Your first views of hypnosis or hypnotherapy and the role of the hypnotist have probably been shaped by the portrayal of villains, such as Svengali, in Hollywood films where hypnosis is a mysterious and peculiar phenomenon that is used to control people to reveal their darkest secrets. However, the truth is hypnosis is nothing like this. Hypnosis occurs naturally and is a simple state or process that almost any one of us does or can experience. The portrayal of hypnosis on stage, TV or film is such that it needs further explanation when it is used to provide therapeutic interventions.
You may have questions about hypnosis and hypnotherapy around whether you will lose control, that you may experience thoughts or feelings suggested by the hypnotherapist or that you will cluck like a chicken when you are walking around your local supermarket looking for something for dinner tonight. The lack of understanding about the subject and its use causes much confusion, which is compounded by contemporary and historic portrayals.
To consider how hypnosis works, think about two states of mind. One state is where you are completely aware and thinking about what is happening around you in a very conscious way, the other is where your actions, thoughts and feelings are happening automatically without being consciously aware of every aspect. This latter state is where you make decisions that affect your emotions and beliefs.
When hypnotherapy is used in a professional manner, it is used to help people to make the right decisions and create the best beliefs for them. It can help them to feel better and obtain better results. This is seen as a primary benefit in self-hypnosis.
So, to answer some questions:
Do I lose control when I am under hypnosis?
No. This is a common misconception about hypnosis. No matter how good a hypnotists purports to be nobody can be hypnotised against their will. Hypnosis is not about the hypnotist gaining control over you. The therapeutic relationship is about working with you so that you can be empowered to create the changes that you feel are necessary in your life. Nobody can be forced to do anything against their will. The misconception of being controlled appears to originate from stage hypnosis, which actually involves people doing exactly what they want to be doing for pleasure or to gain acceptance from the audience.
No hypnotist can tell you to do something against your will; therefore, if you would normally reject to undertake a particularly task, then you would still refuse to accept the suggestion under hypnosis. Hypnosis and hypnotherapy are about empowerment and works with your incredible capacity for change.
Will I be asleep when I am hypnotised?
While the word ‘hypnosis’ comes from the ancient Greek word ‘hypnos’ meaning sleep, you will not be asleep during hypnosis. Hypnosis is generally a very relaxed state but it is not sleep. After a session of hypnosis many people do not believe that they were hypnotised at all but that comes from misconceptions about just what it means to be in a ‘trance’.
Will I be able to wake up and come out of the trance?
Hypnosis is not about control. If you want to come out of hypnosis, then you can simply choose to do so. Even if the hypnotherapist disappeared out of the room or slipped and knocked themselves out, you would simply come back to full consciousness in your own time. Each day we go in and out of hypnosis and other altered states of consciousness (e.g. daydreaming) many times, but we always come back out of them easily and naturally.
Will I disclose secret information under hypnosis?
No. You cannot be forced to say or do anything under hypnosis that you do not want to. Throughout hypnosis, you are completely in control and empowered.
Can anyone be hypnotised?
Everyone is different. Some people will relax easier than others. Equally, some people go into hypnosis more quickly and more deeply than others. Most people can go into at least a light trance and with most therapeutic work can be undertaken without necessarily going into a deep trance. Therefore, every one of us can benefit from hypnotherapy to some extent.
What about all the different words? What is the difference between hypnosis and hypnotism for instance?
As with anything these days, there are many different words used from lay terms through to technical and scientific terms. Hypnosis and hypnotism basically refer to the same thing. Hypnotherapy is the therapeutic use of hypnosis or hypnosis used in a clinical setting as opposed to say stage hypnosis. Hypnosis is not a therapy in itself. Rather, a therapy is conducted in hypnosis, which is known as hypnotherapy. Hypnosis is a state of relaxation and concentration at one with the state of heightened awareness induced by suggestion.
What is hypnosis?
We experience trance states during the course of our lives at various times. Daily, when passing into our slumber sleep involves a kind of trance state. The experience of hypnosis is similar; however, you are neither asleep nor awake, so many people refer to it as a bit like daydreaming with a pleasant feeling of deep relaxation thrown in. Hypnosis is a different state of consciousness which you can naturally enter so that, for therapeutic purposes (hypnotherapy), beneficial corrections may be given directly to your unconscious mind by the hypnotherapist.
In this way, hypnosis is an effective way of making contact with our inner (unconscious) mind, which is both a reservoir of unrecognised potential and knowledge as well as being the unwitting source of many of our problems.
Realistically no-one can be hypnotised against their will and even when hypnotised, a person can still reject any suggestion. Thus hypnotherapy is a state of purposeful co-operation that can reap beneficial results.
What is hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is using the state of hypnosis to treat a variety of medical and psychological problems. It is estimated that 85% of people will respond at some level to clinical hypnotherapy. It may even succeed where other more conventional methods of treatment have not produced the desired result. When carried out by a trained and qualified hypnotherapist the benefits can be long lasting and often permanent. It is natural and safe, with no known harmful side effects.
Hypnotherapy makes use of the bicameral nature of the functioning brain and the conscious / unconscious processes therein. At its simplest level the unconscious mind becomes (through our life experience) the repository of our conditioned experience, while the conscious mind is the waking mind dealing with appraisal and decision making. In hypnotherapy the critical faculties of the conscious mind are sidestepped (through the hypnotic condition) and new ideas and ‘suggestions’ placed directly into the uncritical unconscious mind to effect beneficial changes when you are back in the waking state.
What are the clinical applications of hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is medically accepted to benefit the following and more: unwanted habits – smoking, nail biting; bed wetting; weight control and encourage healthy eating; improve work, study, sporting performance; boost self-confidence and achieving potential; phobias, compulsions, emotional problems, sleep problems, inhibitions, worries, reduce stress, tension and blood pressure, stomach problems, IBS, gynaecological problems – PMT, psychogenic infertility, obstetrics (painless childbirth), skin problems, pain control, minor surgery, dentistry, arthritic pains, aches and pains, some sexual problems.
Hypnotherapy can be useful where your problem is due to habitual conditioning (habit formation), accumulated anxiety or stress or by unresolved events from your past. Hypnotherapy can be used to access and reprogramme these complexes, which are being sustained and remain active at the unconscious level.
When is hypnotherapy not recommended?
Hypnotherapy is not generally advisable for anyone who is very young, mentally disturbed or psychotic patients. Some psychiatric professionals do use hypnotherapy in conjunction with orthodox treatments for patients with such conditions, but always within an institutional environment where other forms of treatment are also available.
Patients suffering from suicidal tendencies, schizophrenia, bipolar conditions, senility, drug or alcohol psychosis, pathological personalities or manic depression are generally advised not to undergo hypnotherapy.
While hypnotherapy is useful in alleviating mild cases of depression, it is contra-indicated for bipolar conditions and manic depression. It is also contraindicated in some cases of epilepsy.
What will happen in a hypnotherapy session?
The hypnotherapist will take detailed history and other information from you and with some conditions may request permission from your doctor before undertaking hypnotherapy. You will be asked what you would like to see or feel at the end of your sessions and consider your goal.
Using a range of different techniques your hypnotherapist will relax you, make you feel comfortable and work with you towards achieving your goal.
After a session you may feel uplifted, lighter and very relaxed. Often change is very subtle, as your hypnotherapist will be working with your subconscious mind, and you may just notice a very positive shift in how you are feeling.
How many sessions will I need?
Every hypnotherapist has their own way of approaching different symptoms, depending on their training and experience. As few as three sessions can make a difference; however, on average between six and eight sessions should be expected, whereas one extended session may be sufficient to cease smoking.
Do I need to change my medication or stop my health treatment?
Your hypnotherapist will not suggest that you come off prescribed medication or cease medical treatment that you are currently engaged in. If your symptoms change, improve or worsen, you should seek medical advise from your GP. It is also wise if you have or suffer from any medical condition that you receive appropriate medical care and seek approval from your GP before undergoing hypnotherapy. If you are in any doubt of your health, please contact your GP or other health care provider as appropriate to the seriousness of your condition.
Other questions?
Of course it is impossible to cover every question that you may have about hypnosis and hypnotherapy; therefore, if you have any unanswered questions before you book a session, then get in touch.
