Truths and Myths About Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a highly misunderstood practice. When you ask most people what they think hypnosis is, their answer strongly resembles a stage act, forcing a person to do things against their will.

Hypnosis is a state of consciousness. You hear what is being said and you are aware of what is happening. When in the hypnotic state you can talk, feel, hear, taste and smell. All five senses can be distorted, increased, decreased, but they are active.

In hypnosis you have greater control over their mind and body. You can control and relive pain, remember past experiences long forgotten to every day consciousness; creative talents and abilities never before experienced can be available to you.
When in hypnosis your powers of concentration are increased. The more you concentrate on something the more real it becomes for you. Consequently, it has more effect on your life and behaviour

TRUTH: Hypnosis is a safe and natural process
MYTH: Hypnosis is dangerous

We hypnotize ourselves every day without any conscious effort by moving into four primary brain-wave patterns: alpha, beta, theta and delta, which determine our state of consciousness:

1. Beta state we are fully conscious and aware and spend most of our waking time in this state.

2. Alpha state our brain activity slows; we experience deep relaxation and heightened creativity. This state produces hypnosis or deep meditation. We slip in and out of the alpha state many times throughout the day, where we are alert but feel detached.

3. Theta state, brain activity slows even more. We experience this just before we fall asleep and before we wake.

4. Delta state is the deep-sleep state.

When you go to bed to sleep, you put your head on the pillow, close your eyes and begin moving into an altered state of consciousness. You may be in that state for a minute or twenty minutes or even an hour before you move into a natural state of sleep, which is the delta state.

Hypnosis is in not a new practice. Stone carvings of sleep temples have been found dating back as far as 1000 B.C. In these temples, high priestesses/priests put worshippers to "sleep¡± and then given the suggestion that while they slept, some god or entity would come to them and they would be healed, and they usually were. Sleep temples became very popular with the Greeks and Romans from 400 to 100 B.C.

Hypnotic techniques continued to be used throughout the centuries. From the late 1700s, Dr. Mesmer, an Austrian physician, and in the mid-1800s, Dr Braid and two other physicians, Dr. James Esdaile and Dr. John Elliotson, used hypnosis in their medical practices in England.

During World War II and the Korean War, hypnosis was used in the treatment of battle fatigue and for pain control. Now, in the twenty-first century, hypnosis is more widely used by those in the healing professions, such as doctors, dentists, psychologists, counsellors, pastors and social workers.

TRUTH: The hypnotherapist is merely a guide or teacher who facilitates you into the hypnotic trance
MYTH: The hypnotist has mystical powers over you

The hypnotherapist has no mystical power. The power she / he has is their ability to communicate on a dynamic level. The ability to be hypnotised is normal and natural. Hypnosis is nothing other than an altered state of consciousness in which you are guided with suggestions. Unless you are 1 in 10 who easily achieves a deep level trance the chances are you will remain aware of everything that is going on around you.

This does not mean that you are not hypnotised, it simple means that you are experiencing a level of trance somewhere between light and medium. You still respond to the suggestions no matter what level you go to. Normally as you are conditioned you continue to go a little deeper each time you work with trance until you accomplish your natural level. You can practise self-hypnosis to condition yourself or use a tape at home. There is no danger that you will not wake up whatever level of trance you go into. You will eventually wake up as if you were waking form a deep sleep and upon full awakening you will feel more relaxed, at ease and at peace, than before going into hypnosis.

TRUTH: The only way you can be hypnotized is if you are willing to be, you are in control at all times.
MYTH: The hypnotist takes control of your mind

When you are hypnotized, you are not unconscious but within one of the altered states of consciousness. When you are in an altered state, the subconscious mind is in charge. The conscious mind is still there, but narrowed down to the point that the subconscious mind takes over. You must understand that all of hypnosis is self-hypnosis, the hypnotherapist does not take control over you and you are in control at all times.

When you're in a hypnotic state, no matter how deep and given a suggestion that would be against your will, morality, self-preservation or religious beliefs, you would do one of two things. You would either refuse to comply and reject the suggestion or come completely out of the hypnotic state and challenge the hypnotherapist.
Remember your free will is one of the most powerful things you have. You cannot be hypnotised against your will and the hypnotherapist cannot force you to do anything against your will.

TRUTH: Stage hypnosis is for fun and entertainment, if it against your will you will not do it
MYTH: Hypnosis forces people act silly on stage

Stage hypnosis is not the same as clinical hypnosis, but unfortunately it is the only form most people are familiar with. People who attend stage hypnosis are there for the purposes of enjoyment and entertainment.

When the hypnotist asks for volunteers, people who raise their hand are already agreeing to follow the hypnotist's suggestions. If it against your will you will not do it. Some people do not stop smoking with hypnosis because they do not really want to whereas others who want to do.

TRUTH: Hypnosis is a state of consciousness, a safe and non-invasive process
MYTH: I will be unconscious, let out secrets and not remember anything when in trance.

Remember hypnosis is a state of consciousness. You are able to see things more clearly, from a more knowledgeable, more relaxed and more spiritual point of view. You are able to rise above the problems and fears that once consumed and controlled you. On that level, when your perceptions change, you become free from that problem, and even though the conditions and circumstances remain the same, you are no longer affected by it.

The ego cannot be detached whilst in hypnosis, so no secrets will come out while in a trance. You would not do anything you would not normally do or want to do, if you felt relaxed about the situation.

TRUTH: Sometimes the suggestions will last a lifetime and at other times suggestions
will need to be repeated
MYTH: hypnotic suggestions are temporary

How long a suggestion lasts with you depends on many factors: How highly motivated you are. What type of relationship existed between you and the hypnotherapist? The kind of suggestion that was given. How strong were the your defences. How you go into hypnosis.

No two people respond alike. Some people who are highly motivated stop smoking after one session and some after four sessions. Some people never stop because they enjoy smoking more than they fear the possible consequences of smoking.
Sometimes the suggestions given will last for a lifetime. While with others the suggestion has to be repeated a number of times before it becomes permanent.

TRUTH: Almost anyone can be hypnotised
MYTH: I can't be hypnotised

Once you overcome your apprehension, through understanding the truth about hypnosis and have rapport with the hypnotherapist, hypnosis is an easy experience. The more intelligent, strong willed and imaginative you are, the easier it is for you to experience hypnosis and the better subject you will be.

There are many altered states of consciousness, it's a natural phenomenon and your mind already knows how to do it. Without realizing it you experience forms of self-hypnosis on a daily basis.

Have you ever become so engrossed in reading a book that the time flew by or you missed your train stop! Have you ever been driving your car, just staring ahead of you, and suddenly realized you passed your exit? You were driving along and, without realizing it, moved into an altered state of consciousness. Suddenly, you jumped back into a fully conscious state and realized that you missed your exit entirely.

Hypnosis is a natural phenomenon; your conscious mind focuses on something else. Sometimes you may drive somewhere and realize that you don't even remember how you got there, or, how many traffic lights you passed on the way home?

Daydreaming is another form of self-hypnosis. Have you ever just stared at someone familiar and not recognised him or her? That's an altered state of consciousness. The only danger of being in an altered state is not being aware of what messages you may be sending directly into your subconscious mind.

If, while staring off into space, you begin telling yourself negative messages, such as "I don't know what's wrong with me; I can't seem to do anything right" or "I'm not happy" or "Life is miserable", these things are going directly into the subconscious mind because the conscious is narrowed down to a point that it is not rationalizing or contradicting these thoughts.

The subconscious mind accepts statements as truth and when you come out of the altered state you begin to respond to the negative programming by feeling bad or depressed, and you don't even realize why.