Talk therapy vs. Hypnosis

Therapy is wonderful. I am not going to disparage it, and despite what I am going to say in this post, I firmly believe in talk therapy (and psychiatry, if needed).

With that said, why does Hypnosis work so fast, and therapy takes so long? In addition, why do my clients see such deep results, despite having experienced very little difference with talk therapy?

Well, there are two reasons, as I see it. One, talk therapy takes so long that a patient rarely notices a difference between each session, and two, talk therapy tries to change the unconscious mind through the conscious mind.

The former (first) reason is like walking up a stone staircase: You are wearing it down with every step, but you can’t see any difference — but if you wait long enough, you’ll see grooves starting to form. Of course, talk therapy takes less time then wearing down a set of stone steps!

The latter, (second) reason is that you are mostly unconscious mind.

Lets elaborate on this, so we can clearly understand what I am talking about.

Our conscious mind is what we think of as “us”, when were thinking about ourselves; but the truth is that while the conscious mind is incredibly good at deciphering logical solutions, it has a very limited capacity for memory (roughly 7 bits of information). Instead, it relies on the subconscious and unconscious to provide it with memories and motivations (needs, wants, desires and things to avoid). You preceve yourself as your conscious mind, but your fears, desires, and motivations are (almost) entirely unconscious.

Let me define the Unconscious and the Subconscious really quick — at least how hypnotherapists use them.

The subconscious is like your hard drive; it stores information.

The unconscious, on the other hand, is your genetic memory (i.e., what you were when you were born) with a ton of other beliefs you have accumulated in your life — especially when you were really young.

Now, in reality, the separations between these parts of our mind (not our brain, which is the hardware, but the mind, which are the programs) are not as cut and dry as I am making it out to be … however, when we approach the mind with this model, it works (and thus forms the basis for the science of Psychology).

In addition to these three parts, there is a 4th part, which Psychology calls the “Critical Factor”. The Critical Factor’s job is to protect you from ideas that you don’t believe. For instance, if I told you, you are a “purple rock”, your critical factor would not believe it and thus it would be rejected as a “program” to be run on your system. Instead, it would simply be filed away as a “strange thing that happened” in your subconscious, but wont become a belief.

So, back to the thesis of this post: Why does hypnosis work so quickly, where talk therapy takes so much longer?

Let me propose a hypothetical situation. Lets say there is a young man, just starting college. He has been an outsider since 3rd grade when he threw up in class, and became known as Vinny Vomit. He only had two friends for the last 9 years, and has never been on a date. His only passion is video games. He has a belief that he is “uncool” and “bad at social situations” ever since that event in the third grade.

How many times would I have to tell this young man he is “cool”, before he believed it? Would he ever believe it? Perhaps if he started a company that made video games, and he became a famous game maker (and met a lot of attractive members of his chosen preference who gushed about how cool he was) maybe then he would grow into feeling “cool”, at least where his fans are concerned. But, he wouldn’t have believed it if I just told him, he had to be convinced, and have constant proof. And it would take quite a while.

He may “know” he is cool, in his conscious mind (“I am a world class call of duty player!”) but his subconscious has past proof of the contrary. His glimmering little flame of “cool” is not believed by his Unconscious, and it is thus rejected.

What hypnotists do is put the truth directly into the unconscious while also clearing up misconceptions (such as those that were made in the third grade!)

If a therapist tried to convince this young man “he is cool”, he or she would have to provide proof … countless times, before it would become a belief. Over and over, session after session, providing clarity and logic and new ways to think about things, before the critical factor could be convinced to let it in. It will eventually work! It will. But it will take a LOOOONG time.

Does this mean you should not do therapy? Hell no! Therapy is a game changer … it just works on your conscious mind. It tap-dances on top of the unconscious, while giving a person things to practice (healthy and strong ways of thinking) that will eventually become habits (and beliefs). In the end, you have a robust conscious mind, and have worn down the problem beliefs/habits.

Hypnosis avoids the conscious mind altogether! We don’t tell you how to think.

(This is why I see a therapist, myself! “Teach me, coach!”)

But hypnosis lets you talk directly to your unconscious, and you discover the truth, yourself. You realize an erroneous belief, and by realizing it is wrong, it immediately changes.

It’s a swan dive into the unconscious!

Build a strong Conscious mind with Therapy! Clear up Unconscious beliefs with Hypnotherapy! Two great things that work great together!