FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions about hypnosis
Hypnosis:
- What is hypnosis? How does it work? Why does it work? If you were
to ask 10 hypnotists these questions, there would be a variety of
answers. Some would be similar with little differences, while others
would be almost direct opposites of each other. But one of the best
and simplest ways to think about hypnosis is that it is just the
mind's ability to believe and accept suggestions.
- It is said by many that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. Your
hypnotherapist/consulting hypnotist is there to guide you into and
through the experience to create change in your life.
The first time:
- For most people who are hypnotized, they will feel that they are
not. You do not normally feel like you are in a trance or "zoned out".
What you will probably feel is a deep relaxed feeling. You may feel
parts of your body being very heavy. You may find it difficult, if not
impossible, to lift an arm or leg. Most find it to be a wonderful and
relaxing experience.
Myths and misconceptions:
- Most of us have heard the word sleep used when talking about
hypnosis. The basis for the word, hypnos is Greek for sleep. In
reality, it is not sleep like when you go to sleep at night. In
natural sleep you are unconscious and do not normally hear, see or are
aware of your surroundings. In hypnosis, you can hear what is going on
around you. If you would open your eyes, you would see normally. In
hypnosis, rather than being "out of it" you are more likely to have a
heightened sense of awareness.
- "I might tell you all my secrets!" The fact is, people will not
tell the hypnotist anything the subject does not want to tell. People
can lie under hypnosis. Your secrets are safe.
- How many times on TV or in the movies have you seen the subject
made to do something against their will. In reality, while in
hypnosis, you will not do anything that you would not normally do. You
will not become the "Manchurian Candidate". You will be under no one's
power.
- "I can't be hypnotized because I am too smart". Not true.
Intelligence has nothing to do with it. A person's ability to accept
suggestion is key. Used with his or her concentration and imagination,
almost everyone can be hypnotized. In reality, we are all going
in and out of a form of hypnosis everyday. When you daydream, you are
letting yourself be hypnotized. If you have ever heard a great speaker
and have been "mesmerized" by each and every word, you have been
hypnotized. When you cannot put a good book down, again, you have been
hypnotized.
- "I might not come out of hypnosis". If by chance you were
hypnotized and the hypnotist would leave you and never come back, one
of two things would happen. First, you would either come out of it
naturally after a few minutes, or, you would go into a natural sleep
and have a nice nap and wake up naturally. You cannot get stuck in
hypnosis. You always come out of it eventually. It feels so good for
many, though, that you may not want to come out of it for awhile.
- Most people remember everything that happens while under hypnosis.
Only a small number will have amnesia and this is a natural effect.
Also, if a person was given a post-hypnotic suggestion not to remember
for therapeutic reasons, they would not remember the session.
Some more information
In the
March 2007
issue of our newsletter, ENLIGHTENMENT, I wrote:
She said, "I
can’t be hypnotized". I hear that from so many people. But in reality,
just by saying that, that person has been hypnotized into believing
that. This usually happens when someone (the amateur hypnotist) tries to
hypnotize some (you maybe) and nothing seems to happen. While this is
going on, you are saying to yourself that you don’t feel different. You
can still hear things going on around you. You even may have scratched
your nose when it itched so you are thinking to yourself that you must
not be hypnotized. Then you open your eyes (if they were closed) and say
to yourself and anyone else there, you must not have been hypnotized.
Then you or someone else, maybe even the amateur hypnotist, erroneously
says, you must not be hypnotizable.
Everyone has
been hypnotized. If you have ever been entranced in a book to the wee
hours, you have been hypnotized. If you ever missed an exit on the
highway because you were daydreaming or thinking of something else, you
have been hypnotized. These are just some of the ways we let ourselves
be hypnotized. Anyone with normal intelligence can be hypnotized. So
when someone says to me, "I can’t be hypnotized", I think to myself that
they will be a great subject for hypnosis, but they just don’t know it
yet. This person just has to be deprogrammed of a false belief and start
over again. And like many problems people have today, such as smoking,
weight issues and fears, that is all they need to help them. And that’s
what hypnosis does, it helps individuals deprogram themselves to become
better people that they want to be. What can we do for you today?
To read more from this issue or any of our issues of
ENLIGHTENMENT, you can go to our
Archive
page and download them. You can also subscribe on our
Newsletter page.
|
Willard
Hypnosis Center
3304 Main
Street
Conestoga,
PA 17516
717-872-7561
For your personal attention,
hours are by appointment
only.
Please note! We do not have person just to answer the phone. Time is
valuable so we use an answering machine to take most of our calls. So if you
call and get the answering machine, please leave your name, number and the
best window of time for us to call you back. In some instances, it may be the next day. If you call on the weekend, it may
be the following Monday. We value our time with our family.
|
