Hypnosis Techniques: What is Anchoring and How Does it Work?
Anchoring
Anchoring is a technique used in hypnosis to create an effective response to a situation or problem. Anchoring can be used to create a different reaction to your feelings, emotions, thoughts, situations, people and actions. This may sound very broad, so let’s look at some examples of types of anchors and how they might be utilized in hypnosis:
Different Anchor Types
Visual Anchor
A visual anchor can be something you see for real in the situation you are trying to improve or change. Alternatively, it can be something you picture in your mind’s eye. Using the suggestion of something you will see in the given situation can be utilized as an anchor. For example, a visual anchor used for overcoming driving anxiety might be the steering wheel. The suggestion may be as simple as:
“As soon as you sit in the driving seat and see the steering wheel you feel totally calm and in control.”
Alternatively, an imagined visual might be:
“When you are about to go out to drive, take a moment, close your eyes and imagine yourself on a picturesque beach looking out to sea. This makes you feel totally relaxed and calm about driving.”
Auditory Anchor
Auditory anchors can be set up with the suggestion that sounds you may hear in the situation you are working on can trigger the beneficial feelings and thought processes you want to establish. You can use imaginary sounds to bring about the feeling, they do not need to be real. So, for example. If you have a fear of public speaking you could use the sound of the audience talking a bit as the anchor:
“As soon as you notice the audience chatter before you begin, it instills calm and focus.”
Alternatively:
“Just before you stand up to speak, you close your eyes and imagine the sound of applause as you finish and this makes you feel totally calm and in control.”
Trigger the Reaction
These anchors should trigger the reaction or response set up during hypnosis. The anchor’s reaction or feeling is brought back into the situation at hand when the anchor is used.
Kinesthetic Anchor
Feelings, sensations and physical movements can also be used as anchors. For job interview anxiety it could be something like:
“ When you walk into the interview room you feel calm, confident and focused.”
How Do We Set Anchors in Hypnosis?
Establish a Hypnotic Trance
During the relaxation part of hypnosis, called induction, the hypnotic subject will be guided into a state of relaxation, calm and focus. There may be suggestions about feeling heavy, limp and loose. There may be suggestions to let go and let your subconscious mind listen. Early in the hypnosis induction process, breathing techniques may also be suggested. This relaxing process is the beginning of the hypnotic state where you become receptive to suggestions and ideas. As a result, the conscious critical faculty is bypassed and open minded receptive listening begins, which is the goal of hypnotherapy.
Deepening
Induction may be followed by visualization and deepening for an optimal hypnotic state. For the subject this is something that often improves with practice. In hypnosis around this point, the anchor may be introduced and there may be a comment signposting this. This may be as simple as saying a certain word or phrase, something like this: “Every time you notice (A) …. You feel …..(B) ” This process is usually repeated to reinforce it. The aim is to connect the desired response and the anchor itself.
The Anchor
An anchor may be a particular word, a feeling, thought, physical movement, a sound or a visualization or physical visual cue. The way we set this up in a hypnosis session or hypnosis audio is to try to build a connection to the desired feeling or response. We connect this to the anchor.
How Does an Anchor Work?
Once the anchor is set up it should be triggered outside of the hypnosis. This can really help you get positive results and make desired changes happen easier. A very simple example is someone using hypnosis to overcome panic attacks. They may have a word cue or anchor such as “Calm”. You may think this isn’t going to work as the word calm is an ordinary word that has no particular power. However, when establishing an anchor in hypnosis, something happens in the subconscious mind. Hypnosis establishes and reinforces the special feeling associated with the word. So it is much more than a simple word when it has been set up as an anchor.
An Anchor Can be Something You Like the Sound of
Anchoring can happen without deliberate set up in hypnosis sessions or audio. How? Many times people have told me that they used one of my hypnosis audios and found that a certain phrase, word or image from the hypnosis would come to mind in their time of stress (or the specific situation being addressed) and help them with the change they were attempting to make. Effectively, they used words they heard repeatedly in hypnosis as anchors. When you listen to a hypnosis audio and hear a word, phrase or idea that resonates with you, you may find that it automatically happens this way and works like an anchor.
A Great Hypnosis Tool
Anchors are an excellent tool in hypnosis. They can be used for most hypnosis topics, such as confidence, anxiety, stress, physical tension, panic attacks, habits, addictions, obsessions, anger issues and many other challenging situations or problems in life.
How to Spot the Anchor
There are many anchors in my self hypnosis audios. You might notice them when you hear me say “ whenever you notice (A) you feel (B)” Example: “Whenever you see the colour blue you instantly feel calm and at ease”. Anchoring is one of the tools in hypnosis that helps establish positive change. It can help you change your mental state and experience positive change in your life. When you use an anchor in real life and it works for you, it reinforces its power. The more you use an anchor the more you may find it beneficial.
Anchor vs Post-hypnotic Suggestions
There are similarities between anchors and post-hypnotic suggestions. However, an anchor has a trigger, whereas post-hypnotic suggestions should just happen automatically after the hypnosis without there needing to be any kind of cue, reminder or trigger.
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