Can Hypnosis Help Or Stop Cravings
We know what you’re thinking. Is hypnosis for weight loss some kind of Uri Geller mind trick that will make me run around my yard flapping my wings like a bird, or suddenly allow me to bend spoons with my mind? Well, as appealing as that might sound (the bending of spoons thing is kind of cool), hypnosis to lose weight doesn’t work quite that way.
While hypnosis helps many people and is often effective at reducing or even stopping those persistent cravings that challenge our willpower, you will still have to work at weight loss. That said, hypnosis is often the missing piece that people need to follow through with in order to start seeing the desired results they are striving for.
We all lead busy and sometimes stressful daily lives, often having very little time to properly take care of ourselves. Between work, family, and social engagements there is often not enough time in the day to find relaxation or those few simple moments to do something good for ourselves. Step one in this process is recognizing that we as individuals are important and that there comes a time when we have to make our own well-being a priority. Thankfully, hypnosis makes change easier.
So how does hypnosis work, you ask?
When a patient undergoes hypnosis, they enter into a state of complete relaxation. Vital signs will often change as hypnosis is achieved. We can see the breathing become slow and relaxed, blood pressure reduces, and even the heart rate can slow a bit as you relax.
Once you are relaxed and in a hypnotic state you are more open to positive suggestions and at this point, the certified hypnotist speaks directly to the subconscious mind (which always remains actively engaged & aware).
Speaking to the subconscious mind allows for the power of suggestion – in this case, helping the person to realize that their cravings for, let’s say, ice cream, pasta, or drinking that two-liter bottle of soda in one sitting, are unhealthy and keep them from achieving their real goal which in this case is to lose weight .
This hypnosis technique of speaking to the subconscious, (when combined with our healthy eating plan and regular exercise), has successfully helped many people to fight their cravings for their favorite junk foods, and to ultimately lose weight.
We won’t lie – cravings are hard to beat. The psychological effects combined with the withdrawal symptoms can be very challenging to manage. But hypnosis can help you change these behaviors and create new habits that can lead to weight loss. Hypnosis, unfortunately, is not like magic.
Though results are usually quick and sometimes dramatic, you will have to continue to work at living a healthy lifestyle, which includes making smart choices.
Hypnosis gives client ideas and or suggestions that will allow them to respond more positively when presented with a craving. But don’t worry thinking that this is some form of mind control or brainwashing. It is not. Hypnosis actually helps a patient to better control their thoughts and actions much more successfully than ever before, by helping them feel more relaxed, calm, and in fact, more determined and motivated.
Motivation leads to confidence, which leads to positive results for the client. It’s about giving the client the tools necessary to manage their own cravings and banish those cravings once and for all.
Why is it important to overcome cravings?
If you think about it, we are all creatures of habit. For example, I used to spend a significant amount of time with my grandparents, who always served dessert after both lunch and dinner. After a while, I was conditioned to eating dessert twice a day, even when I was not with them. When I would go to other family or friend’s houses for lunch or dinner, I would expect dessert afterward.
When I didn’t get it, I would not feel like I had a satisfying meal. This desire for sweets is a habit that is conditioned and reinforced in many of us. Even though it starts as children and we know we should give it up or at least cutback, habitually eating sweets for many years of creating a craving for sweets, that can almost be like an addiction. Thanks, Nana & Grandpa!
People would say “Oh, you have a sweet tooth”, but really as I mentioned, it is an addiction. You see sugar can feed (no pun intended) and area of the brain that triggers the release of chemicals that make us feel good. That is why a dessert can be so satisfying. Unfortunately, the feel-good chemicals released don’t last for long and soon lead to the desire for another quick fix. We begin t desire that rushes again which leads to cravings for more sweets and sugars.
Hypnosis can be a great help to people trying to cut calories and get their cravings under control. Once the cycle of feeding the craving is broken the “addiction” can be overcome.
I When people have not gone through our hypnosis sessions, they hear that little voice in their head at midnight telling them to “go to the refrigerator and finish in that luscious Boston cream pie” (that they were subliminally forced to buy at the store earlier that day), they find that they cannot just say NO!
On your own, it seems hard to do or even impossible but with the hypnotic suggestions on how to deal with cravings, Nancy Reagan would be very proud as you just say NO! More importantly, you will be proud of yourself and feel more confident and that’s the beginning of the end of cravings.
The secret to hypnosis is really no secret. We all have the ability to make positive changes in our lives, but sometimes, we all need a little help unlocking our individual potential.
Don’t give into cravings, and you can reduce significant calories every day, leading to more successful weight loss, less body fat, more energy, more vitality, and greater overall health.
In our hypnosis, we do a special technique call post-hypnotic suggestion which is a trigger you can use to stay strong when cravings strike. It’s almost like you have a little internal strength that tells you, “I can stop the cravings!!” The more you hear this and trigger the subconscious post-hypnotic suggestion, the more you will believe it and see results.