Common Questions

What is hypnosis?
How does hypnosis work?
Can I be hypnotized?
Hypnotic myths?
What is stage hypnosis?
How it feels to be hypnotized?


What is hypnosis?
Most people are use to the image of hypnosis that is portrayed in the movies and on the television. This is a far cry from the actual state of hypnosis.

Hypnosis is a natural state of mind that each of us experience every single day. Have you ever found yourself engaged by a project that focused all your attention on the task at hand and time seemed to fly by?

Have you ever tried to speak with somebody who was working behind a computer keyboard and you had trouble getting his or her attention? That is a natural state of hypnosis.


How does hypnosis work?
Hypnotic change works through the power of suggestion. In order to fully understand the how, it's important to discuss the mechanics of your conscious and subconscious state.

Each day we fluctuate between the conscious and subconscious state of mind.

Recall the last time you operated your vehicle. Perhaps it was while you were going to work, shopping or to the doctor's office. Think about that trip. Do you recall the details of that drive? I doubt it. Most people do not consciously drive their vehicles.

For most people driving is something done in our unconscious mind. You don't say to yourself, "I must put the vehicle in gear, release the parking brake, check over my shoulder for oncoming traffic, signal to turn left, release the steering wheel to right the vehicle and stay in this lane."

Driving is typically done unconsciously. Your subconscious is aware of everything that is happening but consciously your thinking about things you need to do, thinking of things you want to watch on television later, or things you wished you would have said or done.

We tend to multitask, all day long. We easily and naturally move between the conscious to the subconscious.

Can I be hypnotized?
Some people say, "hypnosis sounds wonderful but I don't think I can be hypnotized!" Well, they may be surprised to learn that they already experience hypnosis on a daily basis. Let us look at examples of daily hypnosis.

Have you ever found yourself completely immersed in an activity to the exclusion of everything else? That is a natural trance state.

Common examples of this are:
-  while watching a movie and becoming transfixed in the plot
- reading a book and been so transfixed that you did not hear someone come in and speak with you
- driving down the freeway and experiencing highway hypnosis

Hypnosis is not witchcraft, manipulation or magic. It simply is a tool that will allow you to tap into the power of your mind.


Hypnotic myths?
Some people erroneously believe that in order to be hypnotized you must be weak willed. Numerous studies have shown that hypnotizability is completely unrelated to that characteristic. Hypnotizability has nothing to do with gullibility, submissiveness, imagination or being weak willed.

In fact, the stronger your will, the better your concentration, the faster the easier you go into a trance state.

Some people believe that in order to be hypnotized you must put forth effort. Studies have shown this is also incorrect. Most hypnotized people say, "It just happened."

In fact, often times, if people are having trouble experiencing hypnosis it is because they are trying to hard. It's when they relax and try less, hypnosis happens!

What is stage hypnosis?
Stage hypnosis is hypnosis used for entertainment purposes. A stage hypnotist employs some of the same relaxation techniques as a hypnotherapist (hypnotherapy is hypnosis used for therapeutic purposes such as smoking cessation, weight loss, pain control, etc.), but the suggestions given to subjects on stage are for demonstration and entertainment purposes.

How it feels to be hypnotized?
I'm sure you have seen zombie-like characters in the movies and on television who are supposedly in a hypnotic state of mind. This common misconception can create resistance for those who are being hypnotized for the first time.

It can be hard to allow yourself to relax if you think that under hypnosis you surrender all control of your behaviors to the hypnotist.

In fact, when you are hypnotized, you are in more control than when you're in the normal daily state. You become internally focused, and your surrounding environment becomes less important and insignificant.

If for any reason there were an emergency or your attention was needed, you would immediately emerge yourself to respond appropriately.

Emerge means to come to a full waking state.

People in a hypnotized state may appear to be asleep, but the biological state of sleep is very different from hypnosis.

While your body is relaxed, your mind will be fully alert and aware of the suggestions it is receiving. All outside stimulus will become irrelevant. Your focus will be directly on the words of the suggestions you are receiving and your breathing will be light and rhythmic.

You may have a distorted sense of time. You may feel like you have been in hypnosis for just a couple minutes, even if it has been sixty to ninety minutes.