Tales Of A Teenage Hypnotist With Asperger's Part 02

When I began learning hypnosis as a young teenager I didn't realise I had been doing hypnosis for years.

When I was in primary school I was a small, quiet child. I was often ignored and overlooked, but I did make one observation that taught me a strategy for getting my own way.

Chichester Hypnotherapist Dan Jones, Aged 9

What I discovered was that if I suggested an idea, and it happened to be a good idea, then people would do that idea even though I wouldn't get any credit for it and no-one would realise I was the one who initially suggested it.

For example; if I wanted to play a specific game, I would suggest it in front of my friend that were trying to think of what game to play, no-one would acknowledge that I have just spoken, but eventually the people that heard me suggest that game, without realising they had heard it, would suggest it themselves, and then others would suggest it, and after a few minutes we would be playing the game I wanted to play.

This is a bit like when you ask someone that is intensely engrossed in a TV programme if they want a cup of tea. They may not hear you, but once the adverts come on they suggest wanting a cup of tea because the idea went into their mind subconsciously.

Many children would have got annoyed with suggesting ideas, being ignored, and then having others 'come up with' the ideas they had, and then having those other children taking credit for the ideas. But I thought about things differently.

I have never been particularly bothered about being in the limelight, or taking credit for things, so to me as a small child it came naturally to notice that I was 'getting my own way' even though I wasn't getting credit for ideas that I had and not to be bothered by this, but to use it to my advantage. Often ideas in school for tasks and projects, or who should do what would come from me initially, but someone else would suggest it louder than me, and they would get credit for the idea, but everyone would be doing what I want us to do.

So if I wanted to play manhunt, then I would suggest playing manhunt, a minute or so later the children around me would suggest manhunt and the idea would ripple around the group and we would end up playing manhunt, which is what I wanted.

Later I life I have continued using this strategy in secondary school, in work, in life, and when I am doing therapy. In therapy for example; part of the aim is to help people to make changes that perhaps they aren't so motivated to make. So I will suggest ideas that I would like clients to follow in a way that allows them to suggest the ideas to me that 'they want to do' later in the therapy session.