried out in life. What you think about will happen to you in the future. To get rid of negative self-hypnosis, do what you love and take a break.
General principles
A number of mental states lead to disorganization, so they need to be regulated. There are two ways:
- Using external influence on the psyche.
- Self-hypnosis.
The concept of self-regulation relates to the second point, that is, a person helps himself to independently cope with a tense situation. Techniques of psychological self-regulation presuppose volitional participation; the person’s personality matters.
Psychological self-regulation allows you to eliminate, weaken signs of fatigue, and increase psychophysiological reactivity.
Modern self-management of the condition is a kind of psychohygienic method that increases the body's resources.
Rules for constructing self-hypnosis formulas
Positive wording. The first rule for constructing formulas of suggestion is that any formulation of suggestion must sound affirmative. You must exclude suggestions from your formulations, or be careful with constructions that contain particles “not”, “no”, formulations of opposition and avoidance (“from”, “against”, “without”, “throw”, “get rid of”) ", "exclude", etc.), because the subconscious in most cases does not perceive particles of negation, such as "not", "no".
Multiple repetitions. The second rule for constructing the form of suggestion is that any suggestion must be voiced repeatedly. At least three, five or more times. In this case, it is advisable to use as many synonymous words as possible, describing the desired state with keywords that are close in meaning.
Step by step. The third rule for constructing a form of suggestion is the phased implementation of the desired goal
In most cases, it is important to instill not the end result, but a certain process of achieving a particular goal. This is especially important when inducing any long-term changes.
There is such a conditional concept of “inertia” or “latent period”, i.e. the moment when changes have already occurred, but have not yet entered into a person’s life steadily and clearly. And at this very moment, or better yet in advance, you need to set yourself up for a gradual change. Instant miracles happen, but they don't always happen. As they say, everything has its time, and you just need to wait a little. Therefore, if we, for example, try to inspire ourselves with good health as a fact that has already happened - “I have good health” - and health changes instantly and momentarily extremely rarely - then inside in response to your suggestion it will sound “you’re lying, lying, lying” after all, subjectively or objectively, not everything may be in order with one’s health at the time of suggestion. That is, in response to affirmative suggestions that state what is desired as accomplished, protests may arise.
Motivation, active position. The fourth rule is motivation.
It is important to instill not just a passive expectation of achieving certain goals, but some internal motivation, desire, intention to achieve these goals. It is useful to formulate the suggestion by adding phrases such as “I try”, “I can”, “I achieve”, “I realize”.
Binding to context
The fifth rule for constructing suggestion formulas is reference to context, contextual situations, events. Where this formulation is most relevant. For example, a person feels confident at work when communicating with colleagues, partners, clients, and audiences, but he feels uncomfortable when driving a car. Here it will be useful to instill a sense of confidence not in a general context, but with reference to a specific situation and circumstances.
Methods of Self-Regulation
- If you are annoyed, outraged by something, or deeply offended, find a place where you can speak out loud, shout what outrages you, cry. As you do this, you will see that your irritation, your resentment will go away.
- Another way is “empty chair”. Imagine that there is a person sitting on it to whom you want to pour out the feelings that are overwhelming you. Say everything you want to say.
- The resulting feeling of irritation and aggression can be relieved with the help of physical release. Do a few kicks at an imaginary object or box (using, say, a pillow).
- One of the methods of self-regulation is self-confession - a complete internal report about oneself, a frank conversation with oneself about the “painful thing”. This will help you understand yourself better and remove internal contradiction.
- Share your problems, experiences, feelings with a loved one you trust.
- Sometimes letting others know how you feel in the moment can help relieve tension and avoid confrontation. Try to openly express and discuss with others your feelings and mutual feelings: this creates trust.
The power of self-hypnosis: subconscious formulas of Emile Coue and Georg Rauch
Conscious self-hypnosis according to Coue is a therapeutic method that allows you to suppress painful ideas that are harmful in their consequences and replace them with useful and beneficial ones. Coue argued that all people are at the mercy of the power of their own imagination. Everything is very simple. The same is true of the technique of suggestion.
Suggestion is as old as time. Verbal influence on the psyche of patients was used for therapeutic purposes by Plato, Aristotle, and Hippocrates. For a long time, suggestion was surrounded by an aura of mystery, mystery and mystical fear. The physiological basis of the mechanisms of suggestion and self-hypnosis has now been elucidated.
It has been noted that the more actively a person reacts to emotional influences, the more impressionable he is, the more easily he is suggestible. Children are extremely emotional, impressionable and suggestible. They are sensitive to the emotional situation in the family. Children, compared to adults, react more vividly to what is happening around them, are more happy and upset.
As G. Wright, a great expert on witchcraft in underdeveloped countries, writes, “the psychological enslavement of some people by others is as old as the world. There have always been people on earth who have thirsted for power. But the skillful, well-thought-out practice of mastering human consciousness, controlling it, the practice of turning this consciousness into clay from which anything can be molded is the contribution that society owes primarily to the healers.”
Always and everywhere, when people experienced a lack of knowledge, a healer appeared among them, who could somehow fill the gaping gaps in their ideas about nature. The main weapon of healers, which allows them to dominate the people around them, is the ability to suggest.
Through self-hypnosis and suggestion, one can achieve objectively recorded general changes in the body. Thus, in a person who is instilled with a feeling of hunger or satiety, the composition of the blood changes. Accordingly, the number of leukocytes contained in it decreases or increases.
By inducing a feeling of hypothermia, you can cause the appearance of “goose bumps” and increased gas exchange. With some training, this turns out to be accessible to many. If you devote a significant amount of time to training, then, like yogis, you can learn to control many functions of your body.
How is the phenomenon of self-hypnosis explained from the standpoint of science? Self-hypnosis is a process of suggestion addressed to oneself. Self-hypnosis allows you to induce in yourself certain sensations, perceptions, control the processes of attention, memory, emotional and somatic reactions. The essence of self-hypnosis, according to I.P. Pavlov, lies in the concentrated irritation of a certain area of the cerebral cortex, which is accompanied by strong inhibition of the remaining parts of the cortex, representing the functions of the entire organism, its integrity and existence.
In exceptional cases, with self-hypnosis, even the destruction of the body can occur without the slightest physical struggle on its part. The effect of self-hypnosis, according to the theory of A. A. Ukhtomsky, is explained by concentrated irritation of a certain area of the cortex, that is, the emergence of a dominant against the background of reduced cortical tone.
Mental ideas, images, emotions and attitudes have a significant and direct impact not only on a person’s psychological state, but also on his physiological and somatic processes. Images and thoughts (for example, thoughts about danger) evoke in the nervous system and further at the bodily level the same reaction as objective situations of the same content.
Self-hypnosis technique according to Emile Coue
The use of autosuggestion for medicinal purposes became especially popular in Europe in the 1920s. A lot of interesting things were published at this time by Couet, Baudouin and Pierce. As for Emile Coue, who became famous throughout the world thanks to the success of the self-hypnosis clinic he led in Nantes, having started as a modest pharmacist, he then not only deeply studied psychophysiology, but also put forward a number of original concepts that had a wide resonance in Europe.
He called his system of therapeutic techniques “a school of introspection through conscious self-hypnosis.” He lectured about these techniques in his homeland and in England, and later published his lectures in a small book. Coue noted that even a suggestible person is not susceptible to suggestion if he resists it and does not transform it into self-suggestion. Coue's main thesis: there is no suggestion, there is only self-hypnosis.
He believed that the main cause of the disease was a morbid imagination, in which unconscious impulses manifest themselves. Coue compared the power of imagination to a mountain stream, which in its elemental uncontrollability destroys everything in its path, but which can be “tamed” - then it will be able to generate positive energy. He argued that all people are at the mercy of the power of their own imagination and that a sick person, “armed with the right idea, can again achieve his mental equilibrium.”
Conscious self-hypnosis according to Coue is a therapeutic method that allows you to suppress painful ideas that are harmful in their consequences and replace them with useful and beneficial ones. Coue compared painful ideas to pins stuck in the unconscious “I”, which can be gradually knocked out and, ultimately, replaced by others that correspond to the desired ideas. In this way, for example, bile and grumpiness can be turned into their opposite - good nature and peacefulness.
More on the blog: How to distinguish self-love from arrogance?
Who hasn’t wanted to “shine” in precisely those areas of which they are afraid? As you know, Demosthenes suffered from a speech impediment (lisp), but wanted to become an orator. This man was full of self-confidence, took elocution lessons, practiced with stones in his mouth and became, according to contemporaries, an unsurpassed orator. His speech gave the listeners the impression of a storm and thunderstorm.
The example of Demosthenes, according to Coue, clearly illustrates one of his important theoretical positions: “ Success is brought not so much by willpower as by the power of one’s own imagination .” Indeed, as is well known from the treatment of speech disorders, the more conscious volitional efforts the patient spends to cure the disease, the worse the result.
The famous St. Petersburg doctor Georg Rauch spoke in this regard about the “error of willpower” and demonstrated this error with the help of the following example. One married couple exhausted themselves with mutual quarrels and claims. Usually he started the quarrel, and she cried, defending herself with reproaches, which only inflamed her choleric temperament. The wife tried to achieve peace of mind with the help of willpower, telling herself: “I don’t want to quarrel with Oscar.”
The result was the exact opposite: the more volitional efforts she made, the more quarrels there were, and it was she herself who escalated the situation. This happened, according to the teachings of Coue, precisely thanks to her will. Rauch explained the mistake to her and advised her to instill in herself the formula using Coue’s method: “I treat Oscar calmly.” After some time, the quarrels practically stopped.
According to Coue, therapeutic ideas are essentially statements of fact. He called them the formula of self-hypnosis. This is Coue’s main formula: “Every day in all respects I am getting better and better.” A suggestion formula is a sentence written in the present tense. Moreover, it is completely indifferent whether it corresponds to reality, since the phrase is addressed to the subconscious “I”, which is distinguished by gullibility. The subconscious “I” accepts this phrase as truth and begins to implement it.
You could even say that it perceives it as a task that needs to be completed. The subconscious “I,” which influences all the functions of our body, gets to work and, as a result, fulfills its task, paving the way for healing and accelerating it, but within the limits of the possible, that is, within the optimal limits set by nature itself. This is significantly more than what the unconscious “I” can do when influenced only by willpower.
Another example from Georg Rauch. A thirty-year-old draftsman suffered a broken leg while skiing and underwent surgery. Since he had rickets in childhood, the healing period was delayed, which for him, who lived only on wages, meant a financial disaster. As a result, he developed depression. Rauch advised him to mobilize his inner strength: “Now you have the whole day to imagine over and over again the best course of healing for your leg, to see yourself healthy and constantly remind yourself that with the help of your inner strength you will soon run well. I am convinced that if from now on you instill pleasant thoughts in yourself as often as possible, for example, that you will soon be happily working in your office, then the doctors will be even more amazed at how quickly you managed to recover.”
And so it happened. The cure was achieved in an amazingly short time, and the doctors were amazed. An example shows how simple self-hypnosis looks using the Coue method. The draftsman imagined how he would soon work in the office again. He placed a future event in the near present, even closer than the doctors expected. His unconscious self accepted this idea as truth and implemented it.
Coue was the first to thoroughly study the nature of suggestion and formulate a number of important principles, the main of which is called the “law of the reverse effect.” “If a person, dreaming of achieving some goal, thinks to himself: “It would be good to achieve this, but... I probably won’t succeed,” then no matter how much effort he makes, the result will be zero,” the scientist wrote .
Coue’s discovery fully explains the fatal role played in the subconscious lexicon by the ill-fated “I’ll try”: this word itself seems to initially contain doubt, the expectation of failure. Therefore, having outlined a goal, in no case “try” to get closer to it; Believe - you will certainly achieve it!
More on the blog: Method of paradoxical intervention or vice versa
The law of the reverse effect is clearly demonstrated by a simple example. Imagine that a four-meter board with a width of 30 cm lies on the ground; Obviously, any of us will walk along it without batting an eyelid. Place the ends of it on two chairs: the task will become only slightly more difficult, requiring only a little more caution. Now imagine that the same board connects the roofs of two ten-story buildings... The same thing: stepping on it will really be dangerous - fear of heights will trigger the law of the opposite effect, which means a fall is almost inevitable.
Baudouin illustrates the law of the reverse effect with an example of a novice cyclist. Why, one might ask, do we so often crash into a tree, then into another seemingly insignificant obstacle? Yes, only because we are trying our best to avoid this very obstacle!
“When will and imagination come into conflict,” wrote Coue, referring to the eternal dispute between consciousness and subconsciousness, “the latter invariably wins.”
From a modern perspective, some of Coue's theoretical arguments seem simplified. Currently, the Coue method is more often used in combination with other methods of suggestive psychotherapy; it is now rarely used independently, since it is inferior in effectiveness to other methods of mental self-regulation that have replaced it.
Autosuggestion technique according to Coue
Voluntary self-hypnosis, as Coue claims, is characterized by the absence of anything violent in it. Everything is very simple. The same is true of the technique of suggestion. It should be carried out “without any effort”, in as “simple, childish, mechanical a way” as possible. The above Coue formula must be said every morning after waking up and every evening while lying in bed with your eyes closed - and say it so that you can hear it.
Coue considers this last condition indispensable. The formula must be repeated approximately 20 times. Pronounce it monotonously, without paying attention to what is being said. The formula must penetrate completely mechanically through the ears into the subconscious “I”, “and as soon as it penetrates there, it begins to work.”
In order not to distract your attention to counting when repeating the formula twenty times, Coue recommends using a cord with twenty knots, which are sorted like a rosary. Practicing the formula “Every day in every way I am getting better and better” takes about one minute.
The formula is general in nature, and although Coue recommends pronouncing all words monotonously, with the same emphasis, he nevertheless considers it necessary to place an internal emphasis on the semantic group “in all respects.” This is necessary to avoid such a phenomenon: a person somewhere in a remote corner of the brain hides, for example, the thought: “Yes, this will help me in all respects, but my liver - you can’t do anything with it anyway.”
When you feel unwell, you need to find the most secluded place possible, close your eyes and repeat very quickly: “My illness is passing, passing, passing...”, etc. After several trainings, it is possible to make a nervous disorder or physical pain disappear in 25-30 seconds. Along with general formulas, there are a large number of representations intended for the treatment of specific diseases.
According to Rauch, these are short formulas for suggestion that program our unconscious self to perform a specific task. For example, to strengthen self-confidence: “I can, I can, I can,” or to overcome a speech impediment: “I speak fluently and freely, remaining calm.” V. M. Kandyba in some cases recommends more advanced formulas.
For example, in conditions of group addiction to alcohol or drugs, the patient inspires himself: “My decision to overcome the craving for alcohol (drugs) is final. No matter what excuse my friends put forward and no matter how much they persuade me, in any case I will not succumb to persuasion, I will not change my decision.” All these formulas are suggested in the same way as the general Coue formula. They are recited in the morning and evening, and, if necessary, throughout the day, monotonously, with eyes closed, secluded in a quiet place.
Formulas should be “ childish ”, as Coue said. They are not intended for our conscious, critical “I”, but solely as a representation, as a program for the unconscious “I”. It prefers children's formulas.
Author: Artur Alexandrovich Alexandrov, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Medical Psychology of the St. Petersburg Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education.
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Self-hypnosis techniques
Where to begin? First of all, you need to learn how to enter a trance state. Further, in this state, you will be able to make deep self-hypnosis for yourself, including post-hypnotic ones, i.e. those that will work outside of trance, when you need it.
How to enter a trance? In general, any person is already familiar with the trance state - for example, when you “withdraw into yourself”, into your thoughts, you can lose your sense of reality for some time
While thinking about something important or being carried away by reading, you may not notice how much time has passed and may not hear the words addressed to you. Such states differ from self-hypnosis only in that the latter involves targeted, motivated influence with the formulation of suggestions that correspond to specific goals.
Contrary to popular myth, in a state of hypnosis and self-hypnosis you not only do not lose control over yourself, but also strengthen it. And if you need to respond to an external situation, you can, even while in a trance, react quite adequately.
Where do they teach?
Self-hypnosis cures all diseases... One can argue with this statement: sometimes the situation is critical and nothing can save the patient. But in most cases, self-hypnosis still brings positive results. The main thing is to master its technique, the main components of which are will and patience. In order to competently conduct therapy sessions, it is better to undergo training from a specialist: basic methods are taught in rehabilitation centers, oncology clinics, and specialized hospitals. These institutions employ qualified psychologists who will help you master the basics of self-hypnosis and purposefully use them at home.
The course for a young fighter lasts about three weeks. Upon completion, you can independently put into practice all the types of self-hypnosis described above. It will be good if your loved ones, relatives and friends support you in this simple game and constantly emphasize that you will definitely be able to get rid of this ill-fated disease.
How to convince yourself of everything
How does suggestion differ from ordinary mental activity? It lacks a critical component. That is, information is perceived as an axiom - without evidence. This presentation of information is perceived by the subconscious as true, so the necessary changes begin to occur in the depths of the human psyche. Self-hypnosis is a suggestion directed at oneself. By practicing self-hypnosis, you can change a lot within yourself and even construct a new personality.
Self-hypnosis can cause:
- the right sensations;
- necessary representations;
- necessary emotional states;
- changes in the autonomic system.
The basis of self-hypnosis is the constant repetition of verbal formulas. Correctly composed verbal formulas create positive impulses through repeated repetition. Formulas are repeated until they become a working tool of the subconscious for transforming something.
The rules of self-hypnosis are simple:
- all phrases are pronounced in the first person;
- all phrases must be affirmative;
- phrases should be short, but succinct in content;
- You cannot use the particle “not”; phrases must be formed without it;
- you cannot pronounce phrases automatically, without awareness;
- accompany the words with visualization (preferably).
What do self-hypnosis phrases look like? For example: “Every day I become more and more beautiful.” If you want to quit smoking, you should not repeat a phrase like “I don’t want to smoke.” It needs to be replaced with the phrase “I quit smoking.”
Psychologists have noticed that self-hypnosis works better when the body is relaxed. There is a direct relationship between physical and mental state: the more relaxed the body, the better the subconscious mind perceives information. Also, the effect of self-hypnosis depends on the strength of the desire to change something and on the degree of concentration of attention on the subject of self-hypnosis.
There are several methods of self-hypnosis:
- psychological mood;
- meditation;
- affirmations;
- mantras;
- prayers;
- visualization.
This is an incomplete list of psychotechniques to achieve the desired goal. Let's look at psychotechnics in more detail.
Is self-hypnosis effective?
The effectiveness of self-hypnosis will depend on the overall consistency of all parts of your consciousness. For example, you want to convince yourself that you are a rich, confident and calm person. But it is logical to assume that you do not have these resources, which means that all your experience will rebel and speak about the opposite, i.e. sabotage all efforts. It’s like coming to a new team and saying: “Okay, guys, now we’ll act as follows...” - You probably guessed the team’s reaction. It’s the same with our beliefs, which are ingrained and guide our actions. The psyche is formed and before you bring anything in, you need to make room for it. Isn't it logical?
Methodology for using the self-hypnosis method:
- before performing self-hypnosis, it is important to relax, take a comfortable position and close your eyes;
- self-hypnosis should be carried out without special volitional efforts, as if playing, frivolously;
- the formula is pronounced in a whisper, monotonously, without tension, but so that the person must hear what he is saying;
- the formula is repeated 20-30 times 2-3 times a day for several months;
- self-hypnosis can be used in any environment and at any time (the best time is considered to be the “drowsy” state - in the morning when waking up and in the evening before going to bed).
Mechanisms of self-suggestion
First component
– the ability to mentally imagine or imagine the content of self-hypnosis formulas as clearly as possible, but without straining mentally.
If, suppose, the formula “ My hands are relaxing and warming up ...” is used, then
simultaneously with each word of the formula that is thought out, a mental image corresponding to the word should appear.
Having said to himself: “My hands...”
, the person engaged in self-hypnosis must immediately mentally imagine his own (and not someone else’s) naked hands with all their features.
Simultaneously with the word “relax,”
an extremely clear (and not dimly vague) image of relaxed muscles should appear.
Simultaneously with the word “getting warm,”
an extremely vivid mental image of the factor that causes heat should appear (steam room, sun on the beach, warm water pouring onto your hands, etc.), and an equally vivid mental image of the warm muscles of your hands.
The second component is the ability to maintain your concentrated but relaxed attention on the chosen object (first on your body and its individual parts). So, if the formula “My face is relaxing” is mentally pronounced, then at this moment the focus of the student’s calm, concentrated attention should be nothing but the image of his own face
In the first stages, attention often “runs away” from the image on which it should be held. This should be treated calmly, as a temporary difficulty in the process of learning self-hypnosis, and, without getting irritated, you should again focus your relaxed attention on the desired object.
Third component
– the ability to extremely relax the muscles of the arms, legs, torso, neck, face, that is, to “switch off” your skeletal muscles from tension, reduce their tone and thus reduce the flow of proprioceptive impulses coming from the muscles to the brain. As already mentioned, such voluntary switching off of skeletal muscles (and they, as is known, obey our orders, our volitional efforts) helps to calm the nervous system and plunge into a drowsy state. Athletes master PMT more easily than people who are far from sports, because they know how to relax their muscles well. As you know, physical exercises are based not only on tension, but also on the obligatory ability to relax after each effort. The higher the athlete's qualifications, the better he knows how to relax. So if a person who is far from sports wants to master mental self-regulation and, in order to achieve this goal, begins to systematically engage in physical exercise, this will bring him double benefit - not only physical, but also mental health.
The fourth component is the ability to influence oneself with the necessary verbal formulas and corresponding mental images at the moment of a decrease in the level of wakefulness and the onset of a state of drowsiness. At the same time, as already mentioned, the word and the accompanying mental image (imagined or imaginary) acquire utmost power and can even regulate autonomic functions (for example, the activity of the cardiovascular system or gastrointestinal tract), which, as is known, are able to active wakefulness do not obey our volitional orders
Moreover, it does not matter in principle where passive attention stops first: first there may be a word, and then a mental image is connected to it, or first a mental image appears in consciousness, and then it is fixed by the corresponding word. In the process of mental influence and self-influence, word and image always act unidirectionally and mutually reinforce each other
What can it be used for?
The possibilities of self-hypnosis are enormous and are similar to the powerful action of wind, water or fire. Channeled in the right direction, these opportunities can work wonders, improve a person’s character, heal, lift spirits and achieve goals. But when used unconsciously in everyday life, verbal programming most often has a negative effect.
With the help of self-hypnosis, you can protect yourself from an aggressive external environment and control your life. Your life is precious, unique, unique. Instill this in yourself. You are worthy of love, forgiveness and mercy. You can inspire yourself with any emotional state, ability, goal. Your body will complete the task within the limits of its capabilities, but it will definitely complete it. Do not allow even a shadow of doubt to arise in your head during self-hypnosis. It is the truth of aspirations that plays a decisive role. The formulations of work with consciousness do not reflect reality, but only the desired result, but always in the present tense. Because for consciousness there is no such thing as tomorrow or yesterday, only here and now.
The Placebo Secret
Considering all of the above, doctors began to actively use suggestion. They came up with a placebo - a so-called dummy (solution, injection or tablet) that does not contain drugs. They were given to patients, assuring them that with the help of a miracle cure they would definitely be able to overcome their illness. Taking a placebo, people actually got better - this was the effect that self-hypnosis had on recovery. The American anesthesiologist Henry Ward Beecher first used a pacifier in 1955. He fed simple sugar pills to patients, telling them they were powerful painkillers. And indeed, in a third of cases, the pain went away and people felt better.
Or, as an example, we can cite the practice of the Italian doctor Fabrizio Benedetti. He treated for Parkinson's disease, but instead of the usual medicine he gave the patients a solution of table salt. The effect was similar: most people experienced positive dynamics. It is clear that before the start of such an experiment, doctors weighed the pros and cons and held consultations so as not to harm the health of the subjects.
Leonardo da Vinci's opinion on one of the rules for constructing self-hypnosis
Leonardo da Vinci also advised his students, after carefully examining an object, to close their eyes and, slowly, imagine it in all details. Then look at the item again and check how well the representation matches the original. The great artist and scientist considered this exercise very useful for developing attention and recommended doing it as often as time allows, ensuring that the performance completely repeats the original.
This exercise can be performed in combination with movement: while looking at something, take a slow breath, as if “pulling” into your brain, into your memory what you are focusing on; while exhaling, even more slowly, close your eyes and mentally reproduce the image of the object or phenomenon that was just in the focus of your attention. Usually, when it comes to concentration, many people associate this thought process with a kind of mental stress
Yes, indeed, very often concentration is accompanied by subjectively felt mental stress. It is known: the more carefully we do something, the more successful it is. When we are highly focused on something, our brain automatically switches off from everything around us, and nothing extraneous simply can “enter” our consciousness
Usually, when it comes to concentration, many people associate this thought process with a kind of mental stress. Yes, indeed, very often concentration is accompanied by subjectively felt mental stress. It is known: the more carefully we do something, the more successful it is. When we are highly focused on something, our brain automatically switches off from everything around us, and nothing extraneous simply cannot “enter” our consciousness.
Being extremely concentrated, attention in the practice of self-hypnosis should nevertheless remain completely relaxed. For only calm and unstrained attention allows one to maintain a drowsy state of the brain.
Any mental stress (including the process of attention) destroys drowsiness and brings a person out of it into a state of one or another activity, that is, it turns off the first main mechanism of self-hypnosis from useful activity.
Watch a video with a psychotherapist's opinion about the power of self-suggestion: only 10 minutes
Positive attitude formula of self-hypnosis
Affirmations for willpower:
Every day my habits become more controllable; I am above all my temptations; I am fully responsible for my actions; I am the captain of my life; I can count on myself in any situation; I am able to control any of my impulses; I bring any task I start to completion; I have an iron willpower when it comes to my goals; I have enough strength to continue; I know that willpower is trained through exercise; I pay attention to what I like, and this strengthens my willpower even more.
Affirmations for beauty and attractiveness:
- Every day I feel more and more beautiful;
- Every day my inner beauty shines brighter;
- I'm stunning!
- Everything about me is beautiful - body, soul and spirit;
- I'm proud of my body;
- I deserve to look great;
- Every day I take proper care of myself;
- I have an amazing sense of style.
Affirmations for fear and anxiety:
- Calm fills me with every breath;
- Every day I approach life easier and easier;
- Every muscle in my body is relaxed;
- I accept everything that happens with a calm soul;
- I am at peace with my past;
- I am calm and relaxed; I am in control of the situation;
- I am immune to stress;
- I value the time I spend alone;
- No matter what happens around me, harmony and peace reign in my heart.
Affirmations to improve performance:
- Every day I have more and more vital energy and strength;
- Everything I do increases my energy;
- I am a human engine;
- I am filled with drive;
- Positive energy overwhelms me;
- I have access to limitless reserves of wild energy whenever I need it;
- I constantly recharge my batteries with enthusiasm;
- I exercise every day to fill my body with crazy energy;
- I have incredible stamina.
Affirmations for developing self-confidence
- Every day I become more and more convinced of my talents;
- I understand myself better and better;
- I am completely responsible for what I think and what I do;
- I consciously take part in the events of the world around me;
- I like being here and now;
- I choose to be human, not perfect;
- Today I choose to live in the present, and enjoy all the gifts life has to offer;
- Whenever my unconscious mind makes unpleasant statements about me, I refute them immediately.
What negative consequences can result from self-hypnosis?
Do you use self-hypnosis? If not, it's a waste! With its help, you can lose weight, rejuvenate your body and get rid of diseases. Self-hypnosis is a process of self-confidence, mental control of oneself, the body and one’s own feelings. What is the name of self-hypnosis syndrome?
A true story about a friend, Anna: she was constantly afraid of getting sick and was often bothered by headaches for no reason. I have a friend Anna. Her main fear is the fear of getting sick. This obsession accompanied her constantly. She was afraid not that she would get sick, but that she was already sick. Anna suffered from headaches and malaise. She was afraid that this was a sign of a tumor. The idea of getting sick grew into a phobia.
Symptoms that confirmed this:
- she constantly had thoughts about illness;
- she perceived headache as the first sign of illness;
- Anna visited doctors and took tests for no objective reason;
- with mild manifestations of the disease, she was sent to the hospital.
Anya couldn't help herself. She didn't know how to get rid of this obsessive thought. I felt sorry for her. The main thing I advised her was to be patient. It’s not easy to get rid of fear; it will take a lot of time and effort.
She could not control her imagination; the picture of the disease flashed before her eyes. I suggested that Anna go to a psychotherapist. He advised the girl on a method of self-hypnosis.
She resorted to the following methods:
- affirmation - Anna repeated out loud phrases like “I’m healthy”;
- visualization - the girl imagined herself healthy, cheerful and energetic;
- meditation;
- self-hypnosis - Anya programmed herself to have no pain in her head.
The girl programmed her subconscious to quickly get rid of the excruciating pain. And it worked. She overcame her fear, tuned her subconscious to positive thoughts - the headaches went away, Anna was no longer afraid of getting sick.
The power of self-hypnosis is effective, a person simply does not pay attention. When he is nervous, worried, he utters destructive phrases against himself. This is self-programming – negative.
You need to get rid of it forever. If you insist that you are a failure, you are unlucky, this will accompany you throughout your life.
Not a single person has negative thoughts embedded in their subconscious from birth. Where do they come from? Sources of negative suggestion to oneself are:
- Parents. They, without wanting it, cripple the child from the moral side. Parents set their child's peers as examples, not to his benefit. If a child does something wrong, mom and dad reproach him and call him bad names. Parents' disappointment in their own affairs focuses on children, who do not understand that the negativity is not directed at them. For example, after a dad saw his daughter eating a second bowl of soup, he jokingly called her fat. This thought is deposited in the girl’s subconscious.
- Mistakes of the past. Negative experiences in the past lay the foundation for a negative attitude towards such activities in future life. A person automatically thinks that this time it won’t work out again. For example, your husband (wife) cheated on you. You have experienced mental trauma, and now you subconsciously look at other men or women with skepticism. If your significant other is faithful to you, you still expect a catch.
Self-programming is dangerous. Sensitive people easily succumb to such feelings, and this destroys them. Every day, information enters the human subconscious - from TV, radio or newspapers.
Basically, this is news about a disaster, robbery and other negative events. This is imprinted in the subconscious.
Negative thoughts lead a person to depression and illness. Do not forget that uncontrolled thoughts that come from the subconscious instinctively organize the self-suggestion of illness. To prevent this from happening, give yourself positive attitudes, displacing negative ones.
Self-hypnosis syndrome is the first sign of fear of the disease. A person is looking for suspected illnesses.
How a person feels depends on his thoughts. If you maintain a sense of health and strength, it will manifest itself in life. If you are constantly depressed and afraid of getting sick, this will happen to you. This mental phenomenon is called the “disease of self-hypnosis.”
What is the name of the disease of self-hypnosis? Iatrogenic illness is a mental disorder that occurs as a result of a careless statement by a doctor. A careless phrase provokes the opinion that a person is seriously ill. Not through the fault of the doctor, but because the person himself makes such diagnoses.
The result of self-hypnosis is a real disease. When you dwell on experiences, negative changes occur in the body - self-hypnosis syndrome appears.
The role of self-hypnosis in illness is enormous. Imagine a situation - a couple of people agreed to play a prank on a friend. A man comes to him and says: “You look bad - pale skin, circles under your eyes. You are sick?". And so several times - everyone came up and said similar words.
The doctor (from the same group of friends) said that he was seriously ill and needed treatment. The guy fell ill, every day he became worse and worse. The comrades admitted the cause of the disease. This is the role of self-hypnosis.
Is it possible to provoke a miscarriage through self-hypnosis? A woman who has lost a child once worries when she becomes pregnant again. She is tormented by thoughts that she will lose her child again, everything will be bad. Don't get hung up on bad thoughts! These are just your thoughts and fears. Miscarriage will not happen through self-hypnosis. If you don't think about it.
Does death occur from self-hypnosis? With the help of suggestion, a person can be destroyed by creating a death program in his mind. According to researchers, biological death is preceded by psychological death. Most people live with the fear of dying - some will die a natural death, others - a violent death.
Thoughts of death from self-hypnosis “sit” in the subconscious. A person stops moving, sees no point in existing further - moral death occurs.
So, how can you use self-hypnosis to make your desires come true?
First of all, try to separate your true desires from those imposed by society, family, advertising, etc.
It is important to determine if there are hidden obstacles in your motivation to achieve your goal? Are there any unconscious reasons why you really want to leave everything unchanged?
For example, on a conscious level you want to get better, but at the same time you receive increased attention from loved ones, you do not have to work hard, and you also receive some kind of social benefits. And then unconscious reasons for maintaining the disease may operate.
Another example: you set a goal to prepare well and successfully pass the entrance exams to a university, but in fact you do not want to study at this faculty. Your parents made the choice for you. And then you may encounter internal resistance while preparing for exams, and self-hypnosis will not help here.
So, when you have identified your goals and are ready to use self-hypnosis to fulfill your desires, it is useful to do this exercise: make as detailed a list as possible of the reasons that motivate you to achieve this goal. Write the most seemingly insignificant motives, because for the subconscious they may turn out to be important.
After defining your goals and clarifying your motivation, create and write down suggestion formulas as described above. Think through images and comparisons in advance that will help you see your goal more clearly.
Record your suggestions on a tape recorder and begin self-hypnosis. First, enter a trance state using the self-hypnosis techniques that are convenient for you, which were discussed at the beginning.
Further, at the stage of self-hypnosis, it is important to simultaneously hold the image of the goal, repeat the suggestion phrase and listen to your voice
All attention should be focused as much as possible on the goal
Self-hypnosis formulas
Let me give you some examples of self-hypnosis formulas.
You can use them if they suit your situation well, or you can modify them to suit yourself, change the order of words, add online synonyms, images and comparisons that suit you exclusively. For example, one of the common problems that people want to work with using self-hypnosis techniques is overeating, as one of the causes of excess weight.
In this situation, in addition to analyzing the physiological and psychological reasons, self-hypnosis can help as part of complex therapy.
First, relax well, muscle relaxation and breathing will do. Having entered a trance state, imagine yourself light, slender, fit. Imagine your appearance in detail the way you want to see it. Use your imagination, mentally look at your reflection in the mirror, at yourself in new clothes, in a new state.
Self-hypnosis formulas can be, for example, like this:
- “I prefer low-calorie foods”
- “I find that between normal meals, instead of snacking, I can find more interesting and healthy activities to do.”
- “I close my eyes and see myself as I will be when I normalize my weight”
- “Before I start eating, I close my eyes and welcome my body. I make sure it's ready to eat."
Create your own wording of suggestions, the main thing is that they are positive.
Later, when you feel that your motivation is becoming weaker, close your eyes, take a deep breath and remember your desired appearance. This ritual will become a post-hypnotic signal to give up excess food.
Prepare post-hypnotic settings, for example: “When I open the refrigerator, I imagine that I could instead open an interesting book and enjoy reading. I ask myself: “why do I want to eat? Am I bored, lonely? Maybe it’s not food I’m craving, but interest in life?”
Examples of suggestion formulas for relieving nervous tension:
“Layer by layer I relieve stress.
The heart beats calmer, the muscles relax.
Other relaxation processes begin to operate in the body.
I feel good, I believe that my condition will improve and I will be able to enjoy life as before.”
Self-hypnosis techniques for working with a variety of goals are numerous, and there are a huge number of options for self-hypnosis formulas depending on the situation. It is impossible to describe and explain them all in one article. Using self-hypnosis to fulfill your desires requires regular practice and creativity.
From the author
These methodological recommendations are intended both for specialists (psychiatrists, psychotherapists, clinical psychologists interested in teaching their patients methods of psychological self-help) and for people who want to learn how to manage their internal state and understand the secrets of self-management.
When I started practicing psychotherapy more than 30 years ago, the main method of mental self-regulation was autogenic training. The basic elements of the technique were muscle relaxation training and self-hypnosis. However, the duration of training for this procedure, its emotional unattractiveness, combined with the monotonous pronunciation of suggestion formulas and intellectual complexity repelled patients from it
The desire to give a sick person a method of immediate psychological self-help drew our attention to the method of self-hypnosis. The new technique quickly gained popularity and was accepted and recognized by the majority of patients, and a quarter of a century of experience in using this technique confirmed its high effectiveness