Hypnosis
Ever tried hypnosis? I have. It’s not something I would normally have sought out, but the opportunity arose, and I took it. I found out about it by way of a flyer I picked up at the nearby rec center which stated that eight free group hypnosis sessions were being offered there at the center over the course of the next two months. All were welcome. I was intrigued.
I appeared for the first session a week later and was directed to a large, sparsely furnished room. They were about eight of us, all women, milling about when a tall gray-haired man walked in and announced that he would be leading the group. He then informed us that he was retired military and had worked with many wounded soldiers using hypnosis. This came as quite a surprise. I didn’t think the military went in for that sort of thing. Apparently it does.
Next he instructed us to go rummage around the building for chairs so that we could all sit in a circle. I felt a little foolish doing this, but I complied. About 10 minutes later when we were all seated and ready to roll, he had us each tell the group why we were there. I hadn’t expected this question and didn’t think “just for the heck of it“ was a very good answer, so I did some quick thinking and said that I thought it might help me sleep.
Once we were all done stating our alleged reasons for being there, he had us relax and close our eyes. He then began a slow, hypnotic guided imagery of walking along a beach, at least I think that’s what he was describing. I say that because within about one minute, I dozed off. Actually dozed off isn’t quite right. I fell dead asleep. I don’t know how long I was out, but at some point I woke up and heard everyone talking. They were taking turns telling our military hypnotist what they thought about the session. When it was my turn, I once again found myself fumbling for something to say. I was just sitting there feeling totally embarrassed about sleeping through the whole thing until I realized that the guy was actually pleased that I had fallen asleep. He seemed to think that was a good thing. I guess I had said that I wanted help sleeping, and I got it.
I finished out the rest of the sessions with similar results. I had a nice, albeit brief, nap each time and left feeling calm and relaxed, so I think I can recommend hypnosis. If you’re struggling with something, who knows, it could help. They say it works for all kinds of things. There is, however, one caveat. If you’re there for anything other than sleep issues, you might want to take some NoDoz beforehand.