Myths about Hypnosis

A hypnotist has magical powers:

This is completely false. A hypnotist has no special powers. However, the skillful Hypnotist may help you attain a level of trance that may be more difficult to achieve by yourself.

Only weak minded people can be hypnotised:

False. In fact, the opposite is the truth. The more intelligent you are the easier it is to be hypnotised. However, be mindful of the difference between intelligence and education. It may be true that everyone who is educated MAY be intelligent. But, it is certainly not true that everyone who is not educated is not intelligent!..... In certain cases of mental disability, hypnosis is impossible. Also, people under the influence of alcohol or certain mind altering drugs may also find it difficult to achieve a satifactory level of trance.

Under hypnosis you are unconscious:

Not true at all. Under Hypnosis you are in a heightened state of awareness, completely aware of yourself and surroundings. You will be able to hear, understand and respond to everything within the session.

You can get stuck in Hypnosis:

Completely false. Even if the hypnotist left the room after putting you into deep Hypnotic trance, you will either open your eyes after not hearing his voice for a while or you will slip into a brief sleep and awaken normally.

People who are in a hypnotic trance will reveal secrets or say things they will regret.

When someone is in a hypnotic trance (deep relaxation) they can hear every word the Hypnotist is saying and they can choose how they want to respond. The person in trance always remains in full control. When you see “stage hypnosis” and audience members are jumping about the stage clucking like chickens – remember that they volunteered to do that in full knowledge that they would be expected to do something out of the ordinary.

Sometimes hypnotherapy is used for the purpose of revealing repressed memories or information. Persons undergoing hypnosis for those reasons often reach deeper trance states than normally used in hypnosis. They are actively seeking to reveal the repressed information. Under ordinary conditions, a hypnotherapist cannot make someone reveal any information against their will.

You can be hypnotised against your will.

All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. A French pharmacist named Emile Coue made that statement in the early 1900’s. Today every student and practitioner of hypnotherapy

knows this as a core truth. You have to want to be hypnotized before a trance state can be achieved. There are methods for inducing a trance (deep relaxation) in resistant subjects; however, even those methods are not effective unless you intend to be hypnotized.

I didn’t get hypnotised, I heard every word!

A state of deep relaxation means that you are relatively free of the usual busy thought-traffic that bombards your mind in everyday consciousness. Without all the usual distracting clutter, your mind is able to direct itself and focus much more clearly. As you achieve relaxation, the hypnotherapist might suggest that you imagine yourself in your favourite place, at your favourite time of year. In a relaxed state, you are able to do this with ease and believability. In other words, you can hear the birds around you or feel the warmth of the midday sun. The hypnotherapist merely guides your journey. When hypnosis is used for therapeutic purposes such as to stop smoking, the therapist uses phrases (suggestions) based on what you have stated as a desired outcome (“you enjoy breathing deeply”, “you feel calm throughout the day”, etc.). You will hear these phrases with a depth of focus not normally accessible in the ordinary waking state.

Hopefully you now have a better understanding of hypnosis. Remember – “all hypnosis is self hypnosis”. You are always in control.