Sometimes we don’t need to go for a deep, lengthy therapeutic procedure. Sometimes we just want to give ourselves a lift, especially if we have been in a bad mood for a while, or maybe been subjected to a number of problems in our life that have made it seem difficult to snap into a great mood, or perhaps we’ve been ignoring good stuff or felt that there has not been a lot to get excited about… Well today’s process is absolutely for just getting a pep up, a mood advancement process.
The reason I refer to it being ‘first aid’ for a bad mood is because it deals with symptoms of a bad mood.
I can remember being at an NLP training watching Richard Bandler on stage presenting and he suggested that we all force a smile on our faces three times in succession and to observe closely what happened within us. All those of us that did it felt better and got a shot of well-being, though it varied in intensity. It was a great way to alter mood. It actually started me off with a fit of giggles at the time and just thinking about that experience continues to make me smile.
Likewise, when I think of Frank Spencer or Tommy Cooper and their hilarious facial expressions in their comedy routines and old TV shows, I get a shot of humour and joy in my head that advances my mood for sure… I am also one of those people who laughs at comedy shows where there is some misfortune experienced, so I laugh at facial expressions of disgust or failure sometimes too.
Then there are funny sounds. I think most boys find whoopie cushions hilarious and therefore farting sounds make them laugh, but there are many things that are considered hilarious by us all when we hear them or imagine hearing them. The classic circus clowns music or the Benny Hill theme tune also seem to be the kinds of sounds that are impossible to maintain feelings of misery when they are playing and make me smile.
So if all that stuff can help you feel better, and offer up some first aid for a dip in mood, then why not combine it all?
That is what Assen Alladin offers up to help deal with initial symptoms of depression, as demonstrated in the Handbook of Cognitive Hypnotherapy For Depression. Of course, if you have depression, then you’ll need to see a qualified professional and get tailored solutions and not rely on snippets and techniques offered up in blog entries. I can’t claim that these processes are anywhere near as effective as proper therapeutic solutions offered up by a therapist who tailors things for your specific requirements and needs.
I have compiled a number of those processes and combined them with self-hypnosis as a means of generating a great mood. It does not have to be used only if you have a bad mood, it can be used as a pick-me-up or a booster of some kind too.
Seven Steps To Enhance Your Mood
Prior to starting this process, make sure you are in a place where you’ll be undisturbed for the period of time and be in a seated position, not a lying position. Let your arms and legs be uncrossed and not touching each other. Take a couple of really good deep breaths and as you exhale, consider having a good ‘sigh’ or even letting out a groan as you get plenty of air in your lungs, which is going to help build a foundation of letting go of the old unwanted mood (if you were in a bad one) and help you get into a great mood.
While taking your deep breaths, think about a word which you love or a word that you associate with happiness, or that is silly and funny in some shape or form. Something that you do not have to share with anyone, that is personally funny or fills you with cheer or that you consider to be quirky. It is going to be a word that is used in this session today and thereafter to rekindle the good feelings and use it to generate good feelings. Get that nicely lodged in your mind as you continue with your breaths.
As you get comfortable in your seated position, adjust yourself so that you adopt a strong and purposeful posture whereby the crown of your head is pointed straight up at the ceiling and your shoulders are broad but not raised or hunched up, almost as if you are a guard on sentry duty. You want to adopt a good strong positive posture so that your body, the vehicle for this mood enhancement is in a different place than it was previously and is ready to help advance the mood.
So with your posture strong and positive, you begin with the process of inducing hypnosis.
Step One:Induce self-hypnosis using whatever means you are aware of. Alternatively use a progressive relaxation process or a mindfulness technique, get yourself absorbed, engaged, relaxed and most importantly have a receptive mind. Once you have hypnotised yourself, move on to the next step.
Step Two: To deepen the hypnosis and to start our good mood creation and subsequent advancement off, you want to lighten the sensation of the head.
People often refer to feeling light headed, and we want it to be a good light-headed sensation. What’s more, negative states of mind are often associated with a heaviness of the head.
To do this, imagine that your head is a big, heavy bag of sand and that there is a hole in the back and the bottom of the bag and the sand is pouring out slowing and thoroughly. As it pours out, you go deeper into hypnosis and your head feels lighter and more comfortable.
Tell yourself that it feels lighter as you imagine it to enhance the effect.
Spend as much time on this step as is necessary for you to develop a notable sensation of lightness in your head and once you have that, move on to the next step.
Step Three: With the lightness sensations in place, maintaining your positive strong posture, you now force a smile on your face three times.
Even if it feels false or forced, just smile widely and broadly, as if posing for a photograph. Then when you have relaxed the muscles after the smile, repeat it another two times.
Imagine seeing your face smiling, imagine watching your lips curling in a big smile and think about smiles in general as you force the smiles onto your face one at a time, three times in succession. Notice how it makes you feel, even the tiniest of sensations.
Be thorough with this and notice how it makes you feel. Notice the sensations somewhere within you. Once you have noticed them, then move on to the next step.
Step Four: Now think of and imagine a funny face. This could be someone you saw or knew in real-life, or someone you have seen on the television or in a film, or even something you just imagined and created in your own mind. Maybe it is someone who made you laugh for any reason whatsoever. Choose someone that makes you smile when you think about them.
Imagine that face in as much detail as possible; the expression, the colours and even think of any sounds as you remember how much it made you smile or laugh when you saw it, maybe they spoke in a funny manner.
Think about what it is you find so funny and amusing about that face and really imagine it there in front of you.
Once you have that vivid in your mind, notice how it makes you feel to see it and watch it again and when you notice those feelings, move on to the next step.
Step Five: Now think about and recall a time in your life that was a happy, funny time where you shared uplifting feelings or laughter with others.
Remember where you were, who you were with, hear the sounds of laughter or happiness and see the colours of the place, the shades of light, notice how you feel to be there again in your imagination… And do really be there, in those shoes, seeing through those eyes, hearing those sounds and experiencing those great feelings.
Spend as much time as is necessary for you to really feel as if you are there in that place, enjoying those feelings of well-being, happiness and laughter.
When you have those great feelings, move on to the next step.
Step Six: Continue to enjoy the feelings of smiling, of that funny face and then that occasion of happiness and as you notice the feelings you are enjoying, think of your happy or funny (or silly) word that you chose prior to starting step one.
See the word in a bright colour in your mind, imagine saying it and even imagine funny music playing as you look at it – or even a funny sound. Play the word loudly, brightly and in a funny manner to yourself in your mind and associate this word with all these good feelings you have created.
Once you have spent enough time on this step and you feel that the word is associated with those great feelings, tell yourself that when you repeat this word it starts to remind you of these great feelings and rekindles them. Then move on to the final step.
Step Seven: Exit hypnosis and end this session by wiggling your fingers and toes and taking a couple of energizing breaths and opening your eyes.
As I say often with these techniques, choose to go and take some action that shows you that you have changed your mood, or at the very least notice how differently you behave and respond as a result of your mood being a good one and make it your aim to practice this process.
Practice this process and repeat it in it’s entirety a few times. Then start to practice using and saying your word to yourself to be a means of accessing that good mood as and when you choose; with practice, effort and repetition you’ll be able to do it with ease.
Adam Eason is a best selling author, hypnotherapist and trainer. Please visit his website for for your free, instantly downloadable, mind-blowing hypnosis session to use in the comfort of your own home, and get many more resources, articles, audios from the world of hypnosis and self-hypnosis. http://www.adam-eason.com/
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