When we think of hypnosis, we often picture the cliché of stage acts with overgrown moustaches telling random audience members to “look into my eyes, look into my eyes”. Hypnotherapy, however, is an increasingly respected form of healing. You’ve probably heard of someone who used the practice to give up smoking, but more and more are availing of hypnotherapy to aid weight loss.
Aidan Sloan is a qualified hypnotherapist who operates out of Fitzwilliam Place, and is keen to dispel the myths around his trade. He stresses that the hypnosis itself is only a very small part of how he works; the therapy that follows is what really counts. Using a dental analogy, Sloan explains this to NewsFour. “When the anaesthetic has taken effect, the dentist does their work,” he says, “for me, the hypnosis is merely the anaesthetic; the therapy is the real work.”
Growing up, Sloan had believed hypnosis was a gift people were born with, but later discovered hypnotherapy was a skill that could be acquired. He studied at Cork’s Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy before going into practice for himself.
Sloan explains to NewsFour that hypnosis is something we experience naturally every day by ourselves. “When you find yourself daydreaming, you’re in a hypnotic state, I simply help guide you into this state.”
Understanding how some people feel paranoid about the idea of being hypnotised, Sloan is quick to provide reassurance, stating that nobody can be made to do something they don’t want to. This means that anyone wishing to undergo hypnotherapy must approach the process with a positive attitude. “If the client isn’t willing to participate, then there’s no point going ahead with the therapy,” he says. “What I do is leave a positive emotional imprint, but it’s the client who chooses that specific imprint.”
The weight loss process involves the idea of a virtual gastric band. “I don’t make my clients believe they have a gastric band,” Sloan clarifies, “instead I train their minds to help them simply behave as if they have a gastric band.”
Pearse Street resident, Eileen Nolan who volunteered to have her hypnosis journey documented by NewsFour can confirm the effects of Sloan’s method. Following the death of her daughter in 2009, Eileen plunged into a state of depression for the following four years. Such was her weight gain that she increased from a size 12 to a size 18. “Earlier in the year, I visited a medium who put me in touch with my daughter who told me to stop being so negative,” she tells NewsFour. “After getting nowhere with diets, I decided to try hypnotherapy.”
Nolan has seen instant results, going from a size 18 down to a size 14 in just her first three weeks of therapy. “When I stood on the scales after the first week I couldn’t believe the massive drop. People in the area have been telling me I’m looking fantastic,” she says.
Nolan puts this down to Sloan instilling a positive attitude through his therapy, a process she recommends for anyone struggling with weight issues. “There are people paying for fat removal surgery when there’s no need for it.”
For more information, visit www.aidansloan.ie
Pictured: Eileen Nolan, left, before and above with Aiden Sloane after hypnotherapy.
By Eric Hillis
