Positive Health Online

High impact hypnosis is a new form of hypnosis. It is self-administered and gives the patient total control of the healing process. It blends specific music patterns (SMPs) with neuro-linguistic patterns to communicate with the unconscious mind whilst the patient is fully awake and in control. The key objective is to take away any resistance that a patient might normally have to being hypnotized and likewise to remove any resistance to change.

High impact hypnosis was developed as a consequence of the reaction of many of my patients when they first came to the hypnotherapy clinic. It became obvious to me that they were so afraid of 'being put to sleep' or losing control that this was getting in the way of the actual hypno-therapeutic healing process. On interviewing a selection of patients about how they perceived hypnosis, they responded in similar ways. One patient actually said, "You're not going to put me to sleep and make me eat an onion or bark like a dog, are you?"

The advent of television hypnosis has made people conscious of both positive and negative elements of hypnosis. On the positive side, there is a much greater awareness of its benefits; however, on the negative side, it is perceived as being controlling in some way. It also suggests that the hypnotist will remove the problem rather than promoting self-healing. This belief usually leads to massive unconscious and conscious resistance for the average subject experiencing hypnosis for the very first time.

These factors led me to develop a new model of hypnosis, which would be suitable for anyone, but especially those who fear not being in control. I therefore created a new technique of communicating with the unconscious mind whilst the subject is fully awake, thus removing any resistance they may have. If you take away the fear of hypnosis itself, then the benefits and healing power of hypnotherapy increase enormously.

Hypnosis is not a sleep state, and the definition of hypnosis is 'an altered state of consciousness', but unlike high impact hypnosis, all other hypnosis techniques go through a process where the subject is put into a deeper and deeper level of trance. Each step has the intention to deepen the subject's current state. High impact hypnosis has a different approach, since the intention is to keep the subject fully awake and aware the entire time, whilst communicating with the unconscious mind. I felt that it was important to develop a system that could be self-managed by each patient, so that with this sense of control each individual feels empowered in changing his or her life.

The author describing how to obtain optimum benefit from the CD process

I knew that, in order to make a new model of hypnosis, I would have to incorporate the power of music from the start, and develop the music at the same time as the linguistic techniques, so that they would become an integral part of the process. I therefore began working closely with a music composer, James F Simpson.

Music effects positive changes in our psychological, physical, cognitive and social functions. Because music accesses so many different parts of the brain, its effect is profound on our emotional and physical lives.

In the brain, music is processed in the amygdala, a part of the limbic system that is closely associated with emotions and imagery, and directly stimulates this part of the brain. Music also has a direct effect on the body; for example, rhythm is processed in the same parts of the brain that control heart rate and blood pressure. Because music is as efficient and quick as other methods of relaxation such as meditation and yoga, it was considered to be an essential ingredient in enhancing the process of communication with the unconscious mind.

Together we developed SMPs and combined them with neuro-linguistic patterns. The music, whilst having a relaxing and trance-like approach, also uses sophisticated repeat patterns and digital delays, which, incorporated with similar delays on the voice, create a platform that maximizes the effect of the dialogue with the unconscious mind.

The finished product is on CD rather than cassette, since the unconscious brain may be distracted if the quality is inferior, as it will tune into the higher white noise frequencies instead of tuning into the unconscious content.

The client administering the CD therapeutic session

Another objective was to create a model of removing any further resistance to change. There is a whole host of self-help cassettes on the market today, full of potentially useful techniques, but what many people do not realize is that the techniques are redundant if there is resistance. If there were no resistance, there would be no need for the cassettes in the first place. The first step in dealing with this resistance is to recognize its existence and then to understand how it stops any serious change occurring.

In many cases, people who listen to the cassettes and try the techniques discover either that they don't work for them or that the results are only short-lived, so they consequently give up. However, it is not the techniques themselves that are at fault, it is that the listeners are fighting change because there is a conflict deep in their unconscious minds. It is therefore necessary to leap back a stage.

Before the techniques can be tested, the resistance has to be eliminated. Once this resistance has been eliminated, profound change can be brought about. Thus high impact hypnosis is also about communicating with the resistant parts and then realigning them to evoke change.

Case Studies

Patient X

Patient X came to see me in the London Clinic for help with her panic attacks. She had had panic attacks since her early 20s, and it was restricting her life as it had manifested into agoraphobia. She avoided the panic attacks by creating a form of agoraphobia, and would not leave her house unless absolutely necessary, and even then she had to be accompanied. In this way she could avoid a panic attack itself for most of the time.

She had been to her GP and was referred to a psychotherapist. She had six months of treatment, but the problem did not shift.

I gave her the choice of one-on-one treatment or the CD for a trial period. She chose the CD, as it was self-administered, and this would mean she would be able to listen to it at home. She used the CD for three months. In that three-month period she managed to shift her fear of agoraphobia, gradually going out alone and not experiencing panic attacks, and has led a normal life since. Her panic attacks have been eliminated completely, and, although she is still using the CD with great success, she is not reliant on it.

She is currently using it before she goes into hospital for a major operation to help her calm down.

Patient Y

Patient Y came to visit me two years ago for stress, and I was treating him at my clinic in Essex. I knew from his records that he was a heavy smoker. One year ago, I phoned him up and asked him if he would be prepared to take part in trials with the 'Stop smoking for life' CD.

He had very good motivation to stop smoking but was not quite ready to stop the last time he visited me. He felt that the time was right now and knew what he would gain if he stopped, and therefore he was more than happy and open to giving the CD a try.

He was smoking roughly 30 cigarettes a day, and had been addicted for the last 20 years. He had tried patches, acupuncture and attempts with willpower alone, but with little success.

He used the CD once and stopped smoking. He has not felt the need to use the booster track and has still not touched a cigarette in one year.

Patient Z

Patient Z came to me to help her manage her weight, and because I noticed she was very nervous of hypnosis, I gave her the choice of trying the CD so she could self-administer the hypnosis. She preferred this approach as she had a real fear of being out of control.

Her GP had advised her to lose weight, and her objective was to lose two stone in five months. She had a negative self-image and was not very confident overall. She felt that her motivation to lose the weight was good and if she lost weight she would then feel happier inside.

She lost the weight in three months using the CD, and the one thing she mentioned was that it made her realize how important her health was and once she adjusted this health value she found it easy to eat healthy foods instead of fatty foods.

Further Information

There are 5 CDs in the range at present and plans for another five in the near future. The current titles are: 'Stop smoking for life'; 'Manage your stress'; 'Control your weight'; 'Eliminate your panic attacks'; 'Improve and ignite your relationship'. You can order any one of the CDs by phoning the Trance-Form order line on 0870 4423474; Lawrence Leyton can be contacted on tranceu@aol.com.

The contact details for the Biocom equipment are: Mark Ferris, Biocom Technologies Tel: 001-253 531 8958; sales@biocomtech.com