Hypnotism

CyberDave

Has anybody here ever tried getting hypnosis? I used to play sport when I was younger and up until a couple of years ago. I have often been told by coaches and team mates that I was very skillful. However I rarely performed to my full potential in games because of chronic low confidence. I gave up the sport a couple of years back beacuse I just couldn't deal with my constant negative thinking which lead to this low confidence. I really miss the game and would love to go back playing but I know I wouldn't enjoy it fully because of the low confidence. I was wondering if hypnosis is any good for these kind of problems. Thanks for your replies

indieJones

I wouldn't know a lot about hypnotism but I play sport and I'm dreadful for letting my head get to me which used to lead to wild swings in form.

Firstly, I'd say just get back playing. If your problem is in matches then just play casually with your mates. I don't know which sport you're playing but most sports have a less serious equivalent; tag rugby, 5aside soccer etc.

If you are playing for a proper team. Tell your manager that you get low confidence and nerves coming up to games. A good manager, captain, team mate will know that different players need different forms of motivation but it can be hard to tell who needs the carrot and who needs the stick.

Just try and enjoy it and don't worry about the rest. What are you afraid of? Letting the team down? Being substituted? It's only a game. Just work your socks off on the pitch and you'll know you'll have done your best.

CyberDave

It was usually just thinking I wasn't good enough to be on the team or that the guy I was up against was much better than me, even though I had never seen him play before. It wasn't so much nervous of letting the team down, more just not playing well enough or as I was a forward not getting enough scores. I did used to have good spells of form where I would be playing well, but I was always one or two missed shots away from returning to the negative frame of mind. If people told me I was playing well it usually made me feel more under pressure and less susceptable to making mistakes.

txt_mess

I think there are two schools of thought on hypnosis at best it can be a skillful tool used properly can help shortcut your way to over coming your issue however from the people I know it's very hard to find a properly skilled person.

You might consider positive visualistaion ( something you can do yourself ) or talking to a consellor , psychologist about working otu where your insecurity comes from and actually get to the root and work out a gameplan that allows you to banish it from your mind for the most part.

Wibbs

FWIW I did the hypnosis lark for smoking. I found it pretty useless tbh. I do know others who it worked really well for. As far as ciggies were concerned anyway.

MLE

Ive done hypnosis for being more relaxed and confident and it really worked so I would highly recomend it for confidence boosting. After one or two sessions you get a disc to listen to at home so you can continue with it. I did it a number of years ago so mine is on a tape and Im waiting for my hubby to put it onto a disc for me as I really need a refresher

__plec__

Hey man, sounds the exact same as my situation, when i was playing i would feel sick before games, and couldnt wait for them to finish, even though i love sports. With me i always lacked confidence, and i was always terrified of letting my team mates down or making a stupid mistake, even though i was one of the better players, not sure if this is how you feel.

Anyway, i tried hypnosis a few months back, and it has changed my life, basically what it does is change how you think, before id always think i wasnt good enough, while now i can just dismiss negative thoughts.

Has helped with everything in my life, including sports, i just feel alot more relaxed about life.

The only thing il say is that you need to find someone who you are comfortable with, as this was my 3rd attempt at it (over an 8 year period). So with the right person,it can change your life

Hope this helps

Lil' Smiler

What exactly is done in a hypnosis session??

I was considering looking into it for before exams, i'm terrible and i get nervous & freak out & it's messing up my course for me this year

MLE

In a hypnotherapy session, first of all you discuss why you are there and what you hope to achieve (its kind of like a mini counselling session). Then when you are ready you will most likely sit in a comfy seat and basically the hypnotherapist will talk to you and put you in hypnosis.

You will be fully aware of everything that is said and you will be asked to close your eyes and maybe answer some questions while they are taking to you. They will talk you through relaxation and bring you (by talking) into a deep state of relaxation and when you are in this level of relaxation they will basically tell you 'How great and special you are' (if your looking for confidence for example). Then after a while of this they will bring you out of the relaxation by talking to you until you are fully aware.

And then they will ask you how your feeling and give you a cd of an equivalent session to listen to on your own at home and the more you listen to it the more it works.