While society has made great progress in the area of medicine and technology, one of the greatest untapped frontiers is the power of the subconscious mind — and hypnosis is one way to access it.

This ancient technique is increasingly being used for modern applications such as dealing with addictions and phobias, handling stress or anxiety, managing pain, changing attitudes or kicking habits such as nail biting, teeth grinding or smoking. Hypnosis can help you improve your golf game, stop snoring and sleep better at night or even help mend a broken heart and enhance sexual performance.

“People spend a lot of their lives telling themselves things and believing them. And these thoughts are often negative,” says Georgina Cannon, director of the Ontario Hypnosis Centre in Toronto. “Hypnosis helps us get into the subconscious mind and change the blueprint.”

The subconscious mind is a storage place for habitual and behaviour-controlling thoughts below the level of our conscious awareness. It is not critical, analytical or rational like the conscious mind with which we reason. “Because our body functions are also controlled by the subconscious mind, hypnosis can effect change on a physi-cal level, helping people to recover from surgery more quickly or helping to reduce the symptoms of diseases such as arthritis, asthma and hypertension,” says Cannon. “The mind/body connection is powerful, and hypnosis is a useful complement to traditional therapies.”

Cannon describes hypnosis as an “alpha state” of mind, similar to meditation or the state of relaxation just before sleep. Hypnosis involves highly focused concentration, comparable to the “zone” experienced by athletes while performing or by artists when creating. In this state, people become responsive to suggestions.

Many people have misconceptions about hypnosis because of movie portrayals or stage acts using a handful of people from the audience who are capable of entering a deep trance in which they hallucinate and imagine themselves in all sorts of unusual situations suggested by the hypnotist.

In therapeutic hypnosis, the deep trance state is not necessary to effect change, Cannon says. Subjects are aware of their surroundings and in control of their actions and, therefore, cannot be forced to do anything they don’t choose. They are not asleep or unconscious, but in a heightened state of suggestibility, which makes it easier to change behaviours and create new thoughts or beliefs.

Although a hypnotist may guide someone into the altered state and assist in changing behaviours, the subject must want to change. No one can make you quit smoking or do anything else unless you truly want to and are comfortable with the change, Cannon says. Rather than a magic wand, hypnosis is a tool to help people when they are ready to make a change in behaviour.

“No one can take over your mind,” says Cannon. “The only person in charge of your mind is you.”

REDUCES PAIN

Hypnosis is being used increasingly by various professionals, including doctors, dentists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists, she says. Hypnosis can reduce pain during dental and medical procedures and, in some cases, is being used as a replacement for anesthesia. While hypnosis can help people overcome addictions, Cannon insists that clients with alcohol or drug habits also enroll in a formal addiction-counselling program, as the causes of addictions tend to be complex and deep-rooted.

Only about 5% of people are able to reach the deepest level of hypnotic trance. But anyone who can concentrate and follow suggestions can be hypnotized to reach the relaxed state of consciousness at which the mind becomes detached from daily activity and focuses on the hypnotist’s suggestions.

Factors that determine the depth of trance achieved include the skill of the hypnotist and the induction methods, the ability of the client (which may improve with practice), the emotional content being dealt with, the motivation of the client and the level of trust between client and hypnotist.

Typically, Cannon starts her sessions with a series of questions about what behaviour or thought patterns the client would like to change. She asks clients to describe what success would look like to them. The information helps her determine what language to use with the client and how to approach change, given the client’s history and the root of the problem.

She usually uses soothing music to help calm the client. Then, by asking the client to focus on her voice, Cannon guides him or her into a state of physical and mental relaxation. Cannon often uses visualization techniques, such as asking the client to imagine de-scending a staircase and becoming more deeply relaxed with each downward step. Cannon reinforces change by teaching clients techniques for self-hypnosis they can use at home.

@page_break@While recorded CDs can also be useful in reinforcing subconscious mes-sages, they tend to take a general approach and are not targeted to a client’s individual personality.

Dr. Ted Leyton, a family physician and psychotherapist in Kingston, Ont., has been using hypnosis in his practice for more than 25 years. He finds it particularly useful in helping people deal with stress and fears. One patient overcame her fear of flying after a few sessions, and another got rid of a paralyzing phobia of insects that was affecting her daily activities. Sometimes, Leyton makes direct suggestions for change to hypnotized patients; other times, he deals with potential patient resistance by describing a metaphorical situation.

“When people are in a hypnotic trance, they are very relaxed and their resistance to ideas and possibilities is decreased,” he says. “When you tap into the creative potential of the subconscious mind, the possibilities are infinite. The subconscious mind plays a huge role in behaviour.”

Cannon believes that all people could benefit from learning self-hypnosis to bring about changes in their lives. Her dream is that children could learn the techniques in school.

“The mind is like an iceberg, and we are aware only of the tip that can be seen above the surface,” says Cannon. “By deliberately accessing the subconscious mind, the impact on your life can be more profound than you can imagine.” IE