Hypnotherapy and Using Affirmations

Most people have probably heard of affirmations, or at least know that they are sentences such as “I am beautiful”. However, affirmations are much more than a sentence. They are an entire energy, an experience, unique to the person that learns to use them. At first glance, one may think they need to just say the sentence out loud and poof! something is going to happen. Understandable assumption, but that takes the entire experience and power away from the user. In hypnotherapy, clients are able to take back their power, experience it in their body, and claim who they are using affirmations.

Everything in your experience as a human comes down to feeling, which are also tied to chemical reactions, driving the body. Sometimes, the chemicals are causing the emotions, sometimes it’s an experience in the outside world. For example, it has been shown that low levels of magnesium in the body can cause anxiety. But also, a familiar experience can also cause anxiety. If someone can pick up on an external circumstance causing a trigger, and they know they want to behave differently, they may come to see someone like me, a hypnotherapist.

As they're in my office, I will ask, how does that feel for you. They may respond all of the way in which they feel uncomfortable, but eventually, a solution will be found and that solution will feel like something. The solution will feel empowering, perhaps exciting, or even relieving. Using this feeling, I will anchor in affirmations to help the client create new neuropathways for this feeling. The more someone can experience an empowering feeling in their body, the more they can tap into that feeling to incorporate in their everyday experience.

So, let’s say during a session, a client is standing up for themself towards someone who has done any kind of damage to the clients wellbeing. This person isn’t literally there, but in the client’s mind eye, they are. And as they are there, expressing their true feelings, I will ask, how does that feel for you to say that? Often times they will say something like, “ liberating”. I’ll then ask, Where do you feel liberation in your body? And they may respond, in “my throat”. So I’ll ask them to move the feeling of liberation from their throat and spread it to the rest of their body.

And then I’ll ask, how does it feel to be liberated? What might you do differently now that you feel liberation? And as these feelings come up, I will anchor in affirmations by saying, “I’d like you to repeat after me, I stand up for myself. I know my truth. I speak my truth.”

Every client will be different, but throughout a session, clients will state their needs. My job is to help them recreate experiences that are more empowering. Therefore, if a client says an affirmation, and I ask “how does it feel to say that?” they may say, uncertain. Maybe, they’ll say fearful. But this is a good thing, because it means there are more layers to uncover and they are aware of these blocks.

Because if a statement from an authority figure like “you are worthless” can hold immense amount of power, why can’t statements and new experiences of “I am worthy” override that previous energy held in the body? Words hold more power that they are given credit for. As a hypnotherapist, I always stress the importance of self talk, because underneath it all is a belief. These beliefs hold much power and they come from somewhere. What beliefs do you have and where do they come from?

I look forward to working together :)

-Jarisa