Hypnosis -- The Simple Truth Exposed

THE DEFINITION OF HYPNOTISM:
The state of hypnosis is a state of hyper-suggestibility where the conscious mind and the unconscious mind dissociate. It is a state of consciousness where the hypnotized person is more likely to believe the Hypnotherapist's suggestions.

You have been in the hypnotic state many times in the past without even realizing it. If you have ever watched a sad television show and reacted with a tear in your eye, you have been in the hypnotic state. You entered a state of increased suggestibility where you uncritically accepted the idea of sadness on the TV screen and reacted with a sad emotion, your tear. In other words, your reasoning ability, which is contained in your conscious mind, was bypassed. You did not reason that the show was just a play; you accepted the drama as being authentic. So you reacted with real emotion and shed a tear.

WHO CAN BE PLACED INTO HYPNOSIS?
It has been found that all normal people are hypnotizable to a greater or lesser extent. People with an I.Q. of under 70 generally cannot be hypnotized. People who are in an active state of psychosis by and large cannot be hypnotized. Most senile people are difficult or impossible to hypnotize. I have found in my own hypnotherapy practice dealing with a large number of retired people as old as 85, that self-hypnosis is a compelling and beneficial method for many people. The person's motivation 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 isn't required. A subject can be the lightest possible subject and still obtain all of the benefits from self-hypnosis that the deepest subjects will receive. I strongly feel that over the years, far too much importance has been placed on how deep a subject is. If the hypnotic subject is deep, it could be of benefit. This however, may not necessarily be the case. In fact, with the latest hypnotic techniques 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 a successful outcome.

ARE THERE ANY DANGERS IN HYPNOTISM?
There are essentially no dangers to the practice of self-hypnosis. It is impossible to "get stuck" in self-hypnosis. The most awful thing that could possibly happen while a client is in the hypnotic state is that she might fall into a natural state of sleep for twenty or thirty minutes. She would wake up rested and out of a hypnotic state.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HYPNOSIS:
There are many misnomers about self-hypnosis. Most of them can be attributed to stage and television shows. Ironically, it is because of the fact that the television can hypnotize you that these misnomers are so well-established in people's minds.

IS HYPNOTISM A STATE OF SLEEP?
The largest misconception about self-hypnosis is that it is sleep. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are asleep, you are unconscious. If you are unconscious, you cannot hear anything. If you cannot hear anything, then the hypnotherapist cannot help you. Hypnosis is a state of keen awareness. The subject is wide-awake and aware of everything around her. This misconception stems from the stage Hypnotist's use of the word "sleep" as corresponding to the hypnotic state. When the old time hypnotist swung a watch in front of his subject's face, he told his subject that she was getting "sleepy." Then he told his 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 feel very relaxed when in a state of hypnosis, as relaxation seems to be the essence of hypnosis. Some people feel heavy. Some people feel light. Some people have other 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 most definitely have.

CAN THE HYPNOTHERAPIST CONTROL ME?
NO! A hypnotherapist cannot force you to do anything against your will. There is always an observing ego state. Should the therapist make an offensive suggestion; this ego state would reject the suggestion. Additionally, you will probably come out of the hypnotic state if the hypnotherapist makes an offensive suggestion.

CAN THE HYPNOTIST MAKE ME DIVULGE MY SECRETS?
You won't give up any secrets while in self-hypnosis unless you want to do so. The hypnotherapist does not have any control over the subject. Quite the contrary, the subject has more control over herself since at this time she can directly communicate with her own unconscious mind. The subject can easily refuse any suggestion the hypnotherapist 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 exit the room at any time she chooses.

MUST PEOPLE TELL THE TRUTH WHEN IN SELF-HYPNOSIS?
NO! People can lie when in the state of self hypnosis.

DO HYPNOTISTS HAVE SPECIAL POWERS?
This is a common misconception. The hypnotherapist does not have any special powers, nor does he have any special vibrations with which to hypnotize you into the hypnotic state. Actually, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The hypnotherapist leads the subject into a state of hypnosis. In other words, the ability of self hypnosis is within the subject.

WHY DO PEOPLE FAIL TO REACH THEIR GOALS WHEN USING HYPNOTISM?
Perhaps the biggest reason for the failure to reach one's goals through hypnotherapy is an insufficient amount of practice where self-hypnosis is concerned.

The most common reason for the return of a symptom or "relapse" is the premature discontinuance of self-hypnosis with the Hypno-therapist or recorded program. While self-hypnosis is important, it is generally the hetero-hypnosis with the hypnotherapist or hypnosis recording which has the greatest impact upon the unconscious mind.

This is because of the training and experience that the hypnotherapist has vs. the lack of training and experience of the client. Some people are penny wise and pound-foolish. They mentally set an amount of time that they are willing to spend for help. And then they prematurely stop 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 positive changes, then it is priceless and it should be continued. For this reason it is wise 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 basis. Ultimately, YOUR SUCCESS IS UP TO YOU!

WILL I BE BETTER OFF HIRING A HYPNOTIST, OR WILL PURCHASING A RECORDED PROGRAM WORK BETTER?
That is an excellent question. Normally I would recommend that you use the services of a reputable hypnotherapist. The reason is that by meeting with you, a good hypnotherapist / 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 the senses to make sense out of it and react to it.

In my opinion, ninety-nine percent of the recorded self-hypnosis tapes available today are strictly Traditional Hypnosis, and are made up of only one or maybe two sessions of it at that. Traditional Hypnosis is nothing more than a set of direct suggestions: "If you eat a brownie you will vomit." "You will not have cravings," and so forth. This technology has a very poor track record of success because the people in our generation have been taught to question everything they are told. 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.

That being said, having personalized sessions with any hypnotherapist / NLP'er who has enough experience to be able to actually help you can be very expensive. There are some hypnotic programs based on Ericksonian Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) that have overcome those shortcomings. They've done this by using a mix of NLP, Traditional Hypnosis, Ericksonian Hypnosis, And the highly regarded Video Hypnosis technology.

These are all modalities that are designed to eliminate the resistance factor. In 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 have created a problem, to eliminate it!

Look for vendors who offer these technologies in multi-session products. These are programs that generally have six to eight different hypnosis sessions, so you are exposed to a broad range of techniques. It takes a lot of work to script and record this type of program, but the high success rates achieved are well worth the work.

Stay away from the "one size fits all" -- "do-or-die" self-hypnosis CDs and downloads. Many are lured in by these tapes because they are very cheap, usually under $10.00. But is it cheap if it just wastes your valuable time and does not work?

If you buy something and it does not work, then you get mistrustful and start to expect the next approach to fail. And you get what you expect. Do you really think that the same exact suggestions will work for everyone? Do you think that they will work for you? Do you typically do exactly as you are told to do? Or do you feel the strong desire to do the opposite of what you are told to do?

Alan B. Densky, CH is certified by the NGH. He authored four books and dozens of articles on hypnotherapy and NLP. He is the developer of the Video Self Hypnosis Technology, which was perfected for weight loss and smoke cessation. Visit his Neuro-VISION Self Hypnosis website for FREE hypnosis articles, newsletters, and MP3s.