BY JENNIFER & JOHN BURKHART
Hypno Happenings
It’s officially fall. Hooray! We love this season and all the fun things that go with it. Cooler weather, color- changing leaves, pumpkin spice lattes (Love it? Hate it? It’s here!) … but also Halloween! We also love the “spooky” season and wondered what self-care activity would be appropriate. Why, hypnosis, of course! Not the “sideshow magician dangling a pocket watch” kind of hypnosis, but hypnotherapy — a therapeutic practice that helps people attain a calm state of heightened suggestibility. To complete our task, we opted for virtual hypnotherapy sessions through Zoom.
She Said: I found a cozy, quiet place in my home (my bed) and set my phone on my nightstand with our Zoom session open. After a brief hello, I got comfortable and closed my eyes. Word of advice: set up your spot well before a session starts. I realized far too late that I hated the fan being on because my feet got cold, but I didn’t want to move and ruin my zen state! When the session started, it was quite the challenge to calm my thoughts. Being at home meant that my brain was doing the mental gymnastics it always does when running a household. Thankfully, the calm arrived quickly as the therapist skillfully focused my mind on relaxing each area of my body and taking me through slow breathing exercises. I was soon in a motionless state, teetering on the edge of sleep. I did have to startle myself awake a couple times. Hopefully my subconscious was paying attention because I have no idea what she said in those snoozy moments! I do remember that she said the word “relax” about a thousand times, to the point that it became slightly distracting. Aside from relaxation, I asked the therapist to help me with increasing discipline to better reach my goals, so there were words of encouragement in the session, as well. All too soon, we were done, and it was time to return to reality. I had my reservations about receiving a virtual therapy session. Most of us have experienced bad connections with frozen faces, dropped words, or robot-sounding voices. How can that possibly work with trying to relax? Sure, the scheduling was easy; I didn’t have to drive anywhere, and I had the comfort of my own bed. However, technology did get in the way. At one point, the therapist stopped talking. I had to rouse myself to look at my phone, just to see her lips moving but no sound coming out. I didn’t want to disturb the mood even more, so I didn’t say anything, and luckily, her voice came through shortly after. Overall, this felt like a meditation of sorts. It was great to chill out for 40 minutes or so, but I don’t feel that one session was enough for me to invoke any lasting changes. Next time, I would absolutely prefer in-person for fewer distractions to encourage a deeper experience.
He Said: We got hypnotized this month, and I was feeling sleepy— very, veerrry sleepy. No, I didn’t wake up with a trigger word that turned me into a deadly assassin or believing I was a 6’2” chicken… at least, I don’t think I did. Bawk bawk? This was supposed to be therapeutic hypnosis, which is great for helping with things like anxiety and pain management. It can also assist someone in achieving behavioral changes, since it allows for a deeper exploration of the subconscious mind. My therapist was a nice lady with a soothingly calm voice. She decided to host this hypnosis session over Zoom, which was my first red flag. So here I was, using my phone, which is probably the source of half my anxiety, trying to get hypnotized to be less anxious. Palm slaps face, right? She was 10 minutes late to the hour-long call and couldn’t get her music to work. My stress levels were rising. I spent the next 5 minutes telling this perfect stranger all my subconscious shortcomings and then laid down on my couch and closed my eyes. Now, you need to understand, I go to work at 4 a.m. every morning, and it’s three in the afternoon — the perfect time for a nap. I remember a nice bedtime story about golden light, shackles falling off, and flying like an eagle. Then I remember her having to raise her voice to wake me up. Hypnotism has potential, but I don’t recommend doing it in this format. Do it in person, get a good night’s sleep, and leave your phone at home.
