Yes indeed… I have written to a famous UK Agony Aunt…
“What… Clare Rayner, Adam?”
No, not Clare Rayner OBE….
“Ok, then it has to be ‘Dear Deidre’ then Adam?”
No, it is not the shining star of Deidres casebook fame in the SUn newspaper…
Ok, I’ll let you know who it is… Yes indeed, it is the legend that is Dr Miriam Stoppard… The Daily Mirror’s expert on health, sex, relationships and family and author of more than 50 books.
“What on earth have you written to her for Adam?”
Well, what an enquiring mind you have today… Let me explain…
No, I am not unsure about the funny feelings I get now that I am going through puberty.
No, I am not worried about my stagnant sex life and looking for ways to spice things up in the bedroom.
No, I am not unsure about the flirty advances of the office stud.
In fact, I wrote a comment on a hypnosis and hypnotherapy article by Dr Miriam Stoppard… Who is a recently converted hypnotherapy advocate of the highest order! Yay!
What has delighted me is that Dr Miriam is not just flat out cheering on Hypnotherapy without any evidence, she notes that there is little evidence and research to support hypnotherapy in aiding weight reduction, yet she disucsses it and goes on to state:
I used to be a sceptic, then years ago I took part in a TV programme where pregnant women were taught self-hypnosis to help them sleep.
Determined to prove it didn’t work, I tried it out myself at home — and promptly dropped off. Now I use it every night.
Since then I’ve been interested in its various uses and I’ve seen it help women combat pain — and stay in control — during childbirth.
I love to read of people who set out with a particular mindset and actually discover the truth and benefits. Dr miriam is also an advocate with an accurate way of explaining hypnosis, unlike the vast majority of popular media:
Hypnosis is a powerful, natural and safe state of relaxation where we’re fully awake and in control.
And, believe it or not, we all enter into it several times a day — for instance, you may have got up, eaten breakfast and made your way to work without thinking about everything you did consciously.
You’re on autopilot but still fully aware of what’s going on.
We also have to go through state of hypnosis when we fall asleep every night — in fact, it’s impossible to drop off without it.
As you enter this state, your conscious mind moves into the background, while your subconscious comes forward. This is when your mind is at its most suggestible and the hypnotherapist can get to work, helping to allay your fears and anxieties.
It’s also possible to do this yourself, either by listening to a CD or going through a script in your mind.
Of course, the best way to learn self-hypnosis for yourself is something you regular readers are aware of… I am just delighted to read Dr Miriam’s insightful descriptions… Is this the same Daily Mirror that she writes for… The one trying to turn the country into bad language nazis?
AND… She remains a realist…
Despite claims, there’s no reliable research that hypnotherapy can work for stopping smoking, phobias, headaches and back pain. But it’s looking good in these areas…
Oh come on Dr Miriam… There is plenty of good, reliable research out there… Scan this blog and you’ll come across loads… You went and burst the bubble with that comment… I was on the verge of ordering an “I love Dr Miriam” fan club t-shirt!
She does quote some good stuff related to hypnotherapy helping overcome insomnia and looks at other applications.
All in all, a really rather refreshing display of hypnotherapy portrayal in popular media which has me delighted this morning…
Hahaha… I am well chuffed that I got to mention Clare Rayner, Dear Deidre and Miriam Stoppard in my blog all at once… 🙂
Right, can’t be on here long. I’m due with my better half very soon indeed for…well you can guess what for, can’t you? Actually, if England beat Wales on Saturday, I’m on the sofa and the cat gets to sleep on the bed in my place. And, if Wales do manage to win the rugby, she’ll probably be so head over heels about her new favourite, Shane Williams, that she’ll forget I’m even there and the cat will still get my place on the bed. That cat has never liked me. She called it Mittens. I suggested Tiger. Tiger is a more appropriate name. I have never seen a cat go for someone it doesn’t recognise like that cat does.
Examples (in my book) of people in a state of hypnosis in everyday life:
1.) Being in a cinema and feeling absorbed in the movie you’re watching. You don’t notice the minutes ticking by on the clock. You’re deeply interested in the plot and the action on screen. But you’re still more than aware you’re in a cinema and the next person next to you who crunches on crisps or talks too loudly is more than enough to break the state of relaxation. And, of course, you can break it yourself should you need the loo. I mean, if the fire alarm goes off in a cinema you leave the building as soon as possible- no matter how absorbed in the movie you’d become.
2) Reading a thriller on a train. This happened to me a few years back. I started reading a book on the train and loved it so much that I kept reading the next chapter and the chapter after that. A train journey of an hour and forty minutes felt like seconds because I was absorbed in the book. However, if someone had come up behind me with an axe and tried to chop my head off whilst I was absorbed in the book, I’d have been more than capable of running like heck and calling the police.
3) Playing a computer game. I like to play a racing game on my PS2. Whilst playing this game I am fully aware that I am sat in my bedroom and not at Silverstone. But I am willing to entertain the idea that I am an amazing racing car driver who can zoom around the circuit and beat the whatsit out of my opponents- which I normally do. I might become very absorbed in this game and my concentration on it might become very deep but I can still stop playing the game any time I wish and I am still more than aware that I am not at Silverstone.
4) Every teenage lad’s favourite: the “men’s” magazines. You barricade yourself in a room and get a bunch of the lad’s mags out on the bed. You become absorbed in an activity that I won’t go into too much detail about now. But what’s that noise? Is that slight creaking sound the first sound of your Mum coming up the stairs with a cup of tea for you? Your mind snaps you out of your daydream about being so hot that Kelly Brook or whoever really fancies you and you struggle to hide the mags where Mum can’t possibly find them. Even though you were deeply absorbed in your activity, your mind sensed a danger and alerted you to it.
5) Driving to and from work: You’ve done it a thousand times and you could quite possibly do it blindfolded (though I don’t think you should because the police really don’t like that sort of thing). But imagine, for one tiny moment, that on one of your journeys back from work you see a huge pink elephant in the middle of the road. Now, you’re going to notice that. Never mind whether you’re “behaving on autopilot” or not. The sight of that elephant is going to make you stop. You could be absorbed in your journey. You could be thinking about a million other things whilst allowing the unconcious mind to take charge of your route. But the minute you spy that pink elephant, the whole mind is going to be shouting: “What the F is that!” and you’ll stop.
I’m not sure if such a thing exists already or if such a thing would work. But I would like to try to form an alliance between members of the media and leading hypnotherapists.
I’m not talking about converting people to believe a certain thing or think a certain way. That will not work. I’m also not talking about some kind of “love in” where members of the media who already wax lyrical about the benefits of hypnosis just sit and chat with hypnotherapists over a nice, warm mug of tea. I’m talking about an alliance where both parties respect each other but both parties challenge each other over and over again and the results of those challenges form articles and or interviews.
Think about it: Nobody is going to buy into the idea of a couple of journalists who like hypnosis to begin with writing reams and reams about how hypnosis is a great tool to use to make great changes in your life. It’ll just look like propoganda- whether it is or it isn’t.
What would work is some sort of on-going debate between members of the media and hypnotherapists. Both parties respect each other but both parties challenge each other. The hypnotherapists challenge the media to give up their stereotypes and the “look into my eyes” rubbish and, in turn, the members of the media challenge the hypnotherapists to a clear, frank, logical discussion about their industry on an on going basis.
I’m not saying that hypnotherapists aren’t rational or critical thinkers and I am aware that the vast majority of hypnotherapists are always clear, frank and logical when you ask them about any part of their industry. But it is quite clear that the image of hypnosis in the media is incorrect and I think an attempt by members of the media to change things should be embraced. On the other side, I think an offer to discuss hypnotherapy and hypnosis and answer questions from the media, should be embraced by members of the media.
It’s time the media and hypnotherapists started working together. Not to create an image but to rescue an image. This isn’t about replacing one image with another. It’s about trying to get rid of the rubbish and nonsense that surrounds the image of hypnosis. Both members of the media and hypnotherapists are needed to make it work and I think it could work.
It’s just an idea at the moment and, like I said, I don’t know if something like that already exists or if it would work. But I think it would be worth a try.