"It is suggestion that rules hypnotism", said Hippolyte Bernheim, one of the founding fathers of modern hypnosis at the end of the Nineteenth Century. The best place to begin when studying self-hypnosis, therefore, is with the technique of autosuggestion. Autosuggestions are simply instructions or commands given to your unconscious mind. They usually take the form of a short phrase, an affirmation, worded according to the rules of suggestion and delivered in the hypnotic attitude.
The Hypnotic Attitude
Hypnosis works by suggestion. Suggestion works by mental focus, belief, and imagination. You will benefit from self-hypnosis very easily by learning the "hypnotic attitude" first of all. Some people automatically adopt the right attitude toward suggestions. We can all learn to improve this skill, however, simply by experimenting with suggestion.
Exercise: Experimenting with Autosuggestion
Raise your arm above your lap and leave it suspended there. Suggest to yourself that it feels heavy and wants to rest. Say, "My arm is growing heavy and feels like sinking down...", in your mind or under your breath. Experiment with different tones of voice and attitudes of mind. You will probably find that if you sound too indifferent, cynical, or insincere nothing will happen. On the other hand, if you focus your attention, really mean what you say, and imagine the feelings you're describing then your arm (unsurprisingly) will feel as heavy as you imagine it to feel. Use this exercise to develop a sense of what works best. You must find the right mental attitude to respond to your own suggestions.
Think of suggestion this way. If you were to say your autosuggestion aloud, addressing another person, would you expect them to believe you and respond? If you say things in too cynical, indifferent, or insincere a way people will not believe you. How much less will you believe yourself?
The Rules of Suggestion
The so-called “rules of suggestion” are found, in some form or another, in almost all traditional books on hypnosis. Remember they are just guidelines, rules of thumb, and they admit of many exceptions. Begin with these rules, but use your good sense and your intuition to guide you to the right way of doing things.
1) Congruent
It’s not what you say, it’s the way that you say it. Mumbling positive
suggestions mantra-like without regard for the meaning or intention behind them
is not a very effective way of doing things. Be reassuring, encouraging,
and confident almost as if you were addressing a young child. This is a
natural and very sensible attitude to adopt, because in many ways the
unconscious does respond like a small child. Speak from and to
your heart.
2) Positive
Suggestions are best framed in the positive. That means grammatically,
i.e., by removing ‘negative predicates’ from a sentence. “I am confident”
is far more effective than “I am less nervous.” “Stay calm,” is much
better than “Don’t panic!”
The imagination responds to individual words. If I say “less anxious”, in order to understand what the words mean I have to do a search and come up with associations, feelings, and images that have to do with anxiety. Words paint a picture; pictures cannot easily portray logical negation, except by the inclusion of conventional symbols which are themselves a form of language. Consider this: I can say “unicorns do not exist”, but how do I paint a picture of the non-existence unicorns?
Only use positive words that you want your
imagination and unconscious to respond to. This is perhaps the most important
grammatical rule in hypnotic patter.
3) Present Tense
Suggestions phrased in the present tense, “as if now”, are more effective
than those phrased in the past or future tense. So “I am relaxed when on
the train” (present tense) and “I am becoming more relaxed on the train”
(progressive) are better than “I am going to be more relaxed on the train”
(future tense). Placing things in the future creates a sense of psychological
distance (dissociation) which can prevent the mind from engaging emotionally.
A good formula is to begin suggestions “I
am now becoming…” or “I am now growing…” This focuses the mind on change
in the present even if it is a preparation for future events, e.g., “I now feel
more relaxed and friendly, when speaking to traffic wardens.”
4) Repeated
Repetition, repetition, repetition… is the mother of learning. Repeat
suggestions, either literally or by paraphrasing to express the same key concept
from different points of view. There is some reason to believe that it is
more effective to suggest the same response many times, where possible, rather
than shifting from one idea to another.
5) Realistic
Suggestion is psychological not magical. You cannot expect to employ
suggestions effectively which affirm changes outside your sphere of control,
either in practice or in principle.
For instance, “My husband now does the dishes” is not a realistic suggestion, because (unfortunately) your husband’s behaviour is not within your direct control (in principle). Equally, “I am now becoming an Olympic gold-medal winning triathlete” is probably a pointless suggestion if you are a couch potato (in practice). It would be a different story if you were already an accomplished sportsman just short of achieving that goal, and seeking to use self-hypnosis for performance enhancement.
Equally, suggestions should be “ecological”, meaning that their implications and consequences have been thought through and are acceptable. For instance, someone might think it is good to believe that they are oblivious to criticism. However, the consequence might be that they fail to learn from feedback and become insufferable to other people. There are numerous folk stories about magic wishes, etc., meant to highlight the moral that we should consider carefully the consequences of what we wish for. King Midas wished that everything he touched would turn to gold, which was a great idea until he kissed his daughter and turned her into a statue. Think through the implications of change!
Very direct suggestions like “I am
supremely calm,” are good but some people find them difficult to consciously
accept at first, as they may balk and think “No, I’m not!” More
‘permissive’ ways of phrasing things sacrifice some of this force in exchange
for being more palatable to the critical mind. For example, using the
progressive form of the present tense as in “I am becoming more calm,” may sound
more acceptable.
6) Meaningful
You need to know what suggestions mean in order to respond to them.
Most traditional hypnotists favour detailed, specific, and concrete suggestions
which leave no room for ambiguity. Followers of the hypnotist Milton Erickson favour deliberate
ambiguity and abstract, high-level suggestions.
However, this apparent contradiction can be resolved. In general, it doesn’t matter whether instructions are abstract or specific, so long as the client understands how to interpret them. For instance, one person might suggest, “I now feel confident when speaking”, and know exactly what that would feel like and what actions it would require. However, a person who has never exhibited any skill or confidence in public speaking might complain, “I can’t even imagine what that would be like!” The latter would benefit from some time spent exploring or visualising the implications of increased confidence before attempting to suggest that particular change.
The technique of symbol suggestion (q.v.)
provides a good illustration of this point as it aims to take a simple word or
phrase and provide a detailed and specific definition of its meaning as a
suggestion. This technique often uses visual imagery to help define the
suggestion; as the cliché states, a picture is worth a thousand words. The more
personalised, vivid and detailed the meaning of a suggestion the more effective
it becomes.
Exercise: Arm-Lowering Autosuggestion
This time, close your eyes, raise your arm above your lap and leave it suspended there for a moment. Begin repeating a suggestion to yourself, e.g., "I am now growing more calm and confident." Really imagine what it would feel like to believe that 100%. Imagine that as you repeat the words, you are relaxing and your arm is sinking down toward your lap. When your arm rests on your lap, relax completely, and repeat your suggestion three more times before opening your eyes again. Don't strain, just let the arm sink down naturally and comfortably as you relax. This technique usually takes between one to four minutes.
Situational Autosuggestion
This is another very important and useful variation of technique. To link
a change to specific situation or context, imagine that you are there as you
repeat your suggestion or add a clause to the wording.
For example, a popular situation is giving a talk or presentation at work. If you wanted to be a better speaker you could simply suggest: “When speaking, I now feel natural and confident.” A better approach would be to put yourself in that situation, in your imagination, and use autosuggestion to install the same affirmation.
This technique allows you to prepare in advance for future situations. However, it also allows you to learn to change your current responses to situations you experienced in the past. For example, suppose I had an argument with my spouse a few days ago and I feel that I overreacted. I might imagine that I am back in the same situation, but this time I can use a suggestion like “When you are unhappy, I now feel understanding and forgive you”, or some other positive response.
Obviously we can't go back in time and change the past, but rehearsing a different response allows us to come to terms with and learn from our previous experiences, and also to prepare for similar situations in the future.
Autosuggestion as Conditioning
Practice repeating suggestions with self-confidence. That will become a habit. In fact, research suggests that responses to hypnosis follow a similar "practice curve" to other conditioned reflexes. It usually takes about six sessions on average to establish an automatic or habitual response to suggestion. (Though many people respond much more quickly.) Those sessions could all be done in one day. However, we recommend that you practice every day for a week before reviewing your progress. However, you should find that you are able to get some benefit from suggestion immediately, as soon as you begin using it, and with every session that follows. Obviously, you will get better with practice as you develop the "knack" of responding more and more.
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