Modern meditation and mindfulness techniques have been popular for decades. Meditation is now a booming industry.1 Mindfulness and meditation have also become common supplemental prescriptions by medical and mental health professionals for a variety of conditions. More recently, self-hypnosis has been catching up, gaining recognition as an effective way to address physical, mental, and emotional health issues.
Although both disciplines share many similarities, they each have their own unique styles and strategies for creating positive, healthy change in people’s lives.
Key Concepts of Meditation
Meditation is an umbrella term for a variety of mind and body practices. Although a certain amount of mindful awareness is a part of all types, mindfulness meditation can also be considered in a category by itself. Generally speaking, meditation is done seated although some forms of meditation rely on bodily movement.
Some of the key components of any meditation practice include:
Mindful Awareness
When we start to look closely at our minds, we notice that much of our attention is focused on thoughts of the past or fantasies of the future. When we bring mindful awareness to the present moment, we are more able to engage with what we are doing without distraction.
Posture
In sitting practice, it is important to pay attention to good posture. It doesn’t necessarily matter where one is sitting rather than how. Whether on a formal meditation cushion or a chair, a person should try to maintain a straight spine with the chest and shoulders open. This helps with the flow of breath and prevents drowsiness.
Relaxation
An important element of meditation is to be relaxed in body and mind. If a person is physically or mentally stressed, it will be harder to concentrate and the practice will not be very enjoyable.
Wakefulness
One of the main characteristics of meditation is the feeling of being awake and alert. Most people will experience this wakefulness ebb and flow throughout any given session.
Styles of Meditation
There are many styles of meditation. Each has their own techniques and objectives. Some examples include breathing meditation, mindfulness meditation, analytical meditation, compassion meditation, walking meditation, and visualization meditation.
Breathing Meditation
One of the most ancient forms of meditation practice, mindfulness of the breath continues to be in widespread use throughout the world. Sitting either cross-legged or on a chair, a person simply pays attention to the breath. Whenever thoughts become distracting, the instruction is to notice the thought then return to the breath.
Mindfulness Meditation
This is also a very popular style of meditation. By bringing one’s focus to a specific object, one is able to train the mind to be steady and less prone to distraction. The object can be anything including a physical object, a sound, sensation, or a thought. The instructions are very similar to breathing meditation.
Analytical Meditation
This is the practice of choosing a specific topic of inquiry and, having settled the body and mind, mentally exploring it without going off on tangents. It can be useful for self reflection and gaining insights into personal issues.
Compassion Meditation
Compassion meditation is another practice that is becoming more and more popular. The main goal of this meditation is to generate feelings of empathy for the suffering of oneself and others as well as the aspiration to do what one can to alleviate that suffering.
Walking Meditation
This simple practice takes the activity of walking as a point of mindful focus. A person can slowly walk back and forth, or around, a room or outdoor area, paying close attention to all the sensations of each step. This can be a very calming and centering practice that helps with slowing down the mind while grounding the awareness in the body.
Visualization Meditation
This practice leverages the power of imagination. It can be used to explore new ideas or mentally practice desired outcomes. An example of visualization meditation is an athlete imagining themselves performing their sport at the highest level possible.
What Is Self-Hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a state of mental and physical relaxation and focused awareness where the normal critical faculty is temporarily bypassed. It is sometimes compared to a dreamlike state. People who have experienced hypnosis often report feelings and sensations of deep relaxation, safety, and well-being. While in this state, also known as a hypnotic trance, a person becomes more open to positive suggestions which make healthy changes possible. Hypnosis can be achieved either with the help of a hypnotist or by oneself through the process of self-hypnosis.
There are many techniques that can be used to hypnotize oneself but generally include the following five basic steps:
- Physical relaxation is achieved by first paying attention to each part of the body and letting go of any tension or stress. Special awareness can be given to the breath, inhaling and exhaling deeply and slowly.
- Once the body is relaxed, mental relaxation can be achieved through self-guided imagery. This is sometimes called the “deepening” process. A common image used as a deepener is descending a flight of stairs and imagining oneself becoming more and more relaxed with each step.
- Now that the body and mind are sufficiently relaxed a person can deepen the trance even further with what are called “hypnotic convincers.” For example, a person can suggest to themselves that they are feeling so relaxed that, even if they wanted to, they could not open their eyes. They test this suggestion by trying to open their eyes and, when they cannot, find themselves going even deeper into hypnosis.
- While in trance a person can either simply enjoy the feelings of relaxation or repeat to themselves positive suggestions that support and encourage the changes they want to make in their lives.
- At the end of the session, the person can simply tell themselves to open their eyes and come out of trance, or use another self-guided image such as walking back up the flight of stairs until they reach normal, waking consciousness.
Other methods and supports for achieving self-hypnosis include listening to pre-recorded hypnosis sessions or hypnotic music. In any case, it is important to make sure that self-hypnosis is always done in a safe place and never while driving or doing other potentially dangerous activities.
Key Concepts of Self-Hypnosis
One important concept of self-hypnosis is the model of the mind which includes conscious and subconscious aspects.2 These two parts of the mind work together to help people to navigate through daily life. The concepts of these two categories of mind serve as a useful model to help people elicit the positive changes they are seeking.
Conscious Mind
The conscious mind can be thought of as a tightly focused lens or laser beam. It is the aspect of mind that pays attention to whatever a person directs their awareness towards. It is what we use to engage in the world of the senses in real-time. For example, we are conscious when we are learning a new task, listening with interest to another person speak, or noticing a new object in our environment for the first time.
According to cognitive brain scientists, of the millions of bits of information that are coming in through our senses at any given moment, a very small amount are registered by the conscious mind.3 The conscious mind is also the part of the mind that employs reasoning, logic, and analysis. It compares, contrasts, judges, and makes decisions and is part of what is called the critical faculty.
Subconscious Mind
The subconscious mind is like a vast library or computer hard drive. It stores memories, experiences, beliefs, habitual patterns, and all of our learned behavior. For example, because of the subconscious mind a person only needs to learn how to ride a bicycle once. From then on the procedure for riding a bike can be called up from the subconscious mind on demand. There is no need to relearn how to balance, pedal, and apply the brakes each time.
According to this model, the subconscious mind can make mistakes and learn things incorrectly or incompletely. For example, someone who was bitten by a dog in childhood may develop a long term phobia of all dogs. Every time the person sees a dog, the fight or flight response arises automatically, whether the dog is a threat or not. In a case like this, it can be very difficult to convince the subconscious mind that the fear response is not always appropriate or necessary.
The aim of self-hypnosis, and hypnosis in general, is to access the subconscious mind in order to make changes in behavior that may not be possible using only the conscious mind.
Meditation vs. Self-Hypnosis: Core Differences
There are many similarities between a hypnotic trance and a meditative state. Both are characterized by relaxation and focused awareness. However, there are a few significant differences which contribute to how and when these techniques are applied.
Generally, meditation increases a person’s sense of present moment awareness. This can feel like a state of heightened wakefulness. On the other hand, many people experience self-hypnosis as a more dream-like state. They are definitely conscious but report feeling more like they are in between wakefulness and sleep.
Another difference between the two is that hypnosis tends to be solution and goal oriented while meditation is a discipline that sees the best results when practiced consistently over time. That being said, self-hypnosis can also be used on a regular basis to maintain overall wellness.
What Can Meditation Help With?
Meditation has been shown to help with a variety of medical and mental health conditions.4 It is often recommended as a complementary treatment for such issues as anxiety, depression, addiction, stress, and high blood pressure. Meditation can also be of benefit when no presenting issue or disorder is present. For example, a 2016 study of 365 participants showed that a regular meditation practice can positively influence one’s sense of happiness, well-being, and self-compassion.5
What Can Self-Hypnosis Help With?
Self-hypnosis techniques are often recommended by a hypnotherapist or other mental health professional. There are also many areas of self-improvement where self-hypnosis can be explored on one’s own. However, it should always be noted that some conditions can be serious and could benefit from consultation with a healthcare provider.7
Here are a few of the issues that self-hypnosis can help with:
- Relaxation
- Sleep
- Improving Mood
- Increasing Motivation
- Confidence
- Lifestyle changes
Self-hypnosis will also often be suggested as a follow-up treatment for many other issues following a series of sessions in a professional setting. Some examples of this include support for quitting smoking, maintaining weight loss, and boosting confidence and self-esteem.
How Do I Know What’s Right for My Situation?
Although self-hypnosis can be applied as a solution for specific issues, meditation is well suited as a complimentary support for other methods of treatment.
Some of the questions you may ask yourself when deciding which is right for you include:
- How severe are my symptoms? If symptoms pose serious risk to mental or physical health then always consult a healthcare provider.
- Am I willing to commit to meditation for a set period of time? As mentioned, meditation yields the best results over time. Start out with a manageable amount of time each day. A consistent practice, even five minutes in the morning or evening, can bring positive results in a matter of a few weeks.6
- Am I looking for fast or immediate results? Self-hypnosis can bring immediate relief to some issues such as minor sleep disturbances, boosting confidence, and learning how to relax and work with stress. Meditation can also help with these issues but it may take a little more time to see the results.
Additional Resources for Meditation and Self-Hypnosis
The following are helpful resources for meditation and self-hypnosis:
- The Meditation Initiative provides meditation classes and training for children, adults and seniors to help prevent stress and anxiety, improve focus and attention, and share tools for anger management while improving overall mental and emotional health and well-being.
- The Hypnosis Training Academy offers more detailed information about how to do self-hypnosis.
- The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health published this article detailing the benefits of mediation for a variety of health issues.
- The Hypnosis Motivation Institute has free resources for learning more about self-hypnosis on their website.
