How Hypnosis Can Help a Gymnast Improve Confidence

April 5, 2024 Barry Jones

What causes a gymnast to lose confidence and how hypnosis can remedy this:

1. Performance Anxiety

Every athlete goes through these emotions at some stage during their career. It typically gets easier as the gymnast matures and, like any other skill, learns how to integrate strategies to alleviate it If you under-perform in meets compared to how you perform in practice, then you most likely have performance anxiety. Fear of failure can cause many performance barriers for gymnasts. Gymnastics tends to be a perfectionist sport, so many gymnasts struggle with fear of failure. Instead of thinking about the actual performance, they become more focused on the outcome, and what score their performance will receive. To overcome performance anxiety, you want to first understand the underlying fear. Whether it’s a need for approval, perfectionism, or fear of embarrassment, you need to address that specific issue.

How Hypnosis Can Help

During hypnosis, the subconscious mind is open to accessing information. Defining the issue leads to developing the strategy to address it. The relaxation response created by hypnosis can be profound and replace anxiety with excitement and confidence. Not only can the gymnast feel this during the hypnotherapy session, but they can quickly learn how to induce this state rapidly prior to a performance.

2. Self-made limitations or blockages

A mental block on one skill can quickly spiral into a loss of confidence. It can create a fear that can spread to more than just the skill in question, but to an entire group of skills, such as any backwards skill, for example. Mental blocks are a type of fear that usually comes from one of two different causes – your brain keeping you safe from danger through a primitive response known as fight-or-flight, or your mind being afraid of the unknown or what might happen. Unfortunately, sometimes your brain cannot recognize when a threat poses a real danger versus when the threat can be used as a learning experience. For example, when you are trying to perform a skill in gymnastics that your body perceives as a threat, your fight-or-flight response might kick in. This is a prevalent emotion after coming back to practice from an injury. If the mental block is the result of the fight-or-flight response kicking into overdrive, how can we stop this response from happening? To get past a mental block and perform the skill in question, we make it clear to our brain that the threat is no longer there.

How Hypnosis Can Help

Using hypnosis/imagery techniques can “trick” your brain into believing your body can do something. When you feel stuck and are unable to perform a skill you once could perform, one of the best ways to get past this is to spend time re-imagining yourself performing the skill you’re struggling with. See yourself going through each of the motions of your skill in slow motion. Make it as realistic as possible. What sounds do you hear? What does the gym smell like? How do your muscles feel? The more details you can add to your imagery, the more likely you are to convince your brain that you can do the skill again. During hypnosis you can do your routine successfully as many times as you like. Not only are your neural pathways stimulated as though you are currently performing, but your limitations, blockages, and self-doubt dissolve. Hypnosis can have a profoundly positive effect on the gymnast’s general wellbeing. Hypnosis creates a conducive environment for suggestibility. The hypnotist creates a dialogue of suggestions, rich in positively embellished detail and emotion, for using during the suggestible state. For example, those suggestions may include memories of achieving short- and long-term goals or reflecting on prior challenges—and how the gymnast vanquished those difficult and seemingly unobtainable goals. My work is to constantly find small opportunities to build confidence. I build in the memories of the positive interaction with teammates and coaches, with an emphasis on self-focus, and not on comparison with others.

Hypnotherapy Accreditation In The USA?

November 2, 2020 Barry Jones

In America, hypnosis is an unregulated profession and there is no accreditation.

I read an article by a hypnotherapy school that said, “You don’t need a license, you just need to meet certain criteria.” There is NO criteria!

Only three States require registration, but anybody can do that as long as you pay the fee.

Similar in the UK, there are many “accredited” schools, and also an abundance of minefields to go through to find a course that meets your needs. If you can pay, you can take a course!

Your best alternative is to go through a professional organization.

Here are three I would suggest:

Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis www.sceh.us
American Society of Clinical Hypnosis www.asch.net
American Board of Medical Hypnosis

Also, look into: Hypnosis/Dental Hypnosis/Psychological Hypnosis and Social Work Hypnosis/Nursing

If you want to learn hypnosis, find like-minded minded people. Facebook has an abundance of forums you can join. Get involved with Skype/Zoom practical sessions and read! The only way to become good at hypnosis is by doing it. Once you become proficient, then decide if a course is worth the investment. So many are padded with irrelevant information and redundant techniques. KIS (Keep It Simple).

Reincarnation? Dr. Ian Stevenson MD

October 11, 2020 Barry Jones

Reincarnation. The work of Dr. Ian Stevenson MD

“My aim has never been to prove reincarnation, but only to find and report whatever evidence there is to make it seem possible.” Dr. Ian Stevenson.

Ian Stevenson 1918-2007 University of Virginia School of Medicine, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry 1957-1967, Carlson Professor of Psychiatry from 1967 to 2001 and Research Professor of Psychiatry from 2002-2007.

According to Stevenson, “actual life memories may need a vehicle in order to emerge into the conscious mind, and the mind with its enormous range of powers creates a fictitious previous life to enable the delivery of real memories. Such a procedure may to some extent be correlated with a dream process. A few items of memory from a real previous life may become separated in some way and attracted to a fictitious previous life that is created by the mind. The outcome is the narration of an apparently coherent previous life”.

Rather than outline Dr. Stevenson’s work, I feel it is more important to view what others in the academic community have said about him.

In all his works, Stevenson adhered to the strictest standards of scientific exploration, including the collection and interpretation of data.

On reviewing his book, the Cases of the Reincarnation Type (1975), The Journal of the American Medical Association states: a "painstaking and unemotional" collection of cases that were "difficult to explain on any assumption other than reincarnation.”

In the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, September 1977, psychiatrist Harold Lief described Stevenson as a methodical investigator and added, "Either he is making a colossal mistake, or he will be known (I have said as much to him) as 'the Galileo of the 20th century.”

Doris Kuhlman-Wilsdorf, Medal for Excellence in Research of the American Society of Engineering Education (1965 and 1966), Heyn Medal of the German Society of Materials Science 1988, University of Virginia professor of Physics and Materials Science…
Kuhlman-Wilsdorf surmised that Stevenson’s work had established that “the statistical probability that reincarnation does in fact occur is so overwhelming … that, cumulatively, the evidence is not inferior to that for most if not all branches of science.”

Robert F. Almeder, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Georgia State University…
In the following video, Dr. Almeder examines the logic of believing, or not believing, evidence for reincarnation, like that provided by Dr. Stevenson. His discussion suggests contemplation, without automatically accepting or dismissing the evidence.

A video review of the book “Twenty cases Suggestive of Reincarnation” is found at:

Below is a summation of this video:

Almeder states that there is a force to the case studies that is enticing, enthralling! He says “it must be wrong” but that, the more he read, the more he realized the importance.

He states this is good empirical research -it rendered a scientific question- and he could not think of any other alternative or plausible explanation for the data that some people reincarnate. If the data is acceptable, it shows our way of explaining human behaviour has to break out of the existing paradigm.

Dr. Ian Stevenson MD

Hypnosis Induction, Fastest Progressive Technique

October 6, 2020 Barry Jones

How many types of induction should you learn? I can only give you a subjective answer based on my experience. To me, the Spiegel Eye Roll technique (which I adapted) is the panacea of progressive inductions, and I see no reason to use anything else.

Notice that I use the term progressive, but in reality the way I use it quite often only takes a few seconds.

One of my favorite books is Malcom Caldwell’s book, Outliers, in which he looked at the Story of Success and what criteria one must meet to be an expert. He and others surmised that the number of hours for any master in a field of endeavor is at least 10,000. Because of Caldwell’s book, I’ve worked out my own hours in the field of hypnosis: in 35+ years, I hypnotized well over 100,000 people. As a result, I have become acutely aware of the subtleties and nuances for successful outcomes in hypnotized subjects.

Adapted Eye Roll Induction by Barry Jones. For more about clinical hypnotherapy education go to www.barryjones.com

Academic Review on the Fastest Hypnosis Inductions

Hypnosis, a state of focused attention and increased suggestibility, has been a subject of fascination and study for centuries. Among the various techniques employed in hypnosis, rapid induction methods have gained significant attention due to their efficiency and effectiveness. This review delves into the fastest hypnosis inductions, examining their mechanisms, applications, and efficacy as documented in authoritative sources.

Understanding Hypnosis Inductions

Hypnosis inductions are techniques used to guide an individual into a hypnotic state. The process typically involves relaxation, concentration, and suggestion. Rapid inductions are designed to achieve this state quickly, often within seconds or minutes. These methods contrast with traditional approaches that may take longer to establish the desired hypnotic state.

Types of Rapid Inductions

Shock Induction: This method relies on creating a sudden interruption or surprise to bypass the critical faculty of the conscious mind. Techniques such as hand drops or sudden verbal commands are common (The Oxford Handbook of Hypnosis).

Confusion Induction: By overwhelming the conscious mind with contradictory information or complex instructions, confusion inductions aim to induce a trance by causing temporary cognitive overload (Hypnotherapy: A Handbook).

Pattern Interrupts: These involve breaking an expected pattern of behavior or thought process, leading to a momentary gap that allows for hypnotic suggestion (The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism).

Instantaneous Eye Fixation: This technique uses direct eye contact combined with verbal suggestions to rapidly induce hypnosis by focusing attention intensely (The Nature of Hypnosis).

Progressive Relaxation with Rapid Deepening: While not as instantaneous as other methods, this approach combines quick relaxation techniques with deepening strategies to expedite the induction process (Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis).

Mechanisms Behind Rapid Inductions

Rapid inductions work primarily by exploiting psychological principles such as surprise, confusion, and focused attention. By disrupting normal cognitive processes or engaging them intensely, these techniques facilitate access to the subconscious mind, where suggestibility is heightened.

Neurological Basis

Research indicates that during rapid inductions, there is increased activity in brain regions associated with attention and decreased activity in areas responsible for critical thinking (Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience). This shift allows for greater acceptance of suggestions without analytical interference.

Applications and Efficacy

Rapid hypnosis inductions are particularly useful in clinical settings where time is limited or when immediate results are necessary. They are employed in pain management, anxiety reduction, and behavioral therapy among other applications (American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis).

Clinical Studies

Studies have demonstrated that rapid inductions can be as effective as traditional methods for certain therapeutic outcomes while offering the advantage of speed (International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis). However, practitioner skill and client receptivity remain crucial factors influencing success rates.

Conclusion

Fast hypnosis inductions represent a powerful tool within the broader field of hypnotherapy. Their ability to quickly engage individuals in a hypnotic state makes them valuable for both therapeutic applications and stage performances. As research continues to explore their underlying mechanisms and potential uses, these techniques promise further advancements in understanding human consciousness and suggestibility.

Credible Reference Sources:

Heap, Michael et al., editors. The Oxford Handbook of Hypnosis. Oxford University Press. (Print)
Yapko, Michael D., editor. Hypnotherapy: A Handbook. Brunner-Routledge Publishers. (Print)

McGill, Ormond.The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism. Crown House Publishing Limited.(Print)

Nash, Michael R., et al., editors.The Nature of Hypnosis. American Psychological Association.(Print)

Elkins G.R., editor.Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis. American Psychological Association.(Print)