My First Time is a series of articles written by Molly Snyder about trying new experiences and reporting on them – from receiving a spray tan to getting a colonic. Enjoy the latest segment in this series.
When I told people I went to see a hypnotist, the most common opening question was, "Did he make you quack like a duck?"
The answer is no, he did not, however, the response from my friends and family spoke volumes about what people think about when they hear the word "hypnotist." Most likely, they are imagining the stage or television performers who are often trained hypnotists, but whose sole purpose is to entertain an audience.
Rick Paddock is a certified life coach and hypnotist – or "hypnotherapist" – who has a business, Milwaukee Hypnosis & Wellness Center, in Hales Corners. He has never performed on a stage in a cape or top hat.
"Mostly, I am a life coach or instructor who teaches skills to people that they can learn and use to pretty quickly get from where they are to what they want to be," says Paddock.
Paddock, who was formerly in real estate, got into hypnotherapy six years ago when the market turned. With a communication degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee already under his belt, he went on to receive three certifications in life coaching and hypnotism.
Paddock was inspired after he experienced a successful hypnosis session. He went to a hypnotist to stop a fast food addiction and says it worked.
"I didn’t feel any differently when I was just sitting there with my eyes closed, but later I noticed in the days and weeks ahead I was stopping at Pick ’N Save to get a salad instead of the drive through," he says.
The top three reasons why adults seek hypnosis are to quit smoking, stop overeating or to reduce stress and anxiety. Paddock also works with kids (who are at least 8 years old) and teens to overcome issues from nail biting to social anxiety.
"Kids are very susceptible to hypnosis because their imaginations are so great. It’s so easy to get them to imagine themselves no longer doing things that aren’t good for them," he says.
Paddock’s sessions cost $150 for the first and $120 for subsequent sessions. The first session is about an hour and following sessions are 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the client’s needs.
Paddock offered me a hypnosis session to better understand the process. He asked ahead of time what I wanted to focus on changing, and I chose to focus on alleviating stress. I had never been hypnotized before, although I had undergone a past life regression, which was similar.
The hypnosis journey started with me sitting in a comfortable chair and closing my eyes. You don’t have to close your eyes during a hypnosis session, but most people choose to do so.
He did not dangle a crystal before my eyes and say things like, "You are getting verrrry sleeeeepy…" Instead, Paddock conducted a short "warm up" exercise during which he asked me to imagine taking a lemon out of my refrigerator, slicing it in half and then smelling the fruit. Through his words – it helps that Paddock has a rich, calm voice – he encouraged me to "see" the yellowness of the lemon, they way it felt to cut through it – the toughness of the rind followed by the fleshiness – and finally to smell and taste the citrus of the fruit.
Once I was in the zone, he took me on another mental journey during which he asked me to imagine a happy place – OK, that’s kind of a stereotype – and then to "see" as many details as I could.
He then gently instructed me to envision a path that led to a shed. He suggested I walk into the shed, imagine my stresses and then leave them behind in the shed. I then left the shed and went back to my "happy place" per his suggestion.
Later, he led me back to the shed and told me it was OK to take some of the stresses back with me. This part was most interesting. He suggested maybe I needed to work on them more, and I could put them in a bag or suitcase for later. I later realized from this it’s OK to hold onto some stress, but to keep it separate like an ugly accessory. Not inside like an organ.
During the hypnosis, I felt like I was in a dream – the kind I might have while snoozing in the car, not a deep-sleep dream. I saw myself wearing brightly colored clothing, something I never do, and hugging myself. That part was kind of corny and weird – but telling. I really had been hard on myself about a few things lately and it was a reminder, perhaps, to be a little kinder to myself.
Paddock says his success rate is difficult to quantify because everyone reacts differently. For some people, hypnosis works immediately, for others it takes a few sessions and for a smaller percentage, it takes effect very slowly or not at all.
Bad habits are the easiest to correct, he says, whereas something more abstract like "reducing stress" can take longer. Contrary to popular belief, personality is not the deciding factor as to whether or not hypnosis works.
"It’s about willingness and desire to change," says Paddock.
If someone really doesn’t want to quit smoking, they won’t. But if they really do, it can happen through hypnosis. Even though there is a physical addiction with smoking, much of the habit is formed through a mental and emotional addiction.
It’s the same with anything a person is trying to change. Basically, Paddock explains, the conscious and the subconscious mind have to agree for the change to take place. Often, our conscious mind says "I want to change that" but our subconscious mind "remembers" all of the reasons why we secretly and deeply enjoy things that aren’t good for us.
In short, hypnosis helps align the subconscious mind with the conscious mind. By going into a "trance state" and envisioning ourselves practicing a new way, it is more likely to sink into our subconscious and in turn our conscious mind will send new messages that will ultimately change behavior.
"The key is to get the information into the subconscious. The conscious is the part we are aware of, where our senses are, and our subconscious is everything else. It runs our heart, lungs, immune, digestive system, our long term memories. It’s the storehouse of our habits, good and bad," says Paddock. "When the subconscious agrees with the conscious, change is really easy."
Hypnosis, however, is not solely used to remove something negative from a person’s life. Paddock has clients who use it as a tool to increase sports or sales performance as well.
Another misconception about hypnosis, according to Paddock, is that it’s a form of mind control. He says people choose or they don’t choose to relax and go into a "trance." The word trance, however, can be problematic because some interpret it negatively. Paddock reminds people that in actuality, we go in and out of trances all day long – while we’re driving or watching television – any state that allows our conscious mind to rest.
Paddock will be the first to say hypnosis does not require a trained professional and that self-hypnosis is a viable life changer. Self-hypnosis requires a person to go into a meditative state and imagine the "new way" which creates different neuropaths in the brain.
For some, the tough part is carving out the time to do that or they might feel silly doing it alone. In either case, hiring a hypnotist makes the practice more of a sure thing.
"I’ve had so many clients say they were skeptical, but hypnosis worked for them," he says.
As for me, it’s been a week since I was hypnotized, and I certainly have thought a lot about the experience since it happened. I do think it opened my mind to a couple of things I needed to plant in my subconscious, but mostly it reminded me of something I knew but haven’t been doing enough of.
We need to take the time to say positive things to ourselves and to imagine ourselves living the life we want to live. Some like to do this with another person or people, but for me, it’s between me and me and it’s as simple as that.
