How does Hypnosis work exactly?

Ailsa Frank

Hypnotherapist

Focused pendulum and notebook in a calm room

Hypnosis does not literally open a hidden “subconscious mind” or switch off conscious thought. Current explanations focus on how attention, expectation, imagination and suggestion can influence a person’s experience while they remain an active participant.

Researchers still debate whether hypnosis is a distinct state of consciousness or a particular way of using ordinary cognitive processes. There is no single mechanism that explains every hypnotic response.

The short answer: focused attention and suggestion

During hypnosis, attention is directed towards a limited set of ideas, images or sensations while some competing distractions become less prominent. The practitioner then offers suggestions connected to an agreed aim.

A suggestion may invite somebody to imagine a sensation changing, rehearse a different response or focus on one aspect of an experience rather than another. Whether and how a person responds varies.

What happens to awareness?

People can become deeply absorbed, similar to the concentration experienced while reading, watching a film or imagining an event. This comparison describes absorption, not an identical brain state.

A person generally remains aware enough to communicate and make choices. Relaxation is common but not essential, and hypnosis is not the same as sleep, unconsciousness or loss of control.

Why can a response feel automatic?

Some hypnotic responses can feel as though they happen with less deliberate effort. Focused imagery and expectation may change how a sensation or movement is experienced, even though the person remains involved in the process.

This feeling of automaticity does not mean that a practitioner has bypassed somebody’s values or taken control. Suggestions are invitations, and the person can reject them.

What does brain research show?

Brain-imaging studies have found changes in networks involved in attention, control and the processing of sensations during some hypnotic tasks. These findings support the view that suggestion can affect subjective experience.

They do not prove that one special “hypnosis centre” exists or that every person enters the same state. Study methods, suggestions and individual responses vary, so brain findings should not be used to promise a clinical result.

Does hypnosis access the subconscious?

“Subconscious” can be a useful everyday shorthand for thoughts, associations and habits that are not currently in awareness. It should not be treated as a separate store cupboard that a hypnotherapist can open and inspect.

Can hypnosis recover forgotten memories?

Hypnosis is not a reliable method for recovering an accurate record of the past. Memory is reconstructive: people can remember some details correctly, omit others and unintentionally incorporate suggestion or imagination.

Hypnosis may increase confidence in a recollection without establishing that it is accurate. Regression and guided imagery therefore require particular caution and should not be used to confirm abuse, trauma or another historical event.

Why does hypnosis affect people differently?

People differ in absorption, expectations, previous experience, comfort with the practitioner and responsiveness to particular suggestions. The context and wording of a suggestion also matter.

A weak or absent response is not a personal failure, and no practitioner should guarantee that hypnosis will work in the same way for everyone.

Common questions about how hypnosis works

Does the conscious mind switch off?

No. Attention may narrow, but people usually remain aware, able to communicate and able to make choices.

Does hypnosis reveal the root cause of a problem?

Not reliably. A session may help somebody explore ideas or associations, but it cannot prove that an interpretation or recalled event is historically accurate.

Is relaxation what makes hypnosis work?

Relaxation may make focused attention easier for some people, but it is not required and does not itself demonstrate that hypnosis has occurred.

Further reading

Original article text

The complete legacy article is preserved below for comparison.

We have already outlined the idea that hypnosis puts the conscious mind in a backseat position to allow the sub conscious to step forward and be communicated to by a qualified hypnotherapist. Our conscious mind is the main driving force behind our thoughts, feelings and actions while the sub conscious creates the imagination and impulses that we feel. That is not to say that the sub conscious mind makes us do things we are not in control of, it is simply the source of creativity and feeling freer than what the conscious mind allows.

When the sub conscious mind is 'opened' during hypnosis, hypnotized people can think differently because the conscious mind is not filtering and analyzing the information as it is being taken in. Under hypnosis, the subject can feel that the suggestions made by the hypnotherapist are coming directly from the sub conscious mind and not from another person. We react immediately to these suggestions and impulses and consider things we wouldn't have otherwise opened our minds to.

The sub conscious mind is also the store cupboard for all of one's memories. In certain sessions while under hypnosis, the subject can access past events (stretching back for years and years) that they had completely forgotten about. Hypnotherapists may use hypnosis to bring up memories that relate to a personal problem that the subject is suffering from. In our everyday lives, with the modern day stresses that we face, many people cannot begin to identify why they are suffering with a personal problem. It is only when under hypnosis that a subject can see that a personal problem today can be related to a past event that could have occurred many years before. As the mind is in a suggestive state during hypnosis, 'false memories' can be created to 'mask' the real-life memory causing a personal problem. For this reason, hypnotherapy must be taken very seriously at all times and only highly qualified hypnotherapists should practice this form of alternative medicine.

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