[img]560|left|Nicholas D. Pollak|remove link|no_popup[/img]A new client called with an unusual request. Recently in Las Vegas, he met a young lady. Drinking and having a good time together, she asked him if he would help her with something.
He recalls telling himself not to forget her name and her request. He called me because he had forgotten both. Upset with himself, he could feel the information simmering in his mind, but no closer. He did not want to be just another of “those guys” who say they are going to do something and fail to follow up. He was emphatic about that.
He asked if simply hypnotherapy could help him recover the memories.
He decided to consult a hypnotist when he had attended a stage hypnotism show in Las Vegas. He had seen in fiction how hypnotists will regress people, how vital information in fictional crime cases was recalled.
The Negative Effect
I have said before that although stage hypnotism is fun to watch and participate in, it leaves the audience wary of hypnotism. They believe the hypnotist has power to make people do things they normally would not do.
Consequently, they do not consider hypnotherapy a legitimate form of constructive therapy. The hypnotist is only putting ideas in a person’s head.
Not true. No one will ever do anything he or she would not do in a waking state. You would not jump off a 20-story building. A hypnotist cannot make you do that.
When I hypnotize a client, I ask two questions and make one statement: which I will list here.
• Would you like to be hypnotized?
• Would you like me to hypnotize you?
“If you follow my suggestions, quickly, without thinking too much, you will have a pleasant, relaxing hypnotic experience.”
As you can see, clients allow themselves to be hypnotized. Nothing is threatening in these statements. If a client comes to my office, obviously there is a willingness to be hypnotized. In the same way, when a person goes on stage at a show, there is an implied agreement to be hypnotized.
A Test You May Try
Hypnotism works with the suggestibility of a client. Only some clients are suggestible.
Give yourself a test. Are you suggestible?
Do the following: Hold your arms in front of you, palms upward. Close your eyes. Imagine a heavy bowling ball in your right hand. Two helium- filled balloons are attached to your left wrist.
Picture what you know would happen. Obviously, the bowling ball would cause your arm to droop and the helium balloons will rise. Wait a few moments. Open your eyes and see.
The test always works. For some the suggestion, it will take effect immediately; others will need a few minutes. Those with greater suggestibility will react fastest.
The suggestibility of the person creates the hypnosis. The hypnotist is merely the conduit. A hypnotist cannot hypnotize unless the person allows.
As for the client, I mentioned at the outset, he soon realized the tremendous benefits of hypnotherapy when the name came to him. He was more relaxed than ever before. When I spoke with him the next day, he said that he had enjoyed the best night’s sleep that he could ever remember.
The person he wanted to help obviously had had a profound effect on him.
Finally, the power of words is amazing. My client had set himself up to forget without realizing it. How many times have we said to our children, “Don’t slam the door”?
They slam the door. What if you said “Remember, close the door quietly”? I assure you they will shut it softly.
Most of us have the tendency to remember the last thing that was said to us — ie Don’t slam the door. Remember, close it quietly.
In my client’s case, he would have been much better off had he said to himself, “Remember.”
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me by telephone, 310.204.3321, or by email at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net. See my website at www.hypnotherapy4you.net
