Just What Is The Simple Truth About Hypnosis?

Thanks to stage and television, most people have a lot of misconceptions about h
ypnosis. That's too bad because hypnotherapy is a modality that can help many pe
ople to make the changes that they've been struggling with. So I'm going to clar
ify just what the simple truths are about hypnosis.
The Definition Of Self Hypnosis:
Hypnotism is a state of hyper-suggestibility where the conscious mind and the su
bconscious dissociate. It is a state of consciousness where the hypnotized clien
t is more likely to agree to the Hypnotist's suggestions.
You have been in hypnosis many times in your life without even realizing it. If
you've ever watched a sad television show and reacted with a tear in your eye, y
ou have been in the hypnotic state. You entered a state of amplified suggestibil
ity where you uncritically accepted the suggestion of gloom on the TV screen and
reacted with a sad emotion, your tear. In other words, your ability to reason,
which is controlled by your conscious mind, was bypassed. You did not reason tha
t the show was just a play; you accepted the action as being genuine. So you rea
cted with real passion and shed a tear.
Who Can Be Placed In Hypnosis?
Hypnotherapists have found that all normal people are hypnotizable to a greater
or lesser extent. Subjects with less than a 70 I.Q. generally can't be hypnotize
d. People who are actively psychotic by and large cannot be hypnotized. Most sen
ile people are difficult to hypnotize. I have found in my own hypnotherapy pract
ice dealing with a large number of retired people up to 85 years of age, that se
lf hypnosis is a potent and beneficial technique for most people. A person's mot
ivation is the key to his or her success.
Do I Have To Be A "Deep" Subject For Success?
For the curative applications of self hypnosis we most often deal with, hypnotic
depth of any kind is not required. You can be the lightest possible subject and
still obtain all of the benefits from self hypnosis that the deepest subjects w
ill obtain. I believe that over the years, far too much importance has been plac
ed on how deep a subject is. If the hypnotic subject is deep, it could be of ben
efit. This however, may not necessarily be the case. In fact, with the latest hy
pnotic methods like Ericksonian self hypnosis and state of the art "NLP" (Neuro-
Linguistic Programming), hypnotic depth is one of the least imperative aspects,
which contribute to success.
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Are There Any Dangers In Self Hypnosis?
There are on the whole no dangers to the practice of self hypnosis. It is imposs
ible to "get stuck" in self hypnosis. The most awful thing that could possibly h
appen while a patient is in the hypnotic state is that she might fall into a nat
ural state of sleep for 20 or 30 minutes. She would wake up rested and no longer
in a state of self-hypnosis.
Misconceptions About The Hypnotic State:
There are many misnomers about self hypnosis. Most of them can be attributed to
stage and television shows. As luck would have it, it's on account of the fact t
hat the television can hypnotize you that these misnomers are so strongly ingrai
ned in people's minds.
Is Self Hypnosis A State Of Sleep?
The largest misconception about self hypnosis is that it's a state of sleep. Not
anything could be further from the truth. If you are asleep, you are unconsciou
s. If you are unconscious, you cannot hear anything. If you cannot hear anything
, then the hypnotist cannot help you. Hypnosis is a state of keen awareness. The
subject is wide-awake and aware of everything around her. This misconception co
mes from the stage Hypnotist's use of the word "sleep" as equivalent to a state
of hypnosis. When the old time hypnotist swung a pocket watch in front of his su
bject's face, he told his subject that she was getting "sleepy." Then he told hi
s subject to "go to sleep." What he meant was to go into a hypnotic sleep, not a
natural sleep.
Is There A Hypnotized Feeling?
The second largest misconception is that there is a hypnotized feeling. There is
no hypnotized feeling. I repeat there is no hypnotized feeling. Most people fee
l very relaxed when in the hypnotic state, as relaxation seems to be the essence
of hypnosis. Some people feel heavy. Some people feel light. Some people have o
ther sensations and feelings. Other people have absolutely no feeling that they
are in a state of hypnosis, and believe they haven't been hypnotized when they m
ost definitely have.
Can The Hypnotherapist Control Me?
NO! The hypnotist cannot make you do anything against your will. There is always
an observing ego state. Should the therapist make an offensive suggestion; this
ego state would reject that suggestion. Additionally, you will probably come ou
t of the hypnotic state if the hypnotherapist makes an offensive suggestion.
Can The Therapist Force Me To Divulge My Secrets?
You will not give up any secrets while in a state of hypnosis unless you want to
do so. The hypnotist does not have any control over the subject. Quite the cont
rary, the subject has more control over herself since at this time she can direc
tly communicate with her own subconscious. The subject can easily decline any su
ggestion the hypnotist makes, no matter how simple or complicated the suggestion
might be. The subject can open her eyes, exit from the state of self hypnosis,
and walk out of the room at any time she chooses.
Must People Tell The Truth When In The Hypnotic State?
No! People can lie when in a state of self hypnosis.
Do Hypnotists Have Special Powers?
This is a common misnomer. The hypnotist does not have any special powers, nor d
oes he have any special vibrations with which to hypnotize you into the state of
hypnosis. Actually, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The hypnotist leads the subj
ect into a state of hypnotism. In other words, the ability of self hypnosis is w
ithin the subject.
Why Do People Fail To Reach Their Goals When Using Hypnosis?
Perhaps the largest reason for the failure to reach one's goals through self-hyp
nosis is an inadequate amount of practice where self-hypnosis is concerned.
The largest reason for the return of a symptom or "relapse" is the early discont
inuance of self hypnosis with the Hypnotherapist or recorded program. While self
-hypnosis is important, it is generally the hetero-hypnosis with the hypnotist o
r hypnosis recording which has the greatest impact upon the subconscious.
This is because of the training and experience that the hypnotist has vs. the la
ck of training and experience of the client. Some people are penny wise and poun
d-foolish. They mentally set an amount of time that they are willing to spend fo
r help. And then they prematurely cut off their sessions because; "I didn't lose
50 Lbs. in two days, so it isn't working."
If a therapeutic method is really helping one to make their desired changes, the
n it is priceless and it should be continued. It is for this reason that it is w
ise to have follow up self hypnosis sessions, even after a symptom seems to have
disappeared completely. Self-hypnosis should be an ongoing affair on a daily ba
sis. Ultimately, YOUR SUCCESS IS UP TO YOU!
Will I Be Better Off Hiring A Hypnotist, Or Will Purchasing A Recorded Program W
ork Better?
That is a wonderful question. Normally I would recommend that you employ the ser
vices of a reputable hypnotist. The reason is that by meeting with you, a good h
ypnotist / NLP'er will be able to customize his approach to your personality and
your favored representational system -- the way you favor taking in information
through your senses to make sense out of it and react to it.
In my opinion, ninety-nine percent of the recorded self hypnosis CDs available a
t this time are based on Traditional Hypnosis, and consist of only one or maybe
two sessions of it at that. Traditional Hypnosis is nothing more than a set of d
irect commands: "If you eat a brownie you'll barf." "You won't have cravings and
urges," etc.. This technology has an exceptionally poor track record of success
because the people in our generation have been trained to question everything.
That's why you, your friends, and your kids usually do the opposite of what they
are told to do. This is called a polarity response.
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That being said, having sessions with any hypnotist / NLP'er who has enough expe
rience to be able to actually help you can cost a great deal of money. There are
some hypnotic programs available on the Internet based on Ericksonian Hypnosis
and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) that have overcome those shortcomings. Th
ey've managed this by utilizing a mix of Ericksonian Hypnosis, NLP, Traditional
Hypnosis, and the highly regarded Video Hypnosis technology.
These are all methods that are designed to do away with the resistance factor. I
n fact, Video Hypnosis and the NLP technology that it's based on do not utilize
suggestion at all. These technologies rely on using the thought processes that h
ave created a problem, to eliminate it!
Look for vendors who offer these technologies in multi-session products. These a
re programs that generally have six to eight different hypnosis or NLP sessions,
so the subject is exposed to a broad range of technologies. It takes a lot of w
ork to make this type of program, but the high success rates achieved are well w
orth the effort.
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Stay away from the "one size fits all" -- "do-or-die" self hypnosis CDs and down
loads. Many are attracted to these programs because they are inexpensive, usuall
y under ten dollars. But is it cheap if it just wastes your valuable time and do
esn't work?
If you order a program and it doesn't work, then you get guarded and start to ex
pect the next approach to fail. And you get what you expect. Do you really think
that the same exact commands will work for everyone? Do you think that they wil
l work for you? Do you typically do exactly as you are told to do? Or do you usu
ally feel a desire to do the opposite of what you are told to do?