Broccoli and the Brain
Hypnotherapy has many amazing applications - to make positive changes, break habits, let go of the past, improve motivation and so on... You may be considering hypnotherapy for anxiety, hypnobirthing, smoking cessation, fertility treatment, IBS to name just a few. If you are based in the Blackpool and Fylde area - you are certainly searching in the right direction.
Calm & Contented Hypnotherapy can help with all of these issues
This post is all about hypnotherapy and the brain. So you might be wondering why there is a picture of a stem of broccoli on this post - is it some subliminal message to anyone considering hypnotherapy for weight control? Possibly. But the main reason I chose to include broccoli in the post is because this is the vegetable that most helps me to understand what is going on in the brain.
Most people are familiar with the general shape and size of our grey matter - cast your mind back to your school days and you may remember 'the plastic brain model' in the science lab. or pictures in text books?
Without baffling you with science: different parts of your brain are responsible for different functions - moving, seeing, speaking etc... The human brain as a whole could be compared to a lump of play-doh. The brain is really malleable and pliable. This is a relatively new discovery - as in years gone by it was thought that the brain had little plasticity - i.e. unable to change once it had grown, developed and set in it's ways. However, it turns out you can teach a old dog new tricks as long as the treats are tasty enough and actually our brains are able to make new neural connections and make a change.
So back to the broccoli. One of the primary cells in the brain is called a neuron, which - yes you've guessed it - looks like broccoli - more precisely the tender stem variety. All sensations, movements, memories, thoughts, feelings etc are a result of signals passing through these neurons. The tasty tree like part at the top (the dendrites) receive messages from other cells, then signals pass through the stalk (the cell body) and down the stem (the axon), this signal then passes from that neuron to the next broccoli head through receptors via the release of chemicals and electrical pulses known as neurotransmitters.
The end result is a very intricate and complex brain structure and thus many of workings of the brain still remain a mystery. It is thought that hypnotherapy is used to 're-wire' the brain and strengthen or change current neural pathways. Suggestions, ideas and imagery which are in line with a clients goals and aspirations can be presented during a hypnotherapy session, these impact on the neural pathways and lead to a positive response in the clients physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
According to Dr. Mary Pasini “regardless of age, your brain has the ability to make new neurons and construct new neural pathways throughout your life. When you engage in new experiences or think in novel ways, new pathways are forged. Every time you think a specific thought, a specific pathway of neurons fires up, neurotransmitters are released and synapses are subtly altered. With repetition this pathway is strengthened. Even as you read this very sentence, your brain is changing. In this way, your brain’s structure is a culmination of all the thoughts and experiences you have had up to this very moment.”
Hypnotherapy brings about a state of deep relaxation and heightened awareness. In this state, the mind becomes open and receptive to new concepts. It is believed that the mind doesn't know the difference between imagination and reality, so hypnotherapy impacts on neural pathway and new ideas can become a new reality.
Of course, this is a very simplified version and only part of what hypnotherapy can entail. At Calm & Contented Hypnotherapy many different techniques are used and chosen in accordance to what is most suitable for the individual client.
Whatever the scientific reasoning and rational for change - for those clients who:
- wish to stop smoking - habits can be broken
- wish to lose weight - willpower can be strengthened
- wish to overcome anxiety - calm and balance can be re-stored
Testimony to this can be found in the number of people who are seeking out hypnotherapy across the UK. It is proving to be a safe and natural alternative to dealing with emotional issues, behaviours and stresses in life.
