Well, I did it. Last night I opened the Hypnosis CD’s and listened to one of the sessions. The session started by talking about the issues we wanted to deal with and then went into induction. Induction is a time where words were used to help me get into a suggestible state or trance state. That is a state of deep concentration. Kind of like when you are in the car for a while. You know, when you driving along and all of the sudden you are at your destination.
During my session I was asked to use visualization to get ready. Once I was ready Dr. Roberta began to make suggestions that I could choose to implement. I was curious as to how this would work. I feel like I am mentally strong. I can’t imagine letting someone else “plant thoughts in my head. One of things that Dr. Roberta said right away is that the stronger you are mentally the better hypnosis is going to work for you because you already know how to harness the power of your mind.
She also assured me that through out the process I am completely in control and that I could stop at any time. I didn’t have to worry about barking like a dog every time someone said a certain word. I have been to those “hypnosis” shows where people run around and do silly things when told to do so by the hypnotist. So that assurance from her put me at ease.
Our first session began by me getting into a comfortable position. For me, I simply sat in my favorite recliner. Before sitting down I turned off all distractions. Once we started she asked me to stare at a spot on the ceiling. She was very assuring that I was doing things right and that I was in complete control and that she was simply a coach.
As I focused on that spot I began to take deep breaths and became very relaxed. With each breath I felt even more calm and relaxed until I eventually closed my eyes. I could feel my heart rate and breathing slow down. It felt much like it does when you are about to fall asleep. The more relaxed I got; the warmer my body felt. I began to feel as though I was sinking into my chair as my body got “heavier”. It was a very relaxing feeling.
After a while she suggested I visualize a staircase. I was at the bottom looking upward and then as she counted I was to see myself going up the stairs. As I climbed up I was becoming even more relaxed.
After becoming completely relaxed Dr. Roberta started giving suggestions to help me with my weight loss: things such as wanting to eat breakfast, wanting to drink water, using smaller plates. She talked about how surprised I was going to be at how easy it was to not crave things that don’t fit into my diet plan. She also told me that it was going to be easy for me to only want water between meals, not wanting more food than I needed.
She asked me to visualize myself throughout the day and how much different my new habits were. I was then told to see myself as the person I am becoming. I was seeing myself drinking more water. I was seeing myself going to bed without stopping at the fridge first.
I have to say I was completely relaxed and felt a calm over my body and mind. After about 10 minutes the session was over.
When I was done with the session I felt great. I felt relaxed and confident. I didn’t at all feel like I was in a different place or a trance. To be honest, I wasn’t really sure I had done it right. I watched a little television and then went to bed.
The next day I got up and began my day. I kept waiting for me to start doing things and feeling different. I went through the day not really feeling that much different. That night I thought back on my day before I began my next session.
One event stood out in my mind. For snacks my 19 month old gets to eat Goldfish crackers. I have a habit of giving him his crackers and then eating a handful myself. That may not seem like a lot, but a few handfuls of crackers can add up calories over the course of a day. I realized that I hadn’t had a single cracker the entire day. I didn’t want them. It never even crossed my mind to have my usual handful while giving some to my son. The cool thing was that on top of not having any crackers I didn’t feel deprived.
This is a seemingly small event, but when you consider how long I have had this habit, it is pretty awesome that I just stopped without even thinking about it.
I have to say that I am pretty excited about this first session and the change that already occurred. I am going to continue doing the sessions and sharing my experiences with you. After one session I am already looking forward to the changes to come!
