Hypnosis is a trance or sleep like state of the mind, and in this state the individual is open to suggestions and directions, and the mind being in a relaxed state is focused and clear. Hypnotherapy is successfully used to address various problems like addiction to tobacco and alcohol, obesity, insomnia, relief from pain and various kinds of phobias and complexes. People grapple with problems and fears in their day to day life and certain phobias like fear of flying, fear of crowded places, fear of insects etc. can complicate life and can cause much embarrassment. Hypnotherapy is a method to relax the mind and shift focus from the particular issue, and over the sessions the therapy can invoke mental and physical changes, and train the mind to deal better with tensions.

The state of hypnosis differs from sleep as the person can hear the therapist during the session. The mind is focused, though peripheral awareness is low, and the Alpha brain wave level which is low during sleep is found to be high during hypnosis. Hypnotizability varies from person from person, and it is found that the level does not change over a period of time. Those with high level of hypnotizability are good subjects as they are more open to suggestions, and they change easily for the better. However high level of hypnotizability is not the same thing as submissiveness, and good subjects are found to be strong, imaginative and independent individuals. The state of hypnosis can be self induced, or can be brought about by a therapist, and generally during the process the focus is shifted from the present place and time to another place and time to facilitate the therapy. Mind, body and spirit together work in this process.

Neuro Linguistic Programming or NLP is a method of inducing self talk and thereby creating a positive attitude in the person. This method exploits the way neurology and language comes together to create experience. Brain is always giving you messages, and self talk always goes on, but only if this talk is positive can one realize his goals. Though in most of them positive self talk is an instinctive phenomenon, it has to be inculcated in those with a pessimistic bent of mind. NLP help you to handle failures better, and assists you handle the impediments in your way to success, as it influences the process of thought and understanding in an individual and thereby the behavior. NLP is a way to self exploration, communicating the spiritual side, and the discovery of a new, much better person altogether.

Sometimes the cause of a particular phobia or complex is not apparent, and could be the result of a thought embedded in the sub-consciousness. An insecurity of the childhood could become manifest as the fear of flying, and addressing this insecurity and shifting focus from it through hypnotherapy can root out the cause of the fear, and help the individual gain confidence to board a plane. In many cases solving an obvious problem can solve many other smaller problems, and improve the quality of life in general.