Hypnosis FAQs

What is hypnosis?

Hypnosis is a very normal and natural altered state of consciousness (an altered state of awareness), one we all experience from time to time in which the mind remains clear, alert and focused on something. Have you ever "become really absorbed" while watching TV? Or driven to work on "auto pilot?" That's the same kind of altered state as hypnosis.

Some misconceptions about hypnosis are that it's a frightening or eerie state, or that it feels very weird, but it's actually very normal and very pleasant. Some people ask if they've really been hypnotised, just because it feels like such a normal state and they were expecting something very strange. The zombie-type states you see depicted in movies and on TV are pure fantasy.

As long as there has been human beings, there has been hypnosis.
We use this commonly occurring, and natural state of mind, unknowingly, all the time. It is just natural for us. For example, if you have ever watched a television program or movie and become really absorbed into the program, you were probably in a trance. This trance is what caused you to not hear your mother calling you to dinner, until she raised her voice for the third time. (Advertisers understand this. They use television programs to induce a hypnotic trance and then provide you hypnotic suggestions, called commercials!)

Another common example of this naturally occurring state of mind
When you are driving down the road, with your mind focused on some other task (a day dream perhaps), and next thing you know, you have passed your next turn. That is called "highway hypnosis".

The U.S. government defines hypnosis as having two parts:
(1) the bypass of the critical factor, and (2) the establishment of acceptable selective thinking.

This seems to be a useful and accurate definition of hypnosis
This "bypass of the critical factor" simply means the release of limiting beliefs. For example, the use of hypnosis for anesthesia has been accepted by the American Medical Association since 1958. It is well established to be a fact that hypnosis is useful for creating anesthesia. However, if you have the limiting belief that the mind cannot create a powerful anesthesia, you will be unable to do so. However, in hypnosis, this limiting belief can be bypassed, and hypnotic anesthesia can be quickly created. "The establishment of acceptable selective thinking," the second part of the definition, refers to the process of guiding someone into hypnosis by using a hypnotic induction. The establishment of selective thinking creates the mental environment or state of mind that enables you to reject limiting beliefs (that you picked up by living in our society), so that you can accept new more empowering ones.

The hypnotic state is an optimum state for making changes in your life
You can set aside limiting beliefs that may have been preventing you from moving toward a more healthy, and happy you.

So now you know that you can be hypnotized
You have done it literally thousands of times. You did it yourself when you were daydreaming and missed that turn (self-hypnosis), you have been hypnotized when you enjoyed a television program (being hypnotized by someone else), and you have followed hypnotic and post-hypnotic suggestions when you preferred some brand name that you saw repeatedly on television (hypnotic compounding of suggestion).

What are the benefits of hypnosis?

Have you ever tried to change a habit, only to find your subconscious resisting? Hypnosis has a good track record in empowering people to get the subconscious to accept their conscious decisions, especially when facilitated by someone who is competently trained in the art of hypnosis.

Diets work on the body, but not on the mind. Most people who lose weight end up finding the pounds they lose within two years or less, because of subconscious resistance to change. Also, many smokers who make New Years Resolutions to quit smoking find their resolutions literally going up in smoke.

Hypnosis can be helpful in overcoming undesired habits (such as quitting smoking or reducing), managing stress, enhancing job performance, improving at sports, increasing self-motivation and self-confidence, reducing anxieties (such as fear of flying), and with appropriate medical referral and/or supervision, hypnosis can often be helpful in reducing pain and/or in helping cancer patients or patients of other major diseases.

How can hypnosis be used to quit smoking or manage weight?

Many roads lead from San Francisco to New York; likewise we have many ways to successfully help someone quit smoking. One important prerequisite remains: The client must CHOOSE to change, otherwise long-term success is very unlikely. This being said, I'll provide my own approach below; but realize that other hypnotherapists may employ other approaches that are also successful.

I start with a positive approach, based on the client identifying the benefits of change. Hypnosis helps to sell the benefits to the subconscious before I give any suggestions regarding change.

Some people use substitutes for old smoking triggers, and some do not. I recommend one deep breath, as it has no calories and no side effects. It is far better for the CONSCIOUS mind to choose the substitute than for the subconscious, as one addiction might be traded for another. Furthermore, if the client associates pleasure with smoking, he/she needs to make a conscious decision to choose another way of having pleasure in a healthy manner - or risk backsliding.

Can hypnosis be used to reduce pain and/or suffering from illness?

Pain is a warning that something is wrong with the body, and the cause should be diagnosed by someone qualified to do so. You should only seek hypnotherapy for pain management after receiving the appropriate referral from your primary health care professional. Any competent hypnotherapy instructor emphasizes to his or her students the importance of requiring a written referral from an examining physician before using hypnosis to reduce pain or other physical symptoms.