How to hypnotize yourself

Before you begin, it can be useful to study this page first: Hypnosis and Self Hypnosis

Getting into a state of self-hypnosis is easy - though some people will find it much easier than others. If you find yoruself struggling to get to grips with it, a good idea is to buy one of the readily available hypnosis downloads which will guide you into the state so that you will more easily recognise what you are trying to do. Try the two routines that are given here first, though, before you spend any money you might not have to! (There are links to several hypnosis downloads on our Help page.)

Before you begin it is important to understand that:

• Hypnosis doesn't have any specific feeling associated with it, though you might notice one or two unusal sensations such as lightness or heaviness, perhaps a feeling as if your arms and legs aren't exactly as you left them. The absence of anything unusual does not meant that your are not in hypnosis!
• If you keep on testing it, it tends to not work! Just trust that you will go as far into hypnosis as you are able to at this time, and that it will get better the more you practice it.

Both of the self hypnosis techniques shown here need a brief preparation routine, as follows: Make certain that you will not be disturbed for a half hour or so, loosen your clothing and make yourself completely comfortable before you begin. Sitting in a comfortable chair is best; laying down can have you drifting off to sleep! You will have memorised the two routines give here first, of course. When you are ready, just close your eyes, take a slow deep breath and hold it for a moment, then allow yourself to relax all over your entire body as you breathe out. Don't work at it - just allow yourself to be as relaxed and comfortable as you can. Soon, you will find a wonderful quietness filling your mind and body and you have then completed the preparation stage. Now continue with either of the following methods - in fact you can try both to see which suits you best:

METHOD ONE
This is probably the easiest. Just remember a great holiday that you have had at some time in the past - or maybe just a day that was special for some reason. Notice exactly how the memory starts; create a truly Vivid Mental Image (VMI) and bring at least four of your senses to bear: What you can see, what you can feel, what you can hear and what you can smell. You can also use taste if it is relevant.

Make everything vivid in your mind and keep focussed until it is almost as you can actually experience one or more of those four senses - this will often be the visual sense and it can seem as if you're looking out through your closed eyelids. Don't worry if you can't get quite that far with it yet; like all skills, it takes practice to get the best out of it and it is important that you allow it to happen rather than seek to make it happen.

METHOD TWO
With your eyes closed, imagine, really imagine that you are breathing in through your hands... that your fingers are like hollow tubes and you can actually FEEL the air moving up through your arms and into your shoulders, down through your body and into your legs, and out through your feet.

Concentrate for a moment or two on that sensation in the fingers and, if you can, create an image of how they would look if they really were hollow tubes - they can be brass, wood, paper, silver... any material that seems to work for you.

Tell yourself that as the air moves in one single direction through your body, you are breathing calmness in to each and every cell, each and every fibre of your entire being... that with each breath out, you are breathing all traces of tension away from you. Let each muscle go limp. As you breathe out each time, say to yourself slowly: "R-e-l-a-a-x n-o-w." Keep each breath long, slow and steady, and after six or so imagine that you can feel yourself floating further and further down into the chair with each breath you breathe, that you are steadily becoming more relaxed than you can ever remember. Concentrate on this breathing pattern, breathing in through your hands and out through your feet, until you can actually feel yourself floating downwards (although some people experience an upward floating sensation - every bit as good 'quality' of hypnosis); when you experience this, you are in hypnosis, even though the floating sensation can sometimes be almost immediately replaced with a feeling of extreme lightness.

It might seem to you that something so simple as the above cannot possibly produce such a mysteriious state as hypnosis; yet they are excellent routines for producing a clear focus of the mind, whichn is exactly what hypnosis is - there is no loss of consciousness (in fact there is usually increased awareness), control, or sense of self - in fact, everything feels incredibly 'normal'!

What to do with it when you're there
This is the really pleasurable bit! All you have to do now is to imagine yourself achieving exactly what it is you are looking for and make it as vivid as you can. The more you can actually believe that this whole process is going to result in whatever success you want, the more likely it is to happen. Keep focussed on that for as long as you wish and when you're ready to end the session, just take a slow deep breath, count up to five in your mind and allow your eyes to open.

Just occasionally, you might feel a bit 'muzzy' at that point and if so, simply close your eyes again, take another slow deep breath and count to five more slowly this time.

And that's it!