How does hypnosis work?

Because research has shown that people who understand hypnosis before their first session benefit much more from those sessions, we will more thoroughly explain the fundamentals of hypnosis and hypnotherapy before your first session with us. But, for starters, here is a brief overview:

To understand hypnosis, you must realize there are four components
of the mind:

Unconscious mind - your body’s autonomous nervous system; responsible for respiration, heartbeat, etc. – things we don’t think about. Holds your instincts; generates feelings (the physical attributes of emotions). Has a limited ability to change and learn.

Subconscious mind - who you really are. Starts out as a 'blank slate' when you are born and as you go through life, you build a 'database' in your subconscious mind that forms your habits, behaviors, beliefs; generates emotions. Resists change but seems to be unlimited in capacity.

Critical factor - a comparing mechanism between the conscious mind and subconscious mind. New information you receive through your senses is acknowledged by the conscious mind and then this critical factor compares it to what is already in your subconscious mind. If the new information matches what is already there, especially in the area of limiting beliefs and habits, then it instantly goes in and reinforces what already exists. But if the new information doesn’t match what’s already there, it just goes into your subconscious 'database' of information – stuff you know about but really doesn’t have an affect on your life. Your critical factor is the reason it is hard to change beliefs and habits.

Conscious mind - the part of us that thinks; our point of focus. This point of focus is in the now – right now you’re consciously focusing on this web page. Analytical and logical – it’s kind of your problem-solving mechanism. Limited in the amount of information it can hold at any time. This is why trying to consciously make important and substantial changes in your life usually fails. Because the conscious mind can only hold a very limited amount of information.

The U.S. government defines hypnosis as “the bypass of the critical factor and acceptance of acceptable selective thinking”.  

The subconscious mind is unlimited. Hypnosis allows you to go into your subconscious mind and work with that greater database of who you are and have an affect on your habits and beliefs, especially those limiting beliefs that have held you back at certain times of your life.