WHAT IS HYPNOTHERAPY?
The foundations of hypnosis go back to ancient times. In the early centuries of our own country, Indian tribal healers performed apparent miracles through hypnosis. Wider, non-secret use began in the 1700s in many forms and under many names.
There have been periods of progress and periods of stagnation in the development of modern hypnosis. Medical interest and acceptance increased after World War II, when the use of hypnotherapy proved particularly useful for battlefield survivors suffering from shock, injury, battle fatigue and various psychological disorders. As knowledge developed, hypnosis began to be recognized as an important adjunct in medical fields such as neurology, obstetrics, emergency medicine, burn therapy and others. Hypnosis is increasingly used in dentistry and other areas where pain control is important.
All humans have two distinct minds, the conscious mind and the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is much larger and more powerful than the conscious mind, but it is the least understood and used by humanity. In fact, the great “unconscious” mind has two functional elements, the subconscious and the superconscious, the former being the storehouse of memory, the latter dealing with the spiritual.
The subconscious mind receives and retains, without accepting or rejecting them, all the messages we receive from our background, whether genetic, social, religious or experiential, as well as all the conflicts (small or large) that enter our daily lives. When, for whatever reason, the conscious mind (which deals with daily life, logic, reason, etc.) is overloaded, the subconscious mind prepares us for what is considered appropriate action (usually fight or flight). However, the subconscious mind does not analyze, as the conscious mind does, but accepts all messages literally.
In essence, hypnosis is a means of communication between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. Many human problems, habits, stresses, anxieties, attitudes or apparent deficiencies can be attributed to interpretations of the subconscious mind, which can reduce or solve specific problems.