If you have struggled at any time in your life, whether that’s with anxiety, addiction, chronic pain, weight loss, depression, stress, trauma, or anything related, hypnotherapy probably wasn’t the first method for treatment that came to mind.
Hypnotherapy is an alternative form of medicine that can be extremely beneficial, as long as you are open and willing to try it.
Anna Fullick is a certified hypnotherapist who helps people and offers them support during any difficult time in their life. You can learn more about Anna and her services here:
What made you want to get into this field?
I have always been very intrigued by the holistic way of living, learning how to heal the body and mind naturally. After many years of traveling around the Far East, I spent most of my time in Thailand during my twenties. Most of my friends had started their careers already, but I felt stuck, constantly wondering what my passion was and what was I going to do with my life. After spending some in Chiang Mai, doing a silent meditation course with Buddhist monks, I fell in love with learning about Buddhism and Meditation. This led me to various types of training in the holistic industry and in mindfulness, studying in countries such as India, Indonesia, Japan, Cambodia, and Thailand.
With the knowledge and skills, I had learned, I returned home to the UK still wondering how I could make a career. Until one day, unexpectedly, hypnotherapy found me. One morning, whilst having a cup of coffee, I was reading the local paper. An article jumped out at me.. “Overcoming fear of spiders with hypnosis”.
I decided to research this further, what exactly was hypnosis? I soon realized that my knowledge and skills perfectly with hypnotherapy. Unlocking the power of the human mind! So off I went to do a hypnotherapy course in London and gradually grew my business from there.
What has been your favourite aspect of this work?
I absolutely love what I do, I am very grateful for every day I spend supporting Clients, it doesn’t feel like work. Not only do I enjoy what I do, it’s always so rewarding knowing I’ve helped people overcome personal concerns and to achieving their goals. Helping individuals live a more positive and happier life is a bonus! The connection I have with my Clients is personal and caring which is essential in my work for clients to feel safe and in establishing a mutual bond of trust.
We build an honourable bond together, I aim to help them reframe their mind, whether it may be to overcome an addiction or help them resolve a troubled past, or previous trauma. Putting them back on track to living a happier and healthier life is my favourite aspect of my work.
I also work with many pregnant mums to be, with sessions in hypnobirthing, which is hypnosis in pregnancy. I support women by guiding them to a happy and positive pregnancy, so that they feel safe and confident in their body and prepared them for labour. Knowing my work has had a positive impact on my Client’s lives is the most rewarding feeling.
Can you explain what hypnotherapy is and what a typical session is like from start to finish?
Hypnotherapy is a safe and natural process of shifting the mind to a peaceful and relaxed state. Hypnosis is a natural state that we enter several times a day. For example, when we are driving a car on our daily commute to work we go into ‘auto pilot’ which is a state where we are not consciously thinking. This is the same trance state that is used in hypnosis.
During a session I enable a Client to switch off the conscious thinking mind, so my work is to talk directly to the subconscious mind.
A short consultation takes place beforehand, to discuss the intention of the session. The Client lays comfortably on a couch and using my voice, I begin with slow breathing techniques, visualization, and gentle calming music. This enables the Client’s heart rate to slow down, so both body and mind gently begin to relax. This relaxed state is often described as a ‘comfortable heaviness’ throughout the body, as the mind begins to drift and daydream away.
The Client remains completely aware of everything around them and what is being said during the session. I tailor and focus the session on a particular suggestion to help the Client have a calmer, happier, and brighter outlook on life.
What sort of health challenges can hypnotherapy be effective for and why?
Hypnotherapy is effective for anyone that needs help and support in dealing with a particular area in life, or in personal development. Each session is tailored specifically to the Client’s needs. The beauty of hypnotherapy is that the technique works in the same beneficial way for all manner of concerns, such as stress management, anxiety, depression, pregnancy, eating disorders, insomnia, suicidal thoughts, and building confidence and motivation.
Hypnotherapy is also used to help overcome addictions to drugs, alcohol, smoking, gambling, sugar cravings, or even social media addiction. Sessions can also cover phobias, such as claustrophobia, heights, public speaking, spiders, dogs, needles, etc.
I also work in highly personal areas, for instance, family relationships and trauma, either in childhood or later in life from events such as car accidents, illness, or bereavement. Provided that a Client acknowledges his or her concerns and is open to receiving support, hypnotherapy is an accessible and highly effective therapy for most people.
Is there a technique in your practice that you have found to be the most beneficial to the people you work with?
Every Client is unique and as Clients’ suggestibility varies, each session is tailored personally to them. Some may take longer to achieve the trance state, and some can get there within a few minutes. Over the years I have learned to adapt different types of techniques whilst watching a Client’s response to hypnosis.
For example, Rapid Eye Movement (REM) or twitching limbs, are clear signs of an individual entering a hypnotic state. If a Client takes longer to go into a trance state, visualization techniques are used, allowing the Client to use their imagination freely, so they are in full control in taking their time to relax in both mind and body.
Shortly after, a count-down technique is used, where I count down from five to one to get them to reach the desired trance state. This technique is adapted in each session depending on how the Client responds during the session.
What is hypnotherapy like from the patient’s point of view?
Clients would generally describe a session as very relaxing, a perfect way to de-stress and unwind from life’s busy demands, helping them to see things more clearly have and to refocus themselves in a healthier, happier, positive, perspective. They feel safe and comfortable too, knowing they are in full control at all times.
For someone that is new to hypnosis, it’s natural to feel anxious, but after the session, they are pleasantly surprised. Describing it as if they have had a light nap and woken up feeling refreshed and ready to start their day.
Depending on how suggestible and how experienced a Client is with hypnosis, they may experience a deeper trance, such as dreaming or out-of-body experiences during a session.
What would you say to someone skeptical about hypnotherapy and its effectiveness? How do you approach that?
Hypnotherapy to most is still a mystery, it’s often mistaken as theatrical hypnosis. It’s the fear of the unknown, or taking over the mind and reading their thoughts, which is unattainable and unrealistic. As previously explained, hypnosis is a natural state we go into several times a day, for example when we spend our days, daydreaming away,
this is a state of hypnosis.
We are not consciously thinking, but think with our unconscious mind instead. Entering this state of mind is known as a ‘hypnotic trance’ state. Not everyone can be hypnotized, statistically, only 80% of the population can be hypnotized, 20% can not. If a Client is skeptical from the beginning, it means that their conscious mind won’t be able to switch off and they are not ready to receive a session.
In this case, I would usually suggest alternative therapy, as hypnotherapy is unlikely to work for someone with this state of mind. Perhaps at a later date, when they are ready, they may wish to revisit the possibility of hypnotherapy.
Besides hypnotherapy do you have any universal health and well-being tips that you’d like to share?
Health is all about finding balance in life, to look after the body, mind, and soul. It is just as important to have an overall healthy diet and to exercise frequently, releasing your endorphins.
Looking after your mental well-being with breath work and guided mediation will help declutter your mind, for an overall balanced and healthy lifestyle. Meditation is very similar to hypnosis. I recommend that my clients find some time each day, as little as ten minutes, to quieten the mind and use self-hypnosis or guided meditation in mindfulness practice.
This can help an individual greatly in calming the irrational mind and achieving a calm and balanced state. In turn, helping you to be in control of your emotions, instead of letting your emotions control you, during stressful times. It’s also important to listen to your own body to find what works best for you. A practice might be effective for one person, but not for another.
Don’t force things if you’re not feeling it.
Finally, laughter is contagious and is good for the heart and suppose to keep young!! So try not to take life too seriously, and laugh often! Release them endorphins!!
If there was one piece of advice you could give to someone who is struggling, what would it be?
Nothing is permanent, everything is temporary! Life is meant to have ups and downs, just learn to ride the wave and adapt to changing your perspective into a positive one. Take the bad times as a learning curve in personal growth. Observe how you respond in a stressful situation, is there anything you can take from this experience?
Always remember to take each day as it comes, focus on the things that make you happy, and get into a positive, productive routine. Always look after your mind, body, and soul, get that serotonin and endorphins flowing daily!
Try and do one good deed each day, whether that may be helping a homeless person, giving someone a hug, or smiling at a stranger. Doing these small things that make your soul feel good daily!
… and don’t let one bad thing ruin your day! Life is beautiful, don’t let your mind tell you otherwise!!
What resources would you recommend?
Podcast:
• Joe Rogan with DR Mathew Walker – Neuroscientist and Sleep Expert
• Brain Science with Neuroscientist Ginger Campbell
• Speaking of psychology podcast on Spotify
Books:
• The Chimp Paradox By Steve Peters
• Gutful By DR Joanna McMillan
• Synchrodestiny By Deepak Chopra
• The Human Super-Organism By Rodney Dietert PhD
• I Am Enough By Marisa Peer – Hypnotherapist
YouTube:
• Michael Sealey – Hypnotherapist, specializes in sleep therapy
Hypnotherapy is an underrated form of holistic treatment that may be something you’d be open to trying. The key with hypnotherapy is to have an open mind, because if you don’t think it will work, then it probably won’t.
Open up your mind and give your body permission to heal from the inside out.
You can learn more about Anna and hypnotherapy here:
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