International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis - E-Lib FK UWKS

228 INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL HYPNOSIS
people are making about you ... Being plump can become a completely new
experience. You may start to look at your body in a different way ... More positively
...
Strengthening Motivation
Obese patients are easily discouraged and often think of giving up the treatment. A
minimal weight increase is often perceived as a true catastrophe. Direct suggestions
can be given to strengthen motivation.
Example
And now that you have learned to respect your body by balanced eating and physical
exercise, you will become even more and more aware, day after day, how important
regular eating and physical exercise will remain for you for the rest of your life ...
How practicing self-hypnosis daily, will help you to stabilize your weight and help
you to feel relaxed, comfortable and pleased with yourself. By now, you may have
noticed how all these new behaviors and efforts, have become a kind of habit and are
happening automatically, and hence don't demand much effort anymore ...
The strategy of positive and negative consequences Wright & Wright, 1987) as
well as future-oriented fantasy exercises can be employed equally to strengthen
motivation and to prepare the patient for a possible relapse.
Example
Joanna, a 37-year-old woman, entered the treatment program at 220 pounds and
weighed 185 pounds at a 6-months follow-up and 160 pounds at a 2-year followup.
Her weight problem started after marriage. She had tried several times to lose
weight, but always gave up after some weeks. She grew up in a healthy family and
seemed to be happy with her husband. Hence we decided to focus on her weight
problem and to teach Joanna not to give up. To strengthen her motivation for the
treatment, Joanna was invited to write down all the positive consequences of losing
weight. Next these positive consequences were suggested during a hypnosis exercise,
together with ego-strengthening suggestions.
And now that you imagine yourself beginning to lose weight, you may become more
and more aware of all the positive consequences for you of losing weight. Now that
you have started to respect your body and protect it through balanced eating, you may
begin to feel healthier in your body, you can buy new clothes that ®t well and make
you feel more attractive. Maybe you notice how cycling has become easier and easier,
just as if your cycling has become automatic. You may start to gain more selfcon®dence,
since people give you more and more positive comments ... And this
exercise may help you to become even more and more aware of all the positive future
consequences of continued balanced eating and physical exercise ... Your willpower
to reach your goal can become even stronger.