More success with the Hypnotic Gastric Band?

 Today the Daily Mail carried the story of Danielle Davies, who had been hypnotised by her mother into believing that she had had the Gastric Band fitted, and had lost five stones - shrinking from a size 18 to a size 6. How fantastic a piece of news for a hypnotherapist. This should get my phone ringing, I thought.

 But, having looked further into it, I realised that this is not news at all. The same story was told in Take A Break magazine in Febuary 2013, and subsequently was picked up by a sunday newspaper. Why it should now appear in the Daily Mail, five months after the first reports, seems curious.

 The Mail used the word "bewitched" twice in the item, to describe the positive  suggestions used in hypnotherapy.

  Now, I want to make it clear that there is no witchcraft or brainwashing in my hypnotherapy practice. The outcome of the session is acheived through a mutual agreement - and the positive suggestions are built around this. Nor are any suggestions a common patter, given to people who aim to lose a pound or two - but are designed bespoke to the particular client needs.

 I did find it interesting that the Mail went into more detail than the earlier reports. They stated that it wasn't only the Hypnotic Gastric Band that did the work, but also "Hypnocise"- a technique that encouraged her to imagine doing exercises and this eventually led to her doing hourly sessions at the gym.

 There is a scientific basis for this. Research has shown that through the use of visualisation, and imagining that a person is actually doing the exercises, that person's brain interprets it as real. The muscles will perform the same contractions as if the person has actually done the exercises, and the body benefits. But it makes it easier to have the motivation to do this in reality.

 Effective Hypnosis has a long track record in using the Hypnotic Gastric Band as part of the weight control sessions, and helps people to lose weight in their sleep by taking them through the exercises in session - then installing the belief that this will happen every night. Many clients have told us that this gave them the exercise motivation booster to get back to the gym or swimming - see www.effectivehypnosis.co.uk/home for details under our testimonials section.

 Nobody has sold their story to the press about my work ( or even done so two or three times like Danielle ) But I live in hope.