Can Hypnosis Help You Finally Get Fit?

Using Hypnosis to Get Past Your Fears

Heights. Spiders. Public speaking. Water. We've all got something that freaks us out. But during hypnosis, you can use visualization to help work through it. If you are a swimmer but fearful of deep water, Roberta Temes, PhD, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hypnosis, might walk you through an exercise like this: Visualize yourself in three feet of water, feeling comfortable, and remind yourself that you know how to swim. Then see yourself in four feet of water, and so on. You're mastering the situation, and you feel confident and proud.

Your emotions and brain are intrinsically linked, and fearful feelings set off a series of physiological reactions. (Sweaty palms, anyone?) "When you visualize a positive result over and over, your mind believes it," Oswald says. And you can kiss those sweaty palms good-bye.

Try this at home: Succeed by using your imagination. Do you freeze up before presentations? There's a reason you feel anxious: Your subconscious is getting in the way. Right before your talk, sit at your desk and imagine a successful conclusion. "Turn up the sound of the applause in your mind, focus on the sight of your boss's approving smile, and then channel the feelings of accomplishment and let them flow into your body to feel the release," Oswald says. "You'll ace any event by focusing on the end result with excitement." Now go get 'em -- in a relaxed, Zen sort of way -- tiger.