My Name is Jill Stephens, and I am a certified clinical hypnotherapist. Let me take a minute and tell you a little about myself.
I managed a convenience store in one capacity or another for 20 years. During the time I was a manager I found that many of the people I worked with were struggling in their lives. Many were single mothers, some suffered from low self-esteem, and several had suffered abuse in one form or another. Most struggled daily to make ends meet.
I never thought when taking the job as manager that I would have an opportunity to impact people’s lives like I did. I realized that without a good manager to appreciate them and treated them fair they would find themselves victims of a system that didn’t care about their day-to-day struggles.
As I got to know these employees better I wondered what I could do to help them. Many of them came to me seeking advice on a regular basis, and I had the uncanny feeling that there was something that could help these people. I felt something waiting just beyond the peripheral of what I could see with my everyday eyes. I wondered how I could help these people who were suffering from fears both real and imagined.
During this time I listened to many motivational CD’s and read several motivational books. I talked often to my employees about the skills I had been learning. I began to send several hundred people a positive thought every day. I lived by the motto, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” I wanted to break through the self-limiting beliefs that I had so that I could in turn help my employees.
During this time of self-discovery I learned about Hypnotherapy. I learned about the way hypnotherapy works, and that through the use of it you could get to the root of problems. I learned that one could change the emotions that surround the problem, and as a result change behaviors caused by the emotions.
I signed up for schooling that would certify me as a hypnotherapist. Week after week I watched as people’s lives changed right before my eyes. Many instantly. During hypnotherapy the client is placed in a trance. In this trance state the part of the brain known as the critical factor relaxes and the subconscious mind is accessed. The subconscious mind is where our memories, emotions, and imagination live. The subconscious needs to be accessed to change how a person sees their past. It is our perception of past events and our emotions surrounding those events that dictate our behavior. Feelings of worthlessness, self-doubt, limiting beliefs, etc. all are tied to our perception of past events.
During a hypnotherapy session, past events are re-framed. This causes emotions surrounding the event to collapse. New emotions are established, and because the old emotions surrounding the event no longer exist the persons behavior changes.
I have actually learned techniques that do not go after the past events, but instead I target the emotions surrounding an event. This brings about the same kind of change as going after the event, but without re-traumatizing the client. I believe that there is a reason that people forget certain events. It is a survival skill. I certainly don’t want to cause someone to remember something they have spent years trying to forget, and I find this new technique much gentler on the client. It has been marked by outstanding results.
I have been able to take these skills and help many of the people I used to work with. When you take away the self-doubt, fear, and the limiting beliefs a person has it is amazing to see what that person can accomplish.
I am so thankful that I was led to hypnotherapy. Though motivational CD’s and Books can help… it is not enough. A person needs to feel that they are enough deep inside themselves, and they must believe in who they are and their abilities.
I still believe in being positive. I believe that it has a huge impact on our lives. It effects how we see everything around us, and I believe that my positive desire to help those around me is what led me to become a hypnotherapist. It is what drives my mission now of making people aware that there is hope. It is possible to make their lives better.