10-08-2020 by Mirai
Hypnosis is becoming increasingly popular to combat stress and reduce pain. Using this particular state of consciousness in bed is also very effective in not counting sheep. And it just takes a little practice.
To fall asleep more quickly and fight insomnia, you can practice hypnosis on yourself. This technique called self-hypnosis allows you to detach yourself from the outside world and finally indulge in a restful sleep.
What is self-hypnosis?
As soon as we are absorbed by an activity to the point of forgetting our surroundings, we approach self-hypnosis without realizing it. This means that we separate ourselves from the external environment to fully immerse ourselves in our inner experience. "It is a state that goes beyond simple reverie or concentration, because it changes the way we perceive situations, emotions, sensations", specifies Wilfrid Nkodia, a psychologist and hypnotherapist. With a little practice, you can place yourself in this state at any time you want.
Does Self Hypnosis Help Fight Insomnia?
Self-hypnosis allows you to largely isolate yourself from external stimuli (noises, lights) that promote arousal and make it difficult to sleep. It also acts on the most frequent causes of difficulty falling asleep: stress, anxiety or repeated thoughts. We are better able to let thoughts go and relax. Through suggestion, it can also help to modify the automatisms and negative thoughts that feed insomnia, of the type "Once again, I will not get to sleep." It is more effective if the insomnia is recent, for example linked to a period of stress. "In cases of chronic insomnia, self-hypnosis is useful to reinforce the work done with a hypnotherapist, a psychologist or a psychiatrist. This often makes it possible to reduce sleeping pills and be able to dispense with them more quickly," says Dr. Héloïse Delavenne-García, hypnotherapist psychiatrist.
To be in good condition, playing music or a sound of nature (river, rain, forest with the singing of birds) in the background can help: this regular stimulus helps to cut off other external requests.
Is Self Hypnosis Effective For Everyone?
According to a recent study from the UK, only about 10% of us have resistance to hypnotic suggestions and we may have trouble letting go. "As soon as you take the step voluntarily, you have a good chance of succeeding," says Jean-Michel Jakobowicz.
Few studies focus on self-hypnosis, but one of them involved 84 children and adolescents suffering from insomnia in 2006: 90% reported a reduction in the time it takes to fall asleep, a quarter of which after the first session . We can expect to fall asleep more quickly the first night or after two or three nights if it is difficult to let go. The more you practice, the more easily you will enter the trance state. To start self-hypnosis, it is easier to have an audio recording in which the voice of a hypnotherapist guides the different steps.
Conduct a self-hypnosis session in 3 steps
Get into your bed and look at the ceiling with the light off. Take 10 or more breaths and slow breaths. Feel each of your limbs, your weight, your temperature. When the urge to close your eyes arises, hold on a little and then let go.
To calm yourself, imagine yourself in a quiet place, where it is dark and where you used to sleep well: your childhood home, a vacation spot ... Use all your senses to immerse yourself in it. possible: visualize what you like to see, hear, feel.
To relax, imagine a setting sun, the details of where you observe it. Observe the colors of the sky, the shadows, from the lightest to the darkest, to the dark night. With each new color, the hypnosis deepens. "We use the therapeutic effects of colors because certain warm tones have calming properties," says Dr. Delavenne-Garcia.
To calm spinning thoughts, use the image of a windmill's paddle wheel that spins and carries water and gradually slows down. "It is very effective in slowing down thoughts," says Jean-Michel Jakobowicz, a hypnotherapist.
Visualize a quiet and safe place that you love, sit back and feel the relaxation take over. From there, go to bed and sit still or sleep.
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