FAQ About Hypnosis
What Is Hypnosis?
The National Cancer Institute defines hypnosis as a trance-like state in which a person becomes more aware and focused on particular thoughts, feelings, images, sensations, or behaviors. While under hypnosis, a person may feel calm, relaxed, and more open to suggestion. Hypnosis is usually done with the help of a specially trained hypnotist. It may be used to help relieve stress, anxiety, and pain, and to help a person quit smoking or lose weight.
How Does Hypnosis Work?
Hypnosis is a focused state of mind. A hypnotist coaches a person to enter a state of profound relaxation and clear concentration, allowing the mind to better understand and achieve insights into their past and current behavior. Hypnosis facilitates the process of helping people discover and better understand the subconscious reasons for their feelings, behaviors, or habits that are negatively impacting their lives. Hypnosis allows you to safely bypass the mind’s normal “comparing mechanism” (which is the part of the mind that compares new information with old information already stored in the subconscious mind) so that information entering the mind can go right into the subconscious mind and safely guide our limiting beliefs and habits so we can make powerful, positive and healthy changes!
Hypnotic techniques can include guided relaxation, intense and focused attention to achieve a heightened state of awareness. In this naturally occurring hypnotic state, a person can successfully fully focus their attention, with the help of a trained hypnotist, on specific thoughts or tasks. The hypnotic state can allow people to explore painful thoughts, feelings, and memories they might be hidden from their conscious minds. In addition, hypnosis enables people to perceive some things differently. A trained and certified hypnotist can then coach a client to better understand the underlying reasons that are causing the client’s problems. When these reasons are discovered and understood, tools and techniques of hypnosis can be used that help the client release the issues and relearn a new positive, healthy and successful way of subconscious thinking.
Do You Become Unconscious When Hypnotized?
No! You will hear everything the hypnotist says and you’ll remember everything. We want you to remember because your changes will come from insight you get during the sessions. You always maintain control of your thoughts and actions.
Do You Go To Sleep When You Are In Hypnosis?
Sleep is not a part of hypnosis and hypnosis is not sleep. Your hypnotherapist does not want you to go to sleep! Using the word “sleep” in a hypnosis session is usually avoided as it is misleading. Think of the word sleep as a fast way of saying “go deeply relaxed”. If you do go to sleep during a hypnosis session, your hypnotist will have to wake you up to continue your session.
Can Anyone Be Hypnotized?
Most all people can be hypnotized by a skilled hypnotist. It is generally accepted in the hypnosis profession that an experienced and skilled hypnotist will be successful at inducing the level of hypnosis needed. All you have to do is follow very easy instructions and be of normal intelligence and you’ll go right into a level of hypnosis needed to do all the processes necessary to get the changes you want.
Is Hypnosis Safe?
Yes, hypnosis is safe. Hypnosis has been accepted by the American Medical Association since 1958 and is used for all sorts of issues such as helping with behavior issues, finding the causes of depression, anxiety and bad habits. The list of situations that can be successfully addressed by hypnosis and hypnotherapy is long!
Can You Get Stuck In Hypnosis?
No. No one has ever been “stuck” in hypnosis.
Can My Hypnotist Make Me Do Something I Don’t Want To Do?
No. You are always in control. If a hypnotist were ever to give you a suggestion that you were morally or ethically opposed to, you would not comply and would just emerge from hypnosis immediately. And if a hypnotist gives you a suggestion that just isn’t one you want, it just won’t have any affect on you.
Can Hypnosis Help Improve Relationships?
Using Hypnosis for relationship issues is about becoming more relaxed, accepting, and being compassionate with yourself and your loved ones. Hypnosis can work well when wanting to get along with family members, co-workers or others. If your parents, sisters and brothers, cousins, your children, your neighbors, your boss or co-workers are your “problem relationships”, hypnosis can likely help you.
Can Hypnosis Improve Compassion And Understanding?
Hypnosis can help you be more accepting, tolerant and understanding just where you need to be in your relationship. It can also give you courage to speak up and properly guide you behavior.
Can Hypnosis Help Stop Negative Patterns Of Fighting And Arguing?
Hypnosis can help you to break old negative patterns such as yelling and verbally attacking or always retreating and crying and giving in. It can help you to be courageous and stand strong when you need to.
How does hypnosis affect behavior?
Behavior is affected when beliefs shift. Beliefs shift when you rewire your subconscious mind. Hypnosis is one of the best ways to quickly, effectively and safely bypass the limits of your conscious mind (which acts as a gatekeeper of information), and gain access to the subconscious mind. This is where the real changes take place.
Why is hypnosis so fast and effective?
Hypnosis works mainly with the subconscious mind. Changes made in the subconscious happen quickly and sustainably. Hypnotherapy by-passes the conscious mind’s resistance to new information.
How long do hypnosis sessions take?
Hypnosis can be utilized to help some people in as little as two sessions. More involved and complex situations may take four to six sessions to achieve your desired results. And, of course, after you complete your hypnosis sessions, you can always schedule an additional session or two to brush up if a new issue arises.
What is the client’s role in the process?
A client’s role is to be a motivated and active participant in addressing needed changes. It is not a passive role. You do not “go to sleep” and “wake up” differently. You are awake and alert throughout the entire session, partnering with your hypnotist to discover the root cause of your limiting thoughts or behaviors.