What is hypnosis and what is it used for? There are many definitions of hypnosis and all are accurate. Here is the way I explain it; hypnosis is a method of communicating with a person’s subconscious mind (SCM) in order to change negative feelings and behaviors to more positive ones.

Millions of years ago we were closer to being animals than human beings – and everything ran on instinct and for animals it still does… That instinct is called the survival instinct and it’s designed to protect you… We still have that survival instinct today; only it’s now called the FIGHT, FLIGHT or FREEZE RESPONSE…

So what does that mean?… When something threatens our safety and security i.e. a physical threat like being mugged or an emotional threat like being verbally abused; then we do one of these three things – FIGHT (punch, kick, bite), FLIGHT (run away) or FREEZE (shut down)…

Millions of years ago people would just kill the threat and move on; which is what animals still do today… But; for humans, things have changed. We are ‘civilized’ now and have laws and rules of conduct we have to follow… We just can’t kill our boss or teacher because they annoy us… So, the first response (FIGHT) has been bred out of most of us…

So, what does that mean?… It means that whenever we feel threatened, either physically or emotionally, our normal choices now are FLIGHT (running away) and we can run away physically or FREEZE (emotionally suppress feelings) – and if we cannot run away or our suppressed negative emotions start to surface; we have to substitute that with something that makes our SCM feel safe and secure…

So, what happens then?… Many times what we substitute for our inability to run away or stop our negative emotions from surfacing is a protective/survival action i.e. a habit (biting fingernails, cutting, hair pulling, etc.) or an addiction (alcohol, gambling, sex, etc.) or suppression of feelings (anger, lack of worth, shyness, phobias, etc.)… We substitute our flight or freeze response with a habit/behavior/feeling because subconsciously it protects us and makes our SCM feel more secure… Most times at a Conscious Level we don’t even know what the threat is, so we don’t know what caused it nor why we’re doing it.

So why are we doing it?… When the original threat occurred (a single event or a recurring event) the SCM made a decision. In order to survive, the SCM decided on a course of action that would protect the individual and reduce the SUBCONSCIOUS PAIN/FEAR… Unfortunately, at a CONSCIOUS LEVEL this causes all kinds of problems including anti-social and illegal behavior… The Subconscious Intention is good (to protect) the Conscious result is bad (the problem/issue).

Now sometimes as a person gets older and more mature and experienced in life the SCM makes another decision; that the original protective action is no longer required and a person just stops doing it. Unfortunately, sometimes the SCM holds onto the action because it works; and ‘just in case’. Again, good intention/bad result; and that’s why we get adults with really bad issues like road rage, phobias, and still biting their fingernails at 65…

How do we fix it?… The most realistic method to stop the negative action is to convince the SCM that: (1) The action is out of date and is no longer effective or (2) that the individual no longer needs the action for protection/survival or (3) the action needs to be changed to something less harsh…

How do we do that?…There are a number of workable therapies and in my case I use Hypnosis…Hypnosis is a way of talking directly to the SCM. During a hypnosis session we use relaxation to transfer attention from our everyday working mind (Conscious Level) to our more intuitive deeper mind (Subconscious Level)…

What’s the difference?… The Conscious Mind (CM) is responsible for short-term memory, logical planning and organization, rationalization and justification, and willpower… The Subconscious Mind (SCM) is responsible for permanent memory, learning and the formation of habits (good and bad), establishment of emotions, and protection from all threats real or IMAGINED i.e. bad memories.

How do I get into a hypnotic trance state?…Getting into a hypnotic trance is simple; you do it all the time. Have you ever watched a sad movie and shed a tear? Sure, even tough guys can get choked up watching an emotional scene – but it’s only a movie! If you stepped back and saw the whole scene, you’d see the cameras, director, script girl and if you watched long enough you may see one of the actors ‘blow’ her/his lines and need a redo. But when you’re focused on the emotional part of that scene and having a good cry – YOU ARE HYPNOTIZED…and, when you’re focused on a memory and having a good or bad reaction to it – YOU ARE HYPNOTIZED…

I use a combination of physical and mental relaxation. It’s very gentle and easy to follow and the more you relax the better it feels.

Then what?… Once I’m sure you’re at a good working level of hypnosis, I will contact your SCM using one or a combination of the many hypnosis techniques available. In the movies they usually show regression to the original problem cause. They make it dramatic and traumatic for dramatic effect, but done properly it is neither scary nor dramatic. Many people have heard of Inner Child Healing. Inner Child work is awesome and can be so soothing and healing for the client. Hypnosis for smoking and hypnosis for fears and phobias are common requests.

Lastly, everything that happens in my office stays in my office; meaning your confidentiality is guaranteed.

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I’m Roger Gumbrill, a NGH Certified Hypnotherapist, bringing over three decades of hypnotherapy expertise to Delta, B.C. (Tsawwassen), serving the vibrant communities around Metro Vancouver, including Surrey, Richmond, and New Westminster.

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