Sensory Overlap

Introduction

Sensory Overload Inductions are a classic way to work with so-called analytical clients. Usually, the hypnotist uses whatever is happening around them, directing the client to focus on each input as it occurs, without giving them time to deal with any one sensation before moving on. The theory is that the analytical mind is overwhelmed with trying to keep up with everything, gives up and retreats into trance.

There are a few problems with this approach. Firstly, it does not take account of people’s descriptions of what it is like to be overloaded. Secondly, it relies on the assumption that the hypnotist will be able to out-run the client. And finally, it requires the hypnotist to function in a way that may not be the most therapeutic.

The transcript that follows is slightly different to the usual presentation of this induction. In this case, the analytical client’s ability to “over-think” is utilised. Rather than seeking to overcome the client’s brain, this version of a sensory overload embraces it.

Transcript

Take as much time as you need to get comfortable in that chair… I am going to be talking about various things and you might want to keep track of them… or you might not… it’s up to you…

[The hypnotist is talking mainly on the client’s exhalations, almost from the beginning.]

I don’t know if you will be able to concentrate on what I am saying better with your eyes open, or closed… so you can go ahead and do whatever is most comfortable to you…

[Client closes eyes.]

And as you relax into that comfort, I am going to invite you to pay attention to the sound of my voice… and to notice the sound of the words that I am using… As I’m talking to you, you might even picture the words that I am saying… perhaps you can imagine me writing them down as you think about the shape of the words… and hear my pen or pencil scratching on the paper as I make the shape of those words with my writing…

As we go on, you can become aware of the other sounds around you… the gentle in and out of your own breath… the sounds close-by… the ticking of that clock in the background…  the creaks and groans of the heating system… as well as the sounds outside that come and go… those every-day normal sounds that tell us that life goes on as usual… as you continue to listen to the sound of my voice and the sounds of my words…

And as you allow yourself to rest in that chair… settling into that comfort… you may also become aware of how you are sitting… your feet flat on the floor… your hands resting on your lap… as you pay attention to the sounds of my voice and notice the sound of the words that I am using… As you imagine me writing these words down and the sound of the shape of these words… you can be aware of the sounds close-by… and the sounds outside that come and go… as you listen to the sound of my voice…

And I don’t know how aware you are of your body in the chair… as you feel the back of the chair on your back and the weight of your legs and how your arms are lying relaxed in your lap… as your body relaxes, your arms and legs getting heavy… as you hear the sound of my voice…

And you might even become aware of the feeling of your feet on the floor… and they may feel numb and heavy… or how they usually feel, as you relax… aware of the sounds and words around you, relaxing your arms and your legs…

You might focus on your breathing now…  aware of how your breath is allowing you to naturally and effortlessly… relax more and more.. to let go and go deeper and deeper as you relax into the chair now… your shoulders  loosening, your muscles relaxing, as your feet and arms and legs relax… and the sound of the world outside continues… with the sounds of the heating and the ticking of the clock… and the sound of my voice and the shape of my words… whilst you relax now deeper and deeper…

[The hypnotist’s voice is now slowing down, reflecting the gradual reversal of the earlier energised and overloaded state.]

And maybe those gentle steady breaths can remind you of those times you ignore everything… as you settle down to sleep, to let go… and allow your mind to drift away… dreaming, sinking, floating… like a dream-cloud taking over, enjoying the feeling of release… and calm…

Everything can settle down in its own time…  settling comfortably now, those sounds relaxing you… soothing you… as you pay attention to the sound of my voice and your body continues to relax… deeper and deeper… sinking further and further, into that pleasant dream…

nothing to do now… except drifting down and enjoying the feeling… how easily you let go when you want to go…

more and more relaxed… feeling your whole body… as you focus on your breathing… sinking deeper and deeper into that relaxation…

And that relaxation can drop into your feet… nice and heavy and relaxed… and you can notice that your thighs and your knees and your calves and your feet and your toes feel heavy… nice and heavy and relaxed… And you can sink into that and enjoy it…

And if you would like to… you could even imagine those feet being too heavy to lift… as you allow yourself to enjoy that relaxation… and go ahead and imagine that… knowing what it would feel like… if your legs were too relaxed to lift… if your feet were so heavy they could not be lifted… sinking further into the ground… enjoy that feeling and embrace it… and if you want to feel that feeling even further, when you… know that your feet are too relaxed, too heavy to lift… you can go ahead and try and lift those feet… as you do, finding that it helps you sink into that relaxation… finding that they just feel heavier and heavier…”

[Client smiles as they appear to attempt to lift their feet.]

And then you can just stop trying… and let go… and let that pleasant calm relaxation… spread throughout your body and mind… that’s it…

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