
We all go through a variety of changes as we make our way through our life journeys. Some of these shifts are welcomed or planned for but others can be completely unexpected. Every now and again a big life change can be thrown at you and leave you feeling as though life has pulled, not just the rug, but the floorboards, the foundations and a big chunk of the soil, out from under you. Those changes include things like losing a job, having an accident, the breakdown of a relationship or the sudden need to relocate. It’s also the realisation that something isn’t right in your life, something’s missing, you’ve lost connection with yourself, your purpose and your own life. You no longer have friends that you share interests and deep bonds with. You feel alone. Change, or the need for change, comes up in all sorts of ways but any one of these can elicit feelings of shock and responses of denial.
It’s entirely natural to respond with such thoughts as; ‘This can’t be happening.’ ‘Not to me.’ or ‘This isn’t real.’ These are normal so if you’ve had those thoughts, don’t worry, it’s a natural coping mechanism.
What happens, though, if those thoughts hang around and keep you from moving forward? That’s when you can hit a wall and remain stuck in a situation where you feel you can’t take action. You can easily feel that you’ve lost control of your life while change happens to you.
Shock and denial are very common responses to unplanned change. If you are feeling secure in the structure that your life has and then suddenly something comes along which removes that sense of security, routine and familiarity, the initial response is generally shock. There are powerful emotions to process and time is needed so your mind protects you from practicality until you are ready to deal with it.
Shock and denial can manifest as numbness (both emotional and intellectual), disbelief and outright avoiding the reality of the situation. The enormity of such shifts can be too overwhelming to cope with and the impact too painful to face. The more you turn away from an unplanned change, the more helpless you’ll feel and this can have a heavy impact on you especially if it becomes a cycle. The longer it goes on, the harder it seems to deal with it and the more stuck and unable to adapt you may feel. This process creates stress, anxiety and can impact your mood and your physical and emotional health.
Hypnotherapy is an effective way to support you in processing your thoughts and emotions at a time like this whilst also helping you navigate your way forward.
Hypnotherapy offers a number of extremely helpful and relevant benefits, the first and most immediate benefit is you have a safe and confidential space with a trained professional who will support you as you explore your struggles. Feeling unable to respond to the transition in any way indicates a block and any prolonged numbness may make it difficult to find your direction. If you’re wondering how to talk about something you can’t think or feel about, a hypnotherapist can support and encourage you with different approaches. Hypnotherapy works by inducing a deeply relaxed state in order to access your subconscious mind. This allows you to identify and remove emotional blocks and deep underlying fears that are tied to change.
A hypnotherapist will use specific tools to help you explore, understand and work through change. These tools include;
Guided imagery. This can help you to explore now possibilities and opportunities and help reduce the fears of change.
Positive suggestions. These can be used to help shift your perspective from denial to acceptance and so open you up to the reality of your transition and help you to start taking steps.
Emotional release techniques. These will help to locate any suppressed feelings that are buried deep and allow you to acknowledge them and process them so they no longer block you.
Hypnotherapy offers a wide range of benefits alongside the above. By its very nature, hypnotherapy promotes deep mental, emotional and physical relaxation and gives you the space to regain some sense of inner calm and control. This is something you may feel you’ve lost when an unplanned change is on the horizon like a threatening storm cloud. You can develop emotional resilience which will allow you to gain confidence in your ability to handle situations – including unexpected life shifts. Hypnotherapy can also empower you to take proactive steps. The change is going to happen whether you want it to or not but that does not mean that you have to be helpless. You can find ways to navigate through the change, learn to work with it and find your way forward on your own terms.
If you’ve never had a hypnotherapy session, it’s another unknown that could be making you feel even more out of your depth. Here’s some information that will hopefully give you a bit of an idea around what could be happening if you decide to try this powerfully beneficial process. Please bear in mind that every hypnotherapist is an individual too, so I’m basing the following on my own experience and my own practice.
Discovery call. This is offered by many hypnotherapists, it’s usually free and is about 20 – 30 minutes long. This is when you have your first real conversation with your potential hypnotherapist. It’s usually a telephone call or online meeting and, while it’s a brief contact, it’s an excellent chance to ask any initial questions you may have, talk about your situation and get an idea of whether you feel you can work together or not.
Initial consultation. This is when your hypnotherapist will take you through a working agreement, confidentiality information and working boundaries. You’ll have the opportunity to ask any questions or voice any concerns and your experience, knowledge and expectations of hypnotherapy will be discussed. From there you’ll be invited to share what it is that’s brought you to hypnotherapy in more depth. This is a chance to explore what you’re experiencing and your goals of hypnotherapy. Certain details will be confirmed, such as what a safe space might look like for you. This is to create the most personalised hypnotherapy experience for you.
Following sessions. Before your first hypnotherapy treatment, your hypnotherapist will have created a session designed with your individual needs in mind. You will be invited to relax – I always check if a client is warm enough or needs the bathroom etc before we begin – and you will be taken through your hypnotherapy with visualisations, positive suggestions and positive reinforcement. You’ll be reorientated with enough time to feel fully alert again (and yet relaxed) before you leave the session.
Following sessions. Your hypnotherapy programme will be amended to match and encourage ongoing progress throughout the sessions.
Hypnotherapy is a safe, supportive and collaborative process in which you and your hypnotherapist work together to move you along your journey towards your goals.
When an unexpected change occurs in life, it’s perfectly natural to mentally and emotionally step back while your mind comes to terms with the magnitude of the information and the impact it will have. While this is natural, it doesn’t have to be permanent. If you find yourself trapped in that zone of denial, unable to move as the change gets closer or happens while you feel unable to respond, hypnotherapy offers a safe and supported space for you to process emotions and embrace change.
If this is sounding familiar, if you’re struggling to process a life shift, hypnotherapy could be the key to unlocking your potential to embrace a new direction and move forward. Book a free discovery call with me today and find out how we could work together.