The Confidence-Boosting Effects of Hypnotherapy and NLP
By Olivia Donoso, Cognitive Hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner
We’ve invited Olivia Donoso to explore the confidence-boosting effects of hypnotherapy and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) in this article. Olivia has experience as a model and is also a trained hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner, and we think you’ll find her take on this topic incredibly insightful given her extensive experience in the creative industry.
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Often when I mention I’m a hypnotherapist, I’m met with expressions of mistrust and phrases such as, “I’ll be careful not to look into your eyes then!” or “ Can you make me cluck like a chicken?” It is with a heavy heart that I confess that I can’t simply glance at someone and make them do bizarre things. That would be far too much fun!
Despite the many misconceptions surrounding hypnosis, you may be surprised to discover there is nothing out of the ordinary about it. The word ‘hypnosis’ finds its origin in the Greek word for ‘sleep’.
While you are not necessarily asleep (ideally!) during a session, your unconscious mind is given centre stage so that both you and your hypnotherapist can begin to make the positive changes you want to see in your life.
How would you describe hypnosis?
The best way I can describe it is most people who are stuck in a rut experience problems as a result of conflict between two systems - the conscious and unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is ruled by habit and a need for protection, while the conscious part of the mind is seeking out change, i.e. to overcome performance anxiety, quit smoking, be more confident etc.
Interestingly, according to cognitive neuroscientists, the conscious mind accounts for only 5% of our daily mental activity (1). We function mostly in trance-like states controlled by the unconscious. This sometimes needs an extra nudge to accept new ways of being.
Imagine going on a walk in the countryside among fields of tall wild grasses, high as your waist. Often you’ll see an existing path that has been carved out over time. This is the path of least resistance, having been most travelled, so it is automatically the best/easiest choice. However, if that path no longer serves you, it is within your power to forge a new path. Over time this new path will become the better route to your desired destination.
Simply put, hypnosis has been found to be an incredibly effective approach to creating new pathways within the brain so that you get more of what you want from your life.
How do you make ‘sense’ of the world?
In Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), a technique for successful communication and goal achievement, there is a model used to understand how the mind processes information.
Everyone is unique, but as a species, we are limited to our 5 senses:
Visual
Acoustic
Kinaesthetic
Olfactory
Gustatory
Each of us tends to favour one (or sometimes two) of the first three senses. Because of this, in my sessions, I focus on tailoring language to suit my client’s preference so as to communicate as effectively as possible. This has been found to lead to successful interpersonal understanding between therapist and client.
It also facilitates getting the unconscious mind to accept suggestions using language it’s familiar with. As Moscovici’s ‘principle of familiarity’ highlights, we are drawn to the familiar and away from the unfamiliar.
How hypnotherapy helped with my modelling career and afterwards
Speaking from experience, I have come a long way from the shy, closed-off girl I was when I first started modelling. I feel a great deal of this progression is thanks to my therapists over the years. I first went to therapy at the age of 14, following the loss of a parent, which shook my world to the core. Later, over the course of my time at university and then modelling, I realised I was suffering from low self-esteem, social anxiety and negative self-talk, to name a few.
My therapist was trained in hypnosis, and when we started doing sessions together, I began seeing amazing results very quickly. I was able to overcome fears I couldn’t have imagined and become happier with who I am. I could give public talks at lectures and kill it on a catwalk, whereas before hypnotherapy, I was a nervous wreck and dreaded both scenarios.
Interestingly enough, if you were to ask me what my favourite part of modelling is now, I’d respond with ‘runway’. Even now, it seems bizarre to me as I type this, but I can’t advocate enough for hypnotherapy as it really has changed my life in so many positive ways.
Hypnotherapy can be used to help with eating habits, anxiety, confidence/self-esteem, stress, phobias, relationships, sleep, procrastination and difficulty reaching goals, among other issues.
References
1 Szegedy-Maszak, 2005 & Morsella et al, 2015
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Olivia Donoso
Olivia Donoso is a qualified Cognitive Hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner in London and is currently undergoing further training as a mental health practitioner.
She is passionate about helping people get the support and encouragement they need and getting them where they want to be.
Having worked as a model for several years now, she understands first-hand some of the strains that come with the territory. She strives to empower models and equip them with the highly effective tools she only wishes were available when she started modelling.
Contact Olivia via her website, here on Instagram or by email at: olivia@oliviadonoso.co.uk