Self-Hypnosis is a condition of hyper-suggestibility where the conscious mind and the unconscious dissociate. It is a state of mind where the hypnotized person is more likely to acknowledge the Hypno-technician's suggestions.
You have been in the state of hypnosis many times in your life without even realizing it. Hypnosis is the Alpha state of consciousness that we pass through every night as we fall asleep. And we pass through it again as we awaken in the morning.
WHO CAN BE HYPNOTIZED?
It has been found that all normal people are hypnotizable to a greater or lesser extent. People with the I.Q. of the moron level of intelligence or lower generally cannot be hypnotized. People who are actively psychotic by and large cannot be hypnotized. Most senile people are difficult or impossible to hypnotize.
DO I HAVE TO BE A "DEEP" HYPNOTIC SUBJECT FOR SUCCESS?
For the healing applications of hypnotherapy we most often deal with, depth of any kind isn't required. You can be the lightest possible subject and still receive all of the benefits from hypnotherapy that the deepest subjects will obtain. I believe that over the years, far too much importance has been placed on how deep a subject can go. If the subject is deep, it can be beneficial. This however, is not necessarily the case. Actually, with the latest hypnotic methods like Ericksonian hypnotherapy and state of the art "NLP" (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), depth is one of the least significant aspects, which create success.
ARE THERE ANY DANGERS IN HYPNOTISM?
There are basically no dangers to the practice of hypnotherapy. It is not possible to "get stuck" in hypnotherapy. The worst thing that can possibly happen while a person 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 no longer in the state of self-hypnosis.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT SELF-HYPNOSIS:
There are many misnomers about hypnotherapy. Most of the misnomers are due to stage and TV acts. Ironically, it's because of the fact that the TV can hypnotize you that these misnomers are so strongly entrenched in people's minds.
IS HYPNOTISM A STATE OF SLEEP?
The largest misconception about hypnotherapy is that it's 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 hypnotist cannot help you. Hypnosis is a state of keen awareness. The subject is wide-awake and aware of everything around her.
IS THERE A HYPNOTIZED FEELING?
The second largest misconception is that there is a hypnotized feeling. There is no hypnotized feeling. Most people feel very relaxed when in self-hypnosis, as relaxation seems to be the essence of hypnotism. 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 self-hypnosis, and believe they haven't been hypnotized when they most definitely have.
CAN THE HYPNOTIST TAKE CONTROL OF ME?
NO! A hypnotist cannot make you do anything against your will. There is always an observing ego state. Should the therapist make a suggestion that is offensive to you; this observing ego state would reject that suggestion.
CAN THE HYPNOTIST MAKE ME DIVULGE ANY OF MY SECRETS?
You will not reveal any secrets while in self hypnosis unless you want to. The therapist doesn't 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. The subject can easily refuse any suggestion the therapist 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 HYPNOSIS?
NO! People can lie when in the state of hypnosis.
DO HYPNOTHERAPISTS HAVE SUPERNATURAL POWERS AND VIBRATIONS?
This is a common misnomer. The therapist doesn't have any special powers, nor does he have any special vibrations with which to propel you into the hypnotic state. Actually, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The therapist leads the subject into a state of self-hypnosis. In other words, the ability of self hypnosis is within the subject.
WHY DO PEOPLE FAIL TO REACH THEIR GOALS USING HYPNOTISM?
Perhaps the principal reason for the failure to reach one's goals through hypnosis is an inadequate amount of practice where self-hypnosis is concerned.
The greatest reason for the return of a symptom or "relapse" is the premature discontinuance of hypnotherapy with the Hypnotherapist or recorded program. While self-hypnosis is important, it is generally the hetero-hypnosis with the therapist or hypnosis recording which has the greatest impact upon the unconscious.
This is because of the training that the therapist has vs. the lack of training of the client. Some people are penny wise and pound-foolish. They mentally set an amount of time or money that they are willing to spend for help. And then they prematurely cut off their sessions because; "I didn't lose 50 Lbs. in two days, so it isn't working." 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 employ the services of a reputable therapist. The reason is that by meeting with you, a good therapist / 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 your senses to make sense out of it and react to it.
In my opinion, 99% of the recorded self hypnosis CDs available today are based on Traditional Hypnosis, and consist of only one or maybe two sessions of it at that. Traditional Hypnosis is nothing more than a set of direct post-hypnotic suggestions: "If you eat a brownie you'll throw up." "You will not have cravings and urges," etc.. This technology has an unbelievably 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 private sessions with any therapist / NLP'er who has enough experience to be able to actually help you can cost a great deal of money. There are some hypnotic programs based on Ericksonian Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) that have overcome those shortcomings. They've managed 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 get rid of the resistance factor. In fact, Video Hypnosis and the NLP technology that it's based on do not utilize suggestion at all. These methods rely on using the thought processes that have created a problem, to eliminate it!
Look for vendors who offer these methodologies in multi-session products. These are programs that generally have six to eight different sessions, so the subject is exposed to a broad variety of technologies. It takes a lot of work to script and record this type of program, but the high success rates achieved are well worth the trouble.
I recommend that you stay away from the "one size fits all" -- "do-or-die" hypnotherapy CDs and downloads. Many are attracted to these tapes because they are inexpensive, usually under ten dollars. 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 distrustful and start to expect the next approach to fail. And you get what you expect. Do you really think that the same exact post-hypnotic suggestions will work for everyone? Do you think that they will work for you? Do you always do exactly as you are told to do? Or do you usually 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's authored four books on hypnosis and NLP. He is the developer of the Video Self Hypnosis Technology, which is perfected for smoke cessation & weight loss. Visit his Neuro-VISION Video Hypnosis website for FREE Hypnosis articles, newsletters, & MP3s.