Hypnosis with Aphantasia

Summary

Close Your Eyes And Visualize…I recently wrote about meditation with aphantasia. Specifically, how guided meditation can exacerbate the (sometimes subliminal) states of confusion, frustration, shame, and inadequacy aphantasics feel when asked to visualize, which is how most guided meditations begin. My experience with hypnosis was annoyingly similar. Now... if you will... imagine a wave of relaxation washing over your body, loosening every nerve and muscle, and read on as I lead you through my journey of hypnosis with aphantasia. 😏Guided Mediation vs HypnosisGuided meditation and hypnosis are very similar in that you are attempting to achieve a very deep state of relaxation using voice instruction. Here is an excerpt from a recent article I found on guidedmind.com explaining the difference between guided meditation and hypnosis:"Guided meditation is when a narrator guides you through a scene in your mind to specifically act upon a desired outcome in your life."GuidedMindThe American Psychological Association describes hypnosis as: "a cooperative interaction in which the participant responds to the suggestions of the hypnotist."American Psychological AssociationUnlike meditation, the deeply calm state attained during hypnosis is punctuated by questions from the hypnotherapist, to which the patient/client responds, with a potential for therapeutic suggestion by the hypnotherapist to achieve a goal.I’ve done practitioner-led (versus self-) hypnosis three times in my life. Once as a therapy to curtail a compulsive habit, and two other times for early-life regression to see if we could learn the cause of my panic attacks.Learning To Be HypnotizedAs with guided meditation, each of my experiences with hypnosis began with the practitioner instructing me to – close your eyes and visualize… Ugh. Right away, a non-starter. The sessions geared towards my compulsive habit, which I attended in early 2000, were unsuccessful. I was frustrated by the process and only attended a few ...