One Writer's 3-Step Approach for Stress Management

Hypnosis is a tool that can help a person more effectively manage stress and the unwanted behaviors that can result.  (Photo source:  Healthline)

The health and wellness version of my Hypnotic Experience show is popular at corporate events and retreats, as well as on campus at high schools as part of the health education curriculum.  The application of hypnosis that draws the most interest is its use as a tool to manage stress and the unwanted behaviors associated with it (i.e. grinding teeth, restless sleep, etc.).

Here is a link an interesting article that explores stress management.  The writer offers a three-step process that allows a person to take better control of how they manage the challenges of life.


This is the Best Way You Can Overcome Stress
by LaRae Quy
SmartBrief

Stress is the response of the body to a demand for change. Stress is unavoidable and, in moderate doses, it’s very healthy. It gets our butts in gear and helps us perform better. Athletes and musicians understand that stress helps them perform at optimal levels.  But not everyone copes with stress in the same way. Some people perform well under pressure and continue to excel at their job. Others collapse into a puddle.

Hypnosis is Super Popular at Chantilly HS All Night Grad Party

The entertainment at Chantilly High School's All Night Graduation Party featured a casino, games, rides, caricature artists and a super popular hypnotist.  Guess who that was?

"Thank you Marc! Every time I went to check on things near the cafeteria I saw large crowds around you!  I’m so happy that you could be a part of this and be such a big hit with the kids!  Looking forward to seeing you again at next year's ANGP!"

Laura Richer
Chantilly High School
All Night Graduation Party

Under Pressure: Mind Focus for Athletic Performance

Elite basketball players train their mind to expect success.  (Photo source: Express.co.uk)

Why is it that when the clock is winding down and the game is on the line only certain players want the ball in their hand?  How do some players rise above adversity while others forever fold? 

I wanted to share this exceptional article published by ESPN.  Although it does not mention hypnosis or the practice of visualization, it does discuss the all-important mental conditioning required for exceptional performance in high-level athletic competition.


Rise Above It or Drown:  How Elite NBA Athletes Handle Pressure
ESPN (May 2019)

Kevin Durant can relate. He was a sophomore at National Christian Academy in D.C. and a blossoming star after being relegated to mop-up duty the previous season.

"I wanted to see my name in the paper," Durant says. "But when the time finally came, I wanted it so badly, I robbed myself of the moment."

Durant's team was down by two to Montrose Christian (Durant would transfer there as a senior) in the final seconds of the game when Durant was fouled.

As he stepped up to the line, he was suddenly lightheaded. His adrenaline was on overdrive, and no one had taught him yet that a few deep breaths would be helpful.

"My mind was racing," Durant says. "'What happens if I miss? What happens if I make it? Will everyone love me?' You weigh the pros and cons. Nothing felt right. All I could think of was if I missed. I knew those feelings, and I knew I would drown in them."

Durant, who went on to become an 88 percent career NBA free throw shooter, knew the second he released the free throw, there was no chance of it going in. He was too focused on the wrong things.

"I was so upset with myself," Durant says. "You dream about those moments, but when you dream about them, you always make the shot. And it's never a free throw.  You have to work on making that small little tweak in your brain where your thoughts are empty and free. But you only learn that going through the tough times and the losses and the misses."

Hypnotized at the Post Prom!

A wonderful photo taken by a parent at an after prom.  Hypnosis involves a deep state of relaxation to facilitate enhanced suggestibility.

High School Post Prom Season is a Hypnotic Success

Seneca Valley HS' PTSA created wonderful signage to promote my Hypnotic Experience show.

What an amazing post prom season!

This weekend concluded my participation as part of the entertainment at events hosted by the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) at 11 high schools in Montgomery County, MD.  I donated my time to support the following schools:

• Charles E Smith Jewish Day School
• Sandy Spring Friends School
• Northwest High School
• Our Lady of Good Counsel High School
• Walter Johnson High School
• Magruder High School
• Albert Einstein High School
• Seneca Valley High School
• Wheaton High School
• Springbrook High School
• Montgomery Blair High School

I'd like to thank the school administrators and parents who were so supportive, as well as the hundreds of students who expressed interest in and gave hypnosis a try.

I now get to catch up on sleep before jumping in to help six high schools in Fairfax County, Virginia host all night graduation parties next month.

The caricature in this sign kind of looks like me.

3 Ways You Have Been Hypnotized

Highway hypnosis occurs when the driver or passenger is so comfortable with the route they slip in to their subconscious mind.  Photo source: www.thoughtco.com.

At the start of any Hypnotic Experience show I spend a few minutes talking about what hypnosis is (and isn’t), as well as its meaningful applications.  Part of this discussion includes three examples of how every person in the world has experienced hypnosis at some time in their life.

1. Highway hypnosis: Have you ever been driving or riding in a car and you look out the window and think “how did I get here?”  Have you ever been dropped off at home and have no memory of that ride?

2. Suspension of disbelief: Have you ever been to a movie and something funny or scary happens and you react to it?  All of entertainment (movies, television, music, theatre, art) is based on this form of hypnosis.  

3. Déjà vu: Have you ever heard a song or smelled something, and it brought back a memory?  Have you ever had the feeling that you have lived through the present situation before? 

My job as a hypnotist is to help a person use this skill, this talent, this thing your mind can do and direct towards positive outcomes.

Would you like to try a basic hypnotic induction?  Check out this video that I uploaded to YouTube a few weeks ago.  The hypnosis includes a test to measure your suggestability.

Forbes Magazine Profiles Hypnosis as a Tool for Success

Here is a link to article published by Forbes Magazine this week that explores what hypnosis is (and isn't) and its applications for success-minded professionals.


Hypnosis:  Is It Worth the Hype?
Forbes (April 22, 2019)


The writer includes a wonderful description of hypnosis:

Hypnosis is extreme physical relaxation coupled with an elevated state of mental awareness.  While hypnosis may appear to look like sleep, it’s actually meditation with a goal. From this state of deep calm, you are able to go deeper into the recesses of your mind where 90% of what's needed to give up or build a new habit lives: your subconscious.