A: We both know, Paul, that Hypnopuncture is quite a unique treatment in the way that it combines hypnosis and acupuncture, but in your opinion, why does it work so well for helping people lose weight?
P: Losing weight is never easy Alex, even though it seems to be a straightforward matter of eating less and exercising more. There are all kinds of obstacles and hurdles, some of them to do with your mind and how it operates and others to do with your body and how it works. The effectiveness of hypnopuncture seems to derive from the fact that it works on a patients mind and body together.
A: Yes, I agree, its this synergistic effect on the mind/body complex that seems to be the key factor, especially for weight loss.
P: I have to admit when we first started to help patients with weight loss I didn’t really grasp how complex this problem is. I was certainly aware of issues like comfort eating, snacking and motivation for exercise etc .through my work as a hypnotherapist. However when you started to explain to me about the Chinese Medicine concept of dampness and how it slows the metabolism, as well as nutritional ideas about how cold and damp foods in the diet can prevent weight loss, I began to see the bigger picture and started to realise why so many people have real difficulties shedding weight.
A: Well it was the same with myself. I knew how acupuncture could help shift dampness from a patients system and thus kick start their metabolism, but when you explained concepts like self sabotage and how psychological stress can cause weight gain, I realised weight loss isn’t as straightforward as many so called health experts tell us.
P: No it certainly isn’t, as we’ve discovered. What really excites me about hypnopuncture though, is this synergistic effect you mentioned earlier.
A: How would you describe this effect?
P: Well its kind of like the whole effect of hypnopuncture is more than the sum of its parts.
A: How do you mean?
P: It seems that the hypnosis is able to amplify the effects of the acupuncture and vice versa. So you end up with a treatment that is more effective than either acupuncture or hypnosis on its own.
A: I know what you mean. Although acupuncture is an amazing phenomenon and healing tool on its own, it’s also a very passive process for the patient.
P: In what sense?
A: Well in the simple sense that once the needles are in the patient simply lies there and lets the process occur. Whereas the way we work in hypnopuncture, whilst the needles are in you are getting the patients subconscious mind to work with the process in a very creative and healing way.
P: And in the same way, I know that all the work I do in clearing negative mental programming, is being echoed and amplified by your acupuncture as it clears all the dampness from a patients system, allowing them to experience themselves in a “lighter” way and feel more positive and energised.
A: Exactly! You know there’s lots more we could say on this topic, we’ve only really scratched the surface.
P: Yes, we’ll definitely talk again about this.
For more information on Hypnopuncture and help with Weight Loss, Stopping Smoking or any other issue visit our website: http://www.hypnopuncture.co.uk
