Wednesday, December
02, 2009
Islanders queueing up to
fight fears
Helen Jardine
Wednesday, December 02,
2009
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Mind over matter: Hypnotherapist Monica
Dobbie helps you achieve a relaxed state then talks to your
subconscious mind to help you break bad habits. • Photo by Kageaki
Smith. | Have you got a fear, habit or negative behaviour
you want change?
Hypnotist Monica Dobbie believes she can
help.
She claims hypnotherapy can solve almost any problem - from a
fear of needles to controlling your weight or helping you
sleep.
She said: "Not only do I help people to eliminate negative
habits and fears with hypnotherapy, I also use it to assist people in
positive ways.
"For example, to increase confidence, improve
sports performance, enhance memory or pass exams, become more creative and
better in almost any endeavour.
"So if someone wants to improve
their lives, this is a great way to do it."
Ms Dobbie worked
part-time as a hypnotist from 1999 until 2007, when she made it a
full-time career.
She claims her service has become increasingly
popular in Bermuda, especially among people trying to quit smoking.
She said: "I'm told it is the easiest and most pleasant way to
stop.
"When a person leaves my office they believe they are a
non-smoker, which means they don't smoke. It's as simple as that.
"No anxiety, no withdrawal symptoms - just a feeling of being able
to breathe better and feel healthier.
"Most of my clients are
word-of-mouth referrals, so it really does work."
Ms Dobbie has
personal experience of the benefits of hypnosis. She underwent
hypnotherapy 20 years ago while working in the reinsurance industry.
She said: "I used to get very panicky when I had to give
presentations to high-powered executives and after a couple of sessions
with a hypnotherapist, I overcame my fear."
She took hypnotherapy
training and qualified as an advanced hypnotherapist with the U.S.
National Guild of Hypnotists 10 years ago.
Today she practices
self-hypnosis on a regular basis.
She claims hypnotherapy is a
popular phobia treatment and you can be cured after just one
session.
She said: "Change often occurs after just one session.
However, I strongly recommend a follow-up session as this reinforces the
effect and seems to have better long-term results.
"Unlike other
therapies requiring weekly visits, motivated clients achieve success in
two to four sessions maximum."
Hypnotherapy works by bypassing the
conscious mind and talking directly to the subconscious mind.
It
is a state of focused concentration when you are neither fully awake nor
fully asleep - a sensation similar to daydreaming.
When a person
is in a relaxed state of body and mind, the conscious mind can be bypassed
to make suggestions directly to the subconscious.
The subconscious
mind then accepts these suggestions and creates the behaviour or body
changes to align with the given suggestions.
Ms Dobbie said: "If we
do something often enough, such as smoking with a cup of coffee, the
subconscious mind begins to believe this behaviour pattern is what we want
and makes it part of our normal behaviour - it becomes a habit.
"Then, no matter how much we try to consciously change that
behaviour pattern, our subconscious mind wins the mental tug-of-war and we
return to the stored habit.
The only way to effectively and
permanently make a true change in our behaviour pattern is to override the
remembered programme in the subconscious mind, and a very effective way of
doing that is with hypnosis."
Ms Dobbie says "the key" to hypnosis
is a person's willingness and active participation.
She added:
"Hypnotherapy is completely safe.
"You are aware and in control at
all times and you can end the session if you want at any time.
"You are not asleep nor can you get stuck in hypnosis - and you
can't be made to do anything against your will."
The biggest
misconception people have is they think that they will be "out of it"
during the sessions.
Ms Dobbie said: "In hypnosis one is not asleep
or unconscious.
"When I guide people into hypnotherapy, they relax
so profoundly that their body appears to be asleep but the mind is still
very much aware and hears everything that is said."
For more
information, call 505-7531, email change@hypnosisbermuda.com or log on to www.hypnosisbermuda.com.
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