Can hypnotherapy help with procrastination?

Procrastination is about avoiding something we don’t really want to do. If we feel negative about a task at hand our anxiety rises, so to ease the discomfort we put it off for later.

Sometimes the tasks are related to our work and sometimes they’re goals we’ve set for ourselves, that we never seem to make time for. Have you ever wanted to learn an instrument or another language? To take up a sport that you would love to try or obtain that qualification?

We love to put things off, so we can have instant gratification now. But unfortunately, this can lead to problems, as the more we put something off, the more our anxiety around the situation gradually increases.

Let’s be clear, laziness is not the main reason for procrastination.  There’s also fear of failure, looking foolish, fear of success, taking a risk, fear of the unknown.

We all are motivated to do things. Our inner hopes and fears are what guides that motivation. So, what makes us put off a certain task?

Our brains have two minds!

The intelligent sensible mind - when we operate from this part of our mind we are positive, motivated, rational, and wise. We get answers by making a proper assessment of a situation. We are solution-focused.

The primitive emotional mind – is instinctive. 88% of all the activities we do throughout the day is automatic. Such as walking, breathing, driving etc. But it also includes how we think and it’s very negative. It’s about basic survival and it’s where our flight, fight and freeze responses come from. These are all subconscious actions.

If the primitive mind feels you are in some sort of crisis, then it will take over and all logical rational reasoning will go out of the window. This is because the primitive mind has bypassed the intellectual mind and is getting you ready to fight, flight or freeze.

The anxiety we feel in a ‘dangerous’ situation is caused by our own negative thinking. Negative thoughts about the task you need to get done, ourselves, the future, the past. We are creatures of habit and if we have destructive habits in place, this can cause negative momentum about all the ways we could fail, how hard a task could be, how we’re not good enough.

So how can we get our thinking back into the intelligent sensible mind?

Hypnotherapy allows access to a person’s subconscious and helps to create new habits, and a positive perspective on life to get you back in your intelligent mind. It focuses on your strengths and can change your behaviours to line up with your new perspective and goals. 

When those negative thoughts are changed to positive thoughts then creating new habits becomes much easier. Helping you to be more positive, motivated and focused on your goals. It also helps with sleep disorders. Sometimes procrastination can be from lack of energy caused by lack of sleep.

Hypnosis isn’t a magic wand, but if you have the desire to change, then it can help to motivate you to create new habits.