If you are interested in self hypnosis, you will need to know the different self hypnosis techniques out there so that you can choose one that will best suit you.  There are four major self hypnosis techniques that you can choose from in this article, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.  You will find that each and every person is unique and will have a different response or reaction to each individual method.  Before starting with any of these self hypnosis techniques, you need to know yourself thoroughly to ensure that the method that you choose will be the most appropriate and successful one for you.

Below you will find the four self hypnosis techniques or methods that are most commonly used nowadays:

1.    The Traditional Technique – This method of self hypnosis is one that has been used the longest over the course of many years.  This technique simply involves suggestions being made to the patient's subconscious mind.  If you find yourself being open to suggestion, and if you do not ask too many questions when you encounter new things, then this self hypnosis technique would be good for you.  This method will not particularly work well with those who are fond of questioning authority or those who do not easily take directions.  This is because due to all the questioning or doubting being done, the patient will find it hard to fall into a completely relaxed state.  To perform traditional self hypnosis techniques, you can use hypnosis tapes or CDs.

2.    The Subliminal Technique – In this method, the patient will be listening to two sound tracks that will send a subliminal message to the subconscious mind.  One of the sound tracks will usually be sounds of nature or relaxing music, while the other track is usually a repetition of certain suggestions.  These repetitions usually are 100 in count.  With this type of self hypnosis technique, the person need not be in a relaxed state.

3.    The Ericksonian Hypnosis Method – In this method or technique of self hypnosis, metaphors or short stories are used to plant different suggestions in the person's subconscious mind.  Because this technique uses metaphors, the person will usually find it easier to accept suggestions because they are not direct commands, such as the ones in traditional hypnosis.  Ericksonian hypnosis is quite powerful because it tricks the mind into accepting suggestions that one may not usually accept if it were given to them directly.

4.    The Neuro-Linguistic Technique – With this method, you will need to analyze your own thought patterns so that you can get rid of your problem areas.  In this method, the patient can also be told to create a visual image in their mind wherein they are successful – it could be a newly created image or an image from the past – and then while replaying this confidence-boosting image, the person is asked to touch their fingers together.  This will be asked to be repeated several times.  After some time, every time the person touches his or her fingers together, he or she will be able to create feelings of confidence instantly.