Hypnosis does not hand control of your mind to somebody else. It is commonly described as a state of focused attention in which a person may respond more readily to suggestions. You remain an active participant, and you can reject a suggestion or end the session.
Stage performances and dramatic television scenes can make hypnosis look mysterious. Clinical and therapeutic hypnosis is different: it is a collaborative process, and people’s experiences and responses vary.
Hypnosis involves focused attention and reduced awareness of some surrounding distractions. A hypnotherapist may invite you to relax, concentrate on an idea or image, and consider agreed suggestions. Relaxation can be part of the experience, but hypnosis is not the same as sleep or unconsciousness.
Researchers continue to study exactly how hypnosis works and when it may be useful. It should not be presented as a guaranteed cure or a replacement for appropriate medical or mental-health care.
A hypnotherapist cannot take over your mind. You retain control and can choose whether to follow a suggestion. A professional session should begin with a clear conversation about your aims, boundaries and what will happen.
People in hypnosis are generally aware of what is happening. You may feel deeply relaxed or absorbed, rather like becoming engrossed in a book or film, but you are not simply asleep.
Hypnosis is not a way to remove personal choice. You can reject suggestions that feel wrong or uncomfortable. Stage hypnosis may look different because volunteers have chosen to participate in a performance and expect to entertain an audience.
Hypnosis does not force you to disclose private information. People do not routinely forget a session, although memory and subjective experience can vary. Hypnosis should not be treated as a guaranteed method for recovering accurate memories.
People differ in how easily they become absorbed and how they respond to suggestions. A useful, ethical conversation should set realistic expectations rather than promise a particular result.
A practitioner will usually discuss what you want help with, explain the process and agree an approach with you. During hypnosis, you may be asked to focus on breathing, imagery, sensations or carefully worded suggestions. You should feel able to ask questions, pause or stop.
If you have a health concern, seek advice from an appropriately qualified healthcare professional. Tell a prospective hypnotherapist about relevant medical or mental-health conditions before starting.
No. You remain able to bring your attention back to your surroundings or end the session.
No. You retain choice and can reject suggestions.
People usually remain aware, but experiences vary. A responsible practitioner should not promise that hypnosis will either erase or recover memories.
You can also read the history of hypnosis for background on how ideas and terminology developed.
The complete legacy article is preserved below for comparison.
Many people have come across hypnosis in their lives. We sometimes see television programs featuring members of an audience under 'hypnosis' and laugh at their strange and unexplainable behavior. It is this distorted media perception of hypnosis that has very much misinformed people about the positive purpose and power hypnosis can have. There are lots of mistaken beliefs about hypnosis, which over the years has created many myths in people's minds.
The facts are that hypnosis does not allow a hypnotherapist to control the subject's mind, nor does hypnosis cause the subject to fall asleep. Many believe hypnosis can cause the subject to forget what has happened which is not the case. As well, hypnosis does not make people do things against their will.
It is these beliefs that have created a somewhat distorted idea of what hypnosis is, and for what purposes it is used for. Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness, please note I say consciousness and not sub consciousness. Many describe hypnosis correctly, as a normal state of focused attention, when your senses are heightened from the everyday life that we lead. The relaxation and calm experienced during hypnosis should not be mistaken for being out of control and 'under the spell' of a hypnotherapist. This is far from the truth. Hypnosis is a natural mental state simply allowing the mind to open to suggestion, suggestion that we wouldn't otherwise be open to. It is this frame of mind during hypnosis that allows the subject to change their thoughts, feelings, behavior and attitudes.
People can take these changes that happen during hypnosis and use them for self-improvement in their usual everyday state of consciousness. Hypnosis can help reduce stress, anxiety, control pain, break bad habits and strengthen self control. Hypnosis used the correct way, in the way it was intended can achieve life changing results.
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