Hypnotherapy for Low Self Esteem - Improve Self Esteem & Confidence Today
In this article we investigate self-esteem and how hypnotherapy can help with it. What it is, how it affects our wellbeing and how to enhance self-esteem for you, personally. I begin with a definition of the word. I move on to describing the difference between self-esteem and confidence which are often considered one and the same thing. We look at regression therapy and how this can aid self-esteem. We also look at positive suggestions or affirmations during hypnotherapy and the helpful effects they can have. Lastly, we look at how borrowing a resource from a personal hero or mentor while under hypnosis can increase self-esteem and your confidence as well. So, let’s begin.
What is Self-Esteem?
Esteem in its own right means to have high regard, respect or admiration for someone else or something. “I hold my friends in high esteem because of their honesty”. Self-esteem for our purposes defined as, having realistic self-respect and having confidence or belief in your abilities, value and worth in society. “His self-esteem was high when he was offered the job strait after the interview.” “Her self-esteem lowered when she didn’t get 100% in her maths test.” With the latter example you can see that self-esteem can be a delicate matter for people. Sometimes to help ourselves we have to not be expecting perfection all the time and instead pat ourselves on the back for every achievements big or small. Her self-esteem was improved when she told herself, “a mark of 90% in my maths test is pretty, pretty good. (pats self on the back.)”
What is the Difference Between Self-Esteem & Confidence?
Confidence is having a feeling or certainty that you can trust, rely on or have faith in someone or something. However, if you have good self-esteem, you will have confidence in your own skills and abilities to get things done to a good standard. You could say that confidence can be seen in a person in someone’s behaviour or the way they hold themselves in public. So, confidence is displayed by someone who’s expression is relaxed, stands up strait with shoulders back and makes good eye contact when dealing with others. Self-esteem is not so evident as it tends to be played out internally. Good self-esteem can be created by positive self-talk. “Yes! I can do this, I will do this and do it well!”
Regression Hypnotherapy Can Help Boost Self-Esteem
We all have times that we can look back on and say “Yes, I did good there!” We may have to think about it and delve back a way in our memories but, we all did something good at some time in our life. Regression is a good technique that takes you back in time and refreshes those feelings of doing good in your mind’s eye. It helps you to remember that good time, good thing better. It is from this point that suggestions are offered to build your self-esteem (confidence in your own abilities) by focussing on this past success. Perhaps creating and walking you through a film of your positive past achievement and positive future successes. Now imagine, you are sitting at home, comfortable, feet up with a remote control nearby. So, you can rewind this film and rerun it as many times as you like to really instil positive self-esteem for you.
Positive Affirmations for Positive Self-Esteem
Circa 1900 Emil Coué suggested that replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts could help people feel better. Also, he discovered repeating positive thoughts can in time encourage your unconscious mind to understand them as a truth. So, a negative belief, negative self-esteem can come about by regularly being told as a child you are stupid by teachers and or parents. Fortunately, the opposite is also true. Positive self-esteem can come about because an idea occupying the mind is your personal reality at any given time. So, if you change to positive affirmations about yourself and your abilities, after a while this becomes your belief, your truth. There are obvious limitations to this, telling yourself you can walk through walls will not enable you to do this. However, saying “I can, I will do well in my driving test.” many times, before lessons and before your test can aid you. It can lift your self-esteem realistically giving you a more positive outlook about whatever you are wanting to do and allow you to do it well.
Meet a Personal Mentor and Borrow a Resource
During hypnotherapy you are induced into a dream like state called a hypnotic trance. In this dream your ethical dream guide (your qualified, experienced hypnotherapist Kevin) can take you to meet someone you hold in high esteem. It can be anyone you choose. Maybe an actor like Michelle Pfeiffer, Daniel Day-Lewis, Scarlett Johansson or Leonardo DiCaprio who would be great making a speech in public. You might decide on a successful businessperson like entrepreneur Richard Branston or Dragons Den’s Deborah Meaden who would be able to apply themselves to many different things well. Anyone you chose should have a lot of personal resources to spare. So many that they would happily allow you to borrow some of them to aid you in your personal endeavours at the moment.
You are guided through your dreamscape, meet up with them and ask them if they would mind you borrowing a resource. They will happily agree to this and your subconscious, which is listening while your conscious mins is asleep, will accept your new resources to help you. These new, extra resources from your mentor can obviously increase self-esteem and self-confidence.
References:
Hunter R (2005) Hypnosis for Inner Conflict Resolution: Introducing Parts Therapy Crown House Publishing. Kindle Edition.
Jaloba A et al (2015) The Hypnotherapy Handbook: Helping you to help your clients Helping Handbooks. Kindle Edition.
Waller D et al (2008) Student Notes Module Six Working with Self Esteem and Confidence;