Hypnosis -- The Simple Truths Uncovered

THE DEFINITION OF HYPNOSIS:
Hypnotism is a state of hyper-suggestibility where the conscious and the subconscious dissociate. It is an altered state of mind where the hypnotized patient is more likely to acknowledge the Hypnotist'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 PLACED IN HYPNOSIS?
It has been discovered that all normal people are hypnotizable to a greater or lesser extent. People with an I.Q. of less than 70 generally cannot be hypnotized. People who are in an active state of psychosis normally are not hypnotizable. Senile people are by and large difficult or impossible to hypnotize.

DO I HAVE TO BE A "DEEP" SUBJECT FOR SUCCESS?
For the healing applications of hypnotherapy that are often dealt with in therapy, hypnotic 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 strongly feel that over the years, far too much importance has been placed on how deep a subject can go. If the client is deep, it can be of benefit. This however, may not necessarily be the case. Actually, with the latest hypnotic methods like Ericksonian hypnotherapy and state of the art "NLP" (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), the depth of one's hypnotic state is one of the least imperative aspects, which contribute to success.

ARE THERE ANY DANGERS IN HYPNOSIS?
There are fundamentally 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 self-hypnosis is that she might fall into a natural state of sleep for twenty or thirty minutes. She would awaken rested and out of the state of hypnosis.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HYPNOSIS:
There are many misconceptions about hypnotherapy. Most of the misconceptions are due to stage and television acts. Paradoxically, it is on account of the fact that the television can hypnotize you that these misconceptions are so well-established in people's minds.

IS HYPNOSIS A STATE OF SLEEP?
The largest misconception about hypnotherapy is that it is the state of 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 about self-hypnosis is that there is a hypnotized feeling. There is no hypnotized feeling. Most people feel very relaxed when in the hypnotic state, as relaxation seems to be the essence of hypnosis. 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 the state of hypnosis, and believe they have not been hypnotized when they most definitely have.

CAN THE HYPNOTHERAPIST CONTROL ME?
NO! A hypnotist cannot make you do anything against your will. There is always an observing ego state. Should the hypnotist make a suggestion that you find offensive; this ego state would reject the suggestion.

CAN THE THERAPIST MAKE ME DIVULGE MY SECRETS?
You will not give away any secrets while in the hypnotic state unless you want to do so. The hypnotherapist 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 subconscious. The subject can easily refuse any suggestion the hypnotherapist 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 SELF HYPNOSIS?
NO! People can lie when in self-hypnosis.

DO HYPNOTISTS HAVE SUPER NATURAL POWERS AND VIBRATIONS?
This is a common misconception. The hypnotherapist doesn't have any special powers, nor does he have any special vibrations with which to hypnotize you into the hypnotic state. In reality, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The hypnotherapist 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 WHEN USING HYPNOSIS?
Perhaps the principal reason for the inability to reach one's goals through hypnosis is an insufficient amount of practice where self-hypnosis is concerned.

The largest 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 hypnotherapist or hypnosis recording which has the greatest impact upon the subconscious.

This is because of the experience that the hypnotherapist has vs. the lack of experience of the client. Some people are penny wise and pound-foolish. They mentally set an amount of time 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 a great question. Normally I would recommend that you employ the services of a reputable hypnotherapist. The reason is that by meeting with you, a good hypnotherapist / 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 the senses to make sense out of it and react to it.

In my opinion, 99% of the pre-recorded hypnotherapy programs available at this time are based on Traditional Hypnosis, and are made up of only one or maybe two sessions of it at that. Traditional Hypnosis is nothing more than a set of direct suggestions: "If you eat a brownie you'll vomit." "You won't have cravings and urges," etc.. This technology has an exceptionally poor track record of success because everyone of our generation has been trained to question everything. 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 hypnotherapist / NLP'er who has enough experience to be able to actually help you can be very expensive. There are some hypnotic programs that are 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 methods that are designed to overcome the resistance factor. In fact, Video Hypnosis and the NLP technology that it's based on do not utilize post-hypnotic suggestions at all. These technologies rely on using the thought processes that have created a problem, to eliminate it!

Look for companies that offer these methodologies in multi-session products. These are programs that generally have six to eight different sessions, so you are exposed to a broad variety of methodologies. It takes a lot of work to script and record this type of program, but the high success rates achieved are well worth the effort.

Stay away from the "one size fits all" -- "do-or-die" hypnotherapy CDs and downloads. Many people are lured in by these recordings because they are cheap, usually under $10.00. But is it cheap if it just wastes your valuable time and doesn't work?

If you try a program and it doesn't work, then you get mistrustful and start to expect the next approach to fail. And you get what you expect. Do you really think that the same exact suggestions will work for everyone? Do you think that they will work for you? Do you typically do exactly as you are told to do? Or do you usually feel the desire to do the opposite of what you are told to do?

Does hypnosis ever fail? Once it starts working, will it keep working? Who make the best candidates for hypnosis? There are a lot of misconceptions about hypnosis. This article will give you the straight scoop.

Alan B. Densky, CH has practiced since 1978. He's authored dozens of articles on hypnosis and NLP. He is the developer of the Video Self Hypnosis Technology, which was perfected for smoke cessation & weight loss. Visit his Neuro-VISION Video Hypnosis website for FREE Hypnosis articles, newsletters, & MP3s.

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