
You are getting sleeeepy....
Do you lie awake with a busy mind?
Do you fall asleep only to linger in a light state of restless sleep all night?
Do you awaken frequently and have a hard time returning to sleep?
Do you rely on sleep aids to get to sleep?
Do you wake up feeling tired and irritable?
Do you suffer from nightmares, sleep walking, night terrors, or sleep eating?
Do you have sleep apnea?
Have you ever been diagnosed with insomnia?
If you answered “yes!” to any of these questions, I can help you!
In order to understand how Hypnotherapy works for insomnia, it is important to understand the characteristics of the Subconscious (SC) mind.
The Sc is:
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Illogical--- this means the SC does not understand things the same way the rational, conscious mind does. For example, a person may “know” consciously that they need to get a decent sleep every night in order to feel clear and be healthy. However, if the SC mind has a different feeling about sleep or a fear related to sleep the SC mind will override the logical mind. As it is the largest part of the mind (90-95% of your mind power), it always wins out. Ex. As a child a client is told his dog was “put to sleep” while he was at school. Not really understanding what this means but recognizing that the dog has disappeared, the client develops a fear of “sleep”.
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Protective--- The primary function of the SC mind is to protect you. However, being illogical it sometimes responds to threat when there is none, reacts to past events that are no longer occurring or uses coping mechanisms that are actually harmful. Example: As a child a client listens to parents fighting as he tries to get to sleep. The anxiety he experiences over the arguments gets linked to sleep and now the SC is keeping the client from sleeping because of this negative association.
What does this all mean?
A person with a sleep issue often has picked up a negative association with sleep and as a result is unable to sleep. This person then creates a vicious cycle wherein that negative association with sleep is strengthened every time the person cannot get to sleep.
This reason for the insomnia or sleep issue may or may not be understood by the person on a conscious level.
However, by reaching the SC mind, the client can:
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Understand what lies behind the sleep issue
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Work to change any SC beliefs, fears and patterns that are keeping the client from sleeping
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Learn tools for shutting down the mind and relaxing the body more easily
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Build up a positive SC association with sleep
Nightmares and Repetitive Dreams:
If the issue is nightmares or repetitive dreams, I work with the SC mind to identify any messages the nightmares are trying to relay. The SC mind is the part of the mind that gives us our dreams. However, because the SC is illogical and creative, it communicates in a language that we do not necessarily understand from or conscious logical perspective. I say it is like reading a book written in Swahili and then complaining that the book does not make any sense. If one knew HOW to read Swahili, the book would make sense.
So, in hypnosis, you are accessing the part of your mind that created the dream or nightmare in the first place and in doing so, it is easier to understand what the dream is trying to impart. It is essentially getting the opportunity to “speak to the author of the book”.
I do not interpret a client’s dream or nightmare for them. I do, however, facilitate a process by which they can get their own answers and insights by asking them questions relating to the symbols, actions, people, and imagery in the dream.
A dream can also be facilitated in hypnosis to help the client develop insight into a challenge. So, if you are a person who has frequent dreams, this may be a very useful approach to developing some clarity as to what is going on in your life and what you can do about it
Sleep Apnea
if you are somebody who suffers from sleep apnea, there are a number of different things that I can do to help you sleep better! Sometimes there are subconscious reasons for people have sleep apnea. In other cases, a client may need to lose weight and that may be part of working on the sleep apnea. Other clients have asked me to help them get comfortable sleeping with the machine that is required as a part of having sleep apnea.
If you have sleep deprivation and want to sleep better, if you say to yourself, "I can't sleep!" every night or rely on sleep aids to deal with your insomnia, book a free consultation and let's get you sleeping better!