How hypnotherapy and Hypnosis can help with building confidence levels
Research undertaken at the University of Michigan has found that if we distance ourselves from a situation by visualising yourself as on TV or film, you are more likely to feel more confident.
The researchers found when taking a group of people who had to speak in public, that they were prone to reliving all their greatest mistakes they made on stage and went over and over in their minds embedding the fear. I know what that’s like because I found myself doing that with my driving and in the end it created my phobia that stopped me driving for 13 years.
Accompanying this visualisation is negative self talk, along the lines of “you’re always going to get this wrong”, “they’ll think you’re a fraud”, “Just get this over with and get off stage as soon as possible”.
All this negative visualisation and self-talk will just increase anxiety and become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Often advice given doesn’t really help. If you’re told just to think positively, they may think positively but they don’t feel positive and there lies the difference – it’s about how we feel, not what we think. Just being positive is a bit like trying to put out a fire with a thimble. Feeling will overpower the thought, so first we must tackle those feeling before tacking those thoughts.
In my confidence building sessions I teach you to think differently about yourself and the situation, to scramble that negative vision of yourself and to visualise yourself performing the tasks looking confident as if you were watching it on TV. We work on changing the way you feel about the situation and to learn how confident people would approach the situation.
What do confident people do that’s different?
Confident people don’t need to boast or need affirmations from other people (often people mistake confidence for arrogance and they are not the same things at all), what makes them different is that they are open to change, they are accepting of failure, they may be very humorous and slapstick when something negative happens which allows them to turn it around. They often don’t care making a fool of themselves because they know it’s not the end of the world if they make a mistake. They think “so what”.
A metaphor we use time and again in hypnotherapy is about the Navaho Indians weaving their rugs. They always leave a knot, an imperfection just so their gods know they are human and not trying to be gods themselves.
Perfectionism will always scupper confidence. Perfection is only ever needed in life and death situations such as aboard the Space Station, which is why they rehearse over and over again until they get it right and why they pick people with certain personalities – which includes confidence.
Over the past 9 years I have worked with people who lack confidence singing in public – the client found the hypnotherapy so successful she went on to train as an actress and has appeared on TV. One client was a teacher, and despite being able to talk to her class, when it came to talking to a room full of teaching staff clamed up. She went on to deliver her talks very effectively.
I have seen countless people who have had riding accidents, including one lady who had broken her back and was paralysed after falling off a horse. She managed to teach herself to walk again but a few sessions with me, she was back on the horse after a 10 year gap.
There is also the guy with PTSD who lost his confidence after falling off a mountain bike and ending up in hospital, not only did he get back on the bike, his confidence generally improved for him to get a new fantastic job.
I could go on but the results show for themselves…
So to find out how I can help you with your confidence call on 07508 658934 to arrange for a consultation or contact me
Disclaimer:
Hypnotherapy is effective, however results may vary and success in not guaranteed. Full client commitment is important. Please read FAQ’s for more details.
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Penny Ling is a widely experienced hypnotherapist who has worked with everyone from top executives to stroke victims since 2007. She has been editor of Hypnotherapy Today Magazine and is a supervisor and mentor for members of the AfSFH and NCH.
Read Penny’s inspiring story “How I beat all my phobias”, or find out more how hypnotherapy could help your problem by downloading “How Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help with life”. Feel free to send Penny a message here.
