Recently I started a section of my practice called the "90 minute challenge", which is exactly what it sounds like, a challenge to you that takes roughly 90 minutes.

So what is the 90 minute challenge you might ask? It is a challenge to create the changes in your life that you are looking to make in as little as 90 minutes using Hypnotherapy as a tool to help you. The 90 minutes that you can commit toward this therapy could help you finally get over that hump and quit smoking, lose the extra weight that has been nagging at your waist, or instigate the changes you have been putting off for some time.

What I have learned with numerous clients is that it may only take the initiative to begin the process of change, and a little bit of extra help that hypnosis can provide can rapidly help you achieve these changes. Wanting and hoping for change is not enough, you have to actually begin the process of change by intitiating an action. Your body responds to action, you can sit and think about any changes you want, but they will not be accomplished unless you actually begin and do something about it.

For instance I had a client come to my office looking to stop smoking, which she had not been able to accomplish in a little over 20 years and thousands of packs of cigarettes.  She had always wanted to change, but after each failed attempt the process of change become tougher, and tougher.

What was happening is that every time she tried to quit, she kept falling back into the routine of smoking, which made quitting harder and less successful each time she tried. She had mentioned that she has tried to quit with the patch, willpower, cold turkey, with medication and through gums without success. 

After 90 minutes under hypnosis she not only quit smoking, but has stayed smoke free for close to one year!

Now I am not a miracle worker, what was happening is that under hypnosis she was able to see that her daily routine, her friends, and most of her activities supported her smoking habit, so anytime she tried to quit, her life kept her a smoker. By removing the subconscious connection between items in her everyday life, and the smoking habit, she was finally able to let go of the need to smoke without withdrawal, cravings, or negative side effects.

Sometimes all you need is someone else that has the patience, skill, and knowledge to help you get over your hump, to make the changes you need in life.

So the 90 minute challenge is less about magic, and more about getting you started toward achieving your goals.

Take a look at our 90 minute challenge here.

Sean Gately

Perception of thought: Global Economic Downturn.

The United States and the global community are certainly facing trying times, where uncertainty and doubt can begin to rule our lives.  Every day we are bombarded with news of an increasingly negative situation, financial failure, and global ruin.  Our global media outlets have done a great job at supplying us with nonstop information about this crisis, and combined with our “plugged in” technology advances we are able to receive any new negative news instantly.

News agencies are doing their jobs with updating us of this increasingly dynamic situation, and we are doing just as good as a job at listening. We may even experience a compulsive obsession with constantly checking the news and worrying about an uncertain future.

During a time such as this a unique mental process can start developing within the subconscious which can lead to mental stress, anxiety and worry. As we are bombarded by negative information combined with actual experiences and the uncertainty of our future we may develop a mental process that excessively worries.

It is common to experience fear, anxiety and worry during massive changes such as this, and these changes may even assist in the survival process by motivating you to become more creative, work harder, and consider options that would have normally lain dormant. On the other side of the coin is a perception of thought or negativity can develop within the subconscious, changing your outlook on life and potentially decreasing your quality of life.

The subconscious typically likes to keep things as they are, protecting the overall makeup of your mental condition. During a period of uncertainty the subconscious will start to create new ideas, thoughts and emotions while it prepares for an uncertain future.

During this sensitive time your subconscious will increasingly rely on your emotional makeup, thoughts and ideas in building how it will deal with the future. If you are constantly worrying, creating a negative outlook, and thinking thoughts such as “what if I lose my house”, “what if I lose my job”, you are essentially creating the mental energy and processes that will allow these situations to happen. Body language and non verbal language make up a great portion of how we communicate, so if you show up to work thinking and feeling “what if I get fired today” you are sending out non verbal language that says “fire me” keep the positive guy next to me.

As your subconscious looks for guidance in this time it is and will be extremely important to use mental filtering. When bad news, an unfortunately situation, or negative emotion starts becoming powerful it will be up to you to stop them from seeding in your subconscious mind. You can turn these thoughts off by accepting that certain situations are beyond your control, and you will not allow uncontrollable situations to affect you in a negative manner.

What you think today, how you feel, and what ideas you are creating are essentially creating the subconscious process that will allow for these situations to happen.  If you were to focus only on positives, while someone else focused on the negative, you may notice that for some reason success and good luck just happen to you even in this downturn.

Also, as you start to filter out increasingly negative news your quality of life will improve. Just as a negative thought can be created, seeded, and grow within your subconscious effecting your daily life, so can positive thoughts and good news.  As you filter out the negatives, go with the flow even during negative times, and focus on the positives you will create the positive emotional makeup needed to thrive in this situation.  

Sean Gately is the Founder of Valley wide Hypnosis and is a Certified Hypnotherapist

Valleywide Hypnosis

 

 

  

Phoenix Hypnosis | Business Improvement | Life Improvement

 

Some say that success is a frame of mind, and what you concentrate on you will achieve. This same thing can be said for business failure or the inability to achieve above ones current level. The most successful people in the world consistently win and make money, with a high success rate that we envy. The rest of us hit a certain point were life becomes comfortable and we find it hard to achieve that next level of success in business or in life.

 The reason for this is simple. At a certain point your subconscious mind has established a comfort level that it associates with you, and any suggestion above that is denied. For instance, if I told you to imagine that you will be driving a new Mercedes SLR within 6 months you may laugh at that suggestion. Your mind may explore all the reasons you could not afford that vehicle, instead of the reasons you might be able to.

Blocks are created, and self sabotage can be evident when you try to grow past your current level of comfort. You have essentially supplied the data needed for your subconscious to say “I am comfortable making X amount per year, living in Y house, with this lifestyle”. These blocks are normal, and that is exactly why most people think the same way, and only a limited number of people are highly successful. The number one thing that highly successful people mention is that they always believe that they will achieve what they set out to do.

The average person will come up with multiple reasons why a specific success that is outside of their comfort zone will not work. They may say things like “we don’t have the money”,  or “there is just to much risk, or even “I always get nervous in front of people, I just can’t do it”. Do you see the pattern developing?  

This is exactly what your subconscious mind hears and learns “ I don’t have money, and therefore I don’t want money”, “ I want to maintain a risk free life”, and “I am fine who I am”. This method of thinking has become natural and the average persons mind and these comments are elevated from the subconscious to keep us who we are.

With Hypnosis, the mind can start to change by accepting the initial idea that you can change, and success is possible.  Where before you did not know where to start, or created reasons why you could not start, you may notice that with small changes in the right direction your whole process of change modifies. With these small changes in your subconscious mind, moods begin to brighten, ideas flow, and the energy needed to achieve new things initiates.

It’s amazing how doubt and familiarity can keep us back from making the appropriate changes needed to allow us the fulfilling life we know we deserve.  Equally amazing is how little effort it will take us to change our perception and mental makeup so we can release the negative energy, and start the process of achieving the life we want.

Sean Gately is a Hypnotherapist at Valleywide Hypnosis, and Phoenix Hypnosis Centers

Valleywide Hypnosis

Phoenix Hypnosis | Stop Smoking

 

Recently New York City Health department released a new line of matchbooks that will include vivid images of the damages smoking causes. This is supposed to start a sharp and directed campaign to get New Yorkers off of cigarettes. They borrowed the original idea from other countries that regularly show graphic images in the hopes to stall people from smoking.

Although graphic and somewhat subliminal I have to ask myself will this work? And I believe the answer is no, for the most part, they may get a small minority to stop, but not the masses.

Why? Because smoking goes so much deeper than just wanting to quit, this exists on the conscious level, which is exactly where these images will stay. There is a very powerful process within your subconscious that works to make sure that: Everything is kept as normal as possible, with as little change as possible. 2. To protect the integrity of your emotional makeup at all costs. For the habitual smoker, they understand what smoking can do, but the realities (such as the images) are blocked on their way down to the subconscious.

The smoker has trained their subconscious mind to accept that being a smoker is normal, and any suggestion to the contrary will be denied. So the image of vivid images will never really penetrate deep enough into the subconscious mind of the smoker to make much of a difference, it will just promote avoidance.

This is where Hypnosis comes in. Hypnosis is the direct communication to the subconscious levels of the smoker’s brain. Under Hypnosis the client will discover why they started smoking, and what emotional ties have been created because of the smoking habit.

For instance, if you smoke every time a stressful situation presents itself, which then alleviates the stress, your mind has just found what it needs to ask for during any stressful situations.. The more of these emotional queues and bridges your mind has created, the harder it will be to quit without assistance. This is largely due that the subconscious will have to find new ways to deal with these emotional responses if smoking is gone, and therefore it is just easier to keep it around.

Hypnosis allows you to unbind these emotional ties, as well as create new positive areas where these energies can be satisfied such as exercise or creativity. When the pain of staying a smoker (i.e. health condition, weight gain, frustration) overweighs the positive benefits of smoking, you will notice quitting is easy.

For more information on our smoking program visit us at http://www.valleywidehypnosis.com

Sean Gately C.Ht
Valleywide Hypnosis

Is the Drug Experience Real? Hypnosis may say different…

Hypnosis has a long and often varied history of medicinal purposes and entertainment value.  For generations people were not quite sure what to make out of it, from an extremist view of mind manipulation, to legitimate scientific studies offering benefits to positive suggestion, Hypnosis has worn many hats.

Many people believe that the induced person actually wants to see, hear, and experience the Hypnotic induction, and so strongly wants to believe the suggestions are true that they make them true, which I believe is accurate.
This brings me to the title asking the question, is the drug experience a real experience or something caused and stimulated by the expectation of the drug? I think it’s a little of both, let me explain.

A drug experience carries with it expectations of what will happen once it is consumed, so therefore expectation is built up, suggestion is added about (what the drug will do) and mixed with the actual drug chemical makeup can produce Hypnotic phenomenon.

Recent Brain studies have shown that people who are suggestible to Hypnotic suggestion show that when they act on the suggestions given, their brain shows profound changes. The suggestions researchers reported changes what people see, hear, feel and believe.

I have some personal insight into this phenomenon as I am a certified hypnotherapist who induces a Hypnotic state of mind on a daily basis. Although not everyone will go to the depths of actually seeing or hearing what is not there, a great number of people can and do.

A person can experience a wide variety of Hypnotic and mind altering experiences that include: Taste, Smell, Vision, Amnesia, Touch, Sound, and more. The one caveat to this seems to be the person must accept the suggestion when it is given as they always have the ability to deny as they are still in full control over their decision process.
By now everyone has heard of the placebo effect and it’s amazing benefits. A typical placebo study involves a control placebo group, and the actual medication group. Each group is told what to expect when taking the medication, and results are watched and analyzed. Amazingly often times the placebo group will have positive impacts on non existing medication just because they believed it to be so.

If the power of the mind is such that a placebo can supply amazing positive results, then it is therefore possible to experience the entire drug experience by value of suggestion. These suggestions have been building in us through intense news coverage, parents, friends, and everything else we have seen or heard. Most people do not ingest random drugs, and require explanation of effect, therefore suggestion has been placed on (what to expect) when ingested, and we then experience it.
Under Hypnosis, if a person would really like to experience flying, you can create a visual experience and add suggestions that once they are awakened and hear the word “flight” they will believe they are a bird flying high above the earth, experiencing everything a bird would experience. When they awaken and are told this they will actually believe and feel as though they are flying.

Is it then impossible to believe that the idea of drug / effect is created wholly or partially from the depth of the subconscious mind where the same flight experience is created? I believe that drugs do have a chemical makeup, but belief in the effect, habit, withdrawal is so strong that the experience actually is created.

It is hard to quantify the difference between what is chemically real, and what are only experienced expectations  to justify either if the drug experience is “all in the mind”, solely chemical reaction from the drug, or a bit of both. What we do understand is that the power of the mind is so powerfull it can literally create experiences based on suggestion and belief

Statistics. Statistics! Where are the Statistics?

Have you ever thought about success rates in Hypnosis? I have! So I set out to get definitive answers to my questions. My first stop was to look at university success rates, which tend to go per study, per patient success, and have a very detailed and consistent (think hamburger process) approach to therapy. This was great information, but it hardly settled my curiosity to see just how successful long term Hypnosis was for say areas such as smoking, weight loss, anxiety, feats and others. Also I was not thrilled by the pre-packaged approach they try to use for every client, and felt success rates could dip.

My next stop was to look at Hypnotherapy and medical related Hypnosis sites around the world to establish success rate averages. No luck there, most Hypnotherapy sites (mine included) will show a study conducted by a university that establishes a success rate based on averages. Some sites even go as far as saying their success rates are 100% which I find completely hard to imagine and I think you do to. The original reason for my statistical search is clients want to know about success rates, mine, and Hypnosis in general. People are conditioned to ask about return policies, success rates, money back guarantees, and other mass marketed ideas of the service industry.


It turns out

As it turns out, my original thoughts about success rates in therapy were confirmed, there aren't any. Let me explain, Hypnosis, just like any therapy is extremely hard to quantify by percentages and numbers. Just as a pharmaceutical company will not be able to accurately predict the number of side effects with their medication, Hypnosis and therapy in general will have a tough time proving the success rate because of the dynamics of therapy. These dynamics include the patient's unique problem, associated events that have or do assist the problem, and the therapist unique approach and techniques.

The answer to the success question should actually say, “it depends on you”. Just because someone says they want to change, does not necessarily mean they are ready and willing to change. Change is an extremely personal dynamic that requires deep probing and intuitive study to see you are ready and willing to accomplish your new goals. Also extensive investigation into current and past situations are required to establish where the problem originated from, what were the causes, what are the influencers, and what is needed to effectively change.


Change Happens but we don't like it!

Clients will come to my office with one specific change in mind, and through the initial interview we will find out they really like that habit and associate it with pleasant feeling, and past nostalgia, but understand the health consequences and negative dynamics surrounding the habit. In this situation we are at a standstill at best to begin with, as the subconscious associates pleasure and positive emotions with the habit, the conscious mind associates health or negative consequences, and the subconscious will always win this battle.

So the best you could do (without understanding positive motivators needed for change, and how activate them) is come out 50/50. Some people would be successful in changing if the positives of change outweighed the negatives; while others would return to the habit; if the appropriate change motivator was not activated, therefore allowing the client to ease get back into their known comfort zone. What I have learned is there is no way one individual can change a person on their own, it's just impossible to do without help and commitment on the client's side. Commitment is needed with anything in life to bring successful outcomes.

 It is fundamental to find as many positives as possible that will outweigh the negatives, therefore brining on accepted change. As living human beings we always need a reward scenario if we are to change (think job change, pay rate increase), and if a reward is not present, it is just easier to stay with our current selves. In the end, once the positives outweigh the negatives we will go through change, even if we had previously fought the idea (hence allowing status quo) of change because it was not a known or comfortable.


In Summary!

You can change if you want to; it's as simple as that. Techniques such as Hypnosis can propel change at a faster rate, but it will always come down to whether you want to change, have the desire to change, and allow yourself a positive reward for change.

Sean Gately C.Ht

Valleywide Hypnosis and Wellness Center

http://www.valleywidehypnosis.com

A recent study showed that 1 in 75 people have some sort of panic or panic related disorder. This number is extremely concerning specifically when you take into account the amount of people that may rely on medication with unknown or negative side affects, interactions and abuse potential.

I believe medication and the medical breakthroughs we have seen is outstanding, but I also believe that many of these people that currently or will take medication could control panic and anxiety naturally with little or no pharma help.

What is Panic?

an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety

be overcome by a sudden fear; "The students panicked when told that final exams were less than a week away"

sudden mass fear and anxiety over anticipated events; "panic in the stock market"; "a war scare"; "a bomb scare led them to evacuate the building"

cause sudden fear in or fill with sudden panic; "The mere thought of an isolation cell panicked the prisoners"

What is Anxiety?

a relatively permanent state of anxiety occurring in a variety of mental disorders

a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune

Now that we know the definitions of these states why do people fall into Anxiety and Panic? It is my belief that panic and panic attacks stem from an overload or buildup of stored energy. This energy buildup can be caused from overloads of stress, rapid life changing events, expectations, performance issues, and many more circumstances. If this stress is not released naturally and effectively an event such as a panic attack will result.

What Happens Next?

Panic is associative, and since the subconscious cannot determine if the event was actually real, or just a release of stored energy, it will associate that panicked state with the event that was closest to the panic attack (such as driving on the highway). Once this association is in place a state of panic can result, associating the highway where the panic attack happened as a trigger to induce more panic (fight or flight). This is a natural protective method we have developed over time to keep ourselves alive and avoid dangerous situations.

I hear often people describing feeding panic which is true since panic spreads. You can not unlearn what you have experienced and your subconscious will or can start relating this panicked state to other areas of your life.

For instance: If you were under and extremely stressful period of your life, and endured through, but suddenly experienced an intense panic attack on your way home on the highway, the next time you went to get on that highway you may start experiencing a state of panic, or you might start panicking that you may have a panic attack. This is alarming because this state of panic could eventually lead to a prolonged state of panic, or another attack that could keep you in this state of panic, or eventually lead to panic disorder, or Agoraphobia. This is a vicious cycle where panic will end up feeding panic.

What can we do?

Because our bodies and minds are managing a correct response to a evolved solution to fight or flight response, we have to reprogram what we experience, or what we feel we are experiencing during a panic attack or anxiety situation. This is accomplished by reprogramming our subconscious mind to explain that we can release this state of panic, and start associating previous panic triggers with positive and natural feelings, therefore re-enforcing that your mental state of mind will stay natural and calm, versus anxiety stricken.

In Conclusion

Panic and anxiety are an extremely interesting phenomenon because one, they are completely natural experiences to protect us from harm, and two, they can grow and establish themselves with such fury, force and rapidity that they can take over our lives in a short amount of time. Hypnosis is an extremely natural way to deal with anxiety and panic that can reprogram the way your mind interprets and deals with certain situations.

For more information on panic visit: http://www.valleywidehypnosis.com/Panic%20Disorder%20Page.htm or http://www.valleywidehypnosis.com/Overcoming%20Anxiety%202.htm

Thank You,
Sean Gately, Certified Hypnotherapist

Is Handwriting Analysis for real?



Graphology and Handwriting Analysis are one of my main tools for diagnosing and monitoring my patients through Hypnotherapy at Valleywide Hypnosis Center in Arizona. I have found it not only to be extremely effective, but with comparing samples of Handwriting before, during and after intensive therapy my conclusion is, without a doubt Graphology is for real.

A little history on Graphology.

Prosper Aldorisio's1611 manuscript is probably the first book to describe how to analyze handwriting, although it was not until 1830 that Abbé Michon became interested in Handwriting Analysis and published his findings, and then founding founding Société Graphologique in 1871.

Alfred Binet was the next to studay and to do research into graphology from 1893 to 1907. He ended up calling it "The science of the future", despite graphologists' rejecting the results of his research.

After World War I, interest in graphology continued to spread in Europe as well as the United States. In Germany during the 1920s, Ludwig Klages founded and published his finding in Zeitschrift für Menschenkunde (Journal for the Study of Mankind). His major contribution to the field can be found in Handschrift und Charakter

In 1929 Milton Bunker founded The American Grapho Analysis Society teaching Graphoanalysis, which litteraly split the practic of Handwriting analysis in two, the Hollistic approach and the Graphoanalysis approach. Today we see a huge eclictic approach to Graphology and disticnt schools of thought, with the governing body being Council of Graphological Societies in 1976.

Skepticism

Like the practice of most areas surrounding personality testing, skeptics increasingly point toward Handwriting Analysis being vague and general, with a fan base that readily accepts the accuracy of the description as personalized because they want to believe.

My View

I believe skeptics will also be skeptical of, well, just about anything, thats what they love to do. Unfortunately a skeptic needs scientific proven methods that are repeatable for them to believe, but just like most psychological tests, theories, and observations based on personality, a hard coded repeatable format is often difficult, specifically with unique and varied personalities.

I have found handwriting analysis to accurately describe personality traits such as, shyness, extroverted, high achievers, criminals, suicidal thoughts, people going through trama, depression, amongst hundreds of others. I have also found that Handwriting does change as the person going through therapy changes, and based on universal accepted mehtods (at least in the graphology universe) these changes show productive and postive growth.

In Closing

My approach to this art? science? is of open mindedness and continue education and growth. Obviously our brains and subconscious are much more powerful than we can possibly imagine. We are just starting to scientifically discover and understand the logic and language of the brain, and therefore develop methods that will assist with our positive and personal growth.

Sean Gately C.ht, Graphologist

Visit us at Valleywide Graphology

I get asked what a client should expect the first session with a Hypnotherapist, so I decided to give this outline to potential first time clients.

First of all you will have to shake the myth(s) of Hypnosis and dive in to experience this amazing natural method of healing. Like allot of healing arts there may be some or a ton of anxiety before you initial consultation or session, which is completely natural and goes away completely by the time of your second session. Hypnosis carries with it a multitude of expectations, fears, unknowns, and potential questions that drive the client to have above normal fears before the visit, so much so many clients delay there first visit by days or months.

Hypnosis has always been a last resort for folks that have "tried everything" and now have turned to hypnosis to see what changes this alternative art can bring them, usually with great and surprising results.

First do you research, there are Four classifications of Hypnotists:

1. Hypnotists who are certified to Hypnotize patents and issues progressive relaxations, offer entertainment, or work with very general problems such as relaxation techniques.

2. Stage Hypnotists - Stage Hypnotists do not have to be certified as they are not "working" with clients or solving any particular problem. Stage Hypnosis can be learned by just about anyone with a dramatic fleer and a desire to entertain.

3. Non Certified Hypnotherapist's- Non certified Hypnotherapists usually have went to school for at least a year and are qualified to work with clients on any problem that is non medical or referred by a medical professional. The School they went to is not accredited and they are not certified Hypnotherapists, but under law can practice.

4. Certified Hypnotherapist's - Certified Hypnotherpists have gone to an accredited school focusing on intensive therapy, and are state certified as a licensed Hypnotherapist. This Therapist has usually has also done intern work, learned, understands, and is comfortable working with and along side Psychologists, Psychotherapists, and Psychologists.

Second

Assess your problem, is this something you want to do for entertainment or stress relief? Hypnotists tend to charge less because of the scope of issues they can work on. If it does require a Hypnotherpist, search online, do your homework by asking around.

Do they have a knowledgeable web presence?
Does it seem like they really know what they are talking about in terms of therapy?
Do they have a specialty or focus on certain areas?
Can you contact them quickly and easily?
What school of Hypnosis did they come from, and who are they certified under?


Third

Once you have found the Hypnotherapist you are working with schedule an appointment and jot down specifically what you want to accomplish. Hypnosis is extremely effective but you have to start somewhere, remember the subconscious will not accept to much change at once. The subconscious works best in situations of incremental change, as with any habit, it took time to become a habit before you noticed it, it will take time and effort to reverse it.

Fourth

Now that you have decided which area to start working on you can concentrate on your appointment, try and stay relaxed, comfortable, and in a positive mood. Hypnosis will help and just going to your appointment signifies willingness to change, which is the best start you can make.

During your appointment

Stay comfortable, relax, the Hypnotherapist know what to do and will communicate with you about your problem, try and cover everything you want accomplished and how long its been a problem, no sense in leaving things out now.
The intitial 20 minutes will be focused on learning about you, and hearing what your problem is, how long you have had it, and how it is affecting your life. The next 10 minutes will be spent on describing the Hypnotic treatment you will undertake, how it will work and Q&A. After this is done some Hypnotherapist's will find out how you are hypnotized by classifying you as a emotional or physical suggestible which is extremely important in achieving depth in Hypnosis.

Now your ready for Hypnosis, relax and pay attention to the Hypnotherapist, he or she will guide you through your Hypnosis state, remember you will be aware to what's happening, you may just feel like you are in a very deep daydream.

About 15 minutes later you will be done with your first session, allowed to recover and wake up, and wrap up the session by talking about what you can or could be doing at home to assist with treatment, as well as scheduling a follow up appointment.

Congratulations! You have just experienced a session of Hypnosis. Hypnosis is not an instant cure and will take time and effort to complete your recomvery.

Cheers!
Sean

http://wwww.valleywidehypnosis.com