Hypnosis for Writers
Wouldn’t it be amazing if every time you sat down to write the words just flowed easily and naturally onto the page in the perfect sequence? Unfortunately fear, anxiousness, the outside world and the inner critic get in the way of this flow. What if I told you hypnosis can help you conquer your critical inner voice and release your inner creativity?
Hypnosis for writers works in two ways, first by helping you release the blocks and supplanting them with the idea that your amazing ideas easily manifest on the page.
The second way is to actually be in a hypnotic state while writing. This allows for heightened focus and access to your creative subconscious mind. Distractions, overthinking and the inner critic fall away allowing you to clearly write your amazing ideas.
Let’s start with how you put yourself into trance and use self-hypnosis for writers
Step 1 - Get comfortable in your favorite writing spot. When you are first learning self-hypnosis it is easier to do it while your body is comfortable. This removes the distraction of physical sensations.
Step 2 - Induce hypnosis:
Pick a spot to stare at on the ceiling. Your head and neck should be in a comfortable position. And your eyes should be looking up at about a 45° angle.
Keep staring at the spot while you take 3 deep breaths. You want to inhale, hold it for a pause and then exhale slowly. As you exhale whisper the word “rest” out loud to yourself
Whispering the word “rest” to yourself is helping you condition your mind to more quickly enter the hypnotic state when you say this word in the future. You’re creating a trigger for entering hypnosis.
On your third exhale close your eyes, and breathe normally
Then think about relaxation coming into your scalp, forehead and facial muscles
Imagine the warm relaxation moving down your neck and into your shoulders. Then down your arms to the tips of your fingers
Sense and feel the relaxation moving into your back. Picture all the back muscles becoming loose and limp
Move this warm relaxing feeling into your legs. The warm relaxation melts away any tension as it moves down your legs
Send the relaxation into your feet and toes
Mentally count from 10 down to 1 (pro tip time it with your breath. Count the number mentally on your exhale)
Step 3 - Memorize one of these affirmations and say it out loud to yourself 3 or more times.
My mind is clear and focused therefore I easily write my ideas on paper in the perfect sequence
Because I value sharing my story with the world I naturally write with clarity and focus therefore my words easily flow onto the paper
Because I write for 30 minutes or more each day I am focused and easily write my story
The right words flow easily from my mind to the paper
Step 4 - Open your eyes and begin to write/type. Just focus on how the words flow, and let everything else fall away.
Step 5 - When you’re done writing, count yourself out of hypnosis. Count from 1 up to 5. Tap your feet on the ground. Give yourself a little face massage. Say out loud “I am alert and aware. I am grounded and centered”. Take a few moments to make sure you are back to full awareness before returning to your day.
Dealing with writer’s block:
Removing writer's block can depend a lot on what the cause is. Are you afraid no one will like your work? That you don’t know how to tell a good story? That you have to finish this by a deadline or else you’ll lose money/job?
Having pressure to finish something can sometimes help give focus or it can cause us to become a giant, useless ball of anxiety. The stress activates our Sympathetic Nervous System and reduces blood flow to our frontal lobe, making it harder to think and connect ideas. One way to relieve pressure is to use self-hypnosis to calm yourself.
Just doing the relaxation and breathing in step 2 from above will help to calm your system and let you re-focus. You can also work with affirmations such as:
Because I practice self-hypnosis I am calm and centered therefore I easily complete my story/project on time
More and more now I know and deeply feel that I am safe therefore I feel calm and grounded
If there is a huge block in the way that you can’t seem to get around then you need to work with a hypnotherapist. There are many techniques to resolve fears, anxiety and any traumas that are getting in the way. Schedule a consult here to see if hypnotherapy is right for you.
