Not only is hypnosis relaxing, it can also be an effective tool for reducing anxious behaviors, increasing bravery, building confidence, stopping smoking, and changing the way you think and behave. It is not as simple as having one hypnosis session and being cured. Like most forms of personal growth, lasting change depends on various factors, including your goals, motivation, and willingness to practice new ways of thinking and behaving. Let me explain.
What is a Hypnotic Trance and Why is it Important?
The process begins when a hypnotherapist guides a person into a hypnotic trance. This may sound mysterious, but a trance is actually a natural state we all experience every day. It’s the state you enter when you are drifting off to sleep and could open your eyes, but would rather not. It’s the state of being when you are daydreaming or deeply absorbed in thought.
Have you ever driven home and suddenly realized you don’t remember the last few miles? Your mind was focused inward while your brain automatically carried out a familiar task. This kind of absorbed attention resembles some aspects of hypnosis.
Hypnosis is both a state of relaxation and a state of concentration. It’s different from meditation, where the goal is often to clear your mind. In hypnosis, you focus intensely on a specific goal, image, or experience. Have you ever been so focused on finding your lost phone that you didn’t realize you were already holding it in your hand and talking on it? This is another example of how focused attention can narrow awareness.
Whether it’s drifting off to sleep, becoming absorbed in thought, or overlooking what’s right in front of you, these are examples of hypnotic-like experiences that people naturally have without a hypnotist.
What are Hypnotic Suggestions and How Do They Help
Hypnotherapists guide clients into this state of focused attention and deep relaxation and then provide suggestions. During hypnosis, brain activity changes in ways associated with reduced distraction, increased concentration, and greater openness to suggestions of new possibilities and greater inner-strength. In this deeply relaxed and focused state, people often become more receptive to imagining change, rehearsing new behaviors, and experiencing emotions differently. This is why hypnosis can be a powerful tool for building confidence, facing fears, increasing motivation, and changing unwanted habits.
When not under a hypnotic trance, suggestions from other people may only have modest impact because adults tend to analyze, question, and hold on to core beliefs they’ve held for years. Children, on the other hand, are naturally more suggestible. After a child falls and hurts his knee, a mother kisses the injury and says, “All better.” The child often feels comforted immediately because children readily accept reassuring suggestions.
Adults are more skeptical, and that’s usually a good thing. However, during hypnosis many people become less distracted by competing thoughts and more engaged with therapeutic suggestions. This increased receptivity may make new ways of thinking and behaving easier to practice and strengthen over time.
The conscious mind is what you are aware of. Much of our behavior, however, happens automatically and outside of conscious awareness, in what many therapists call the subconscious. Imagine an iceberg. A small portion is visible above the water while most of it lies beneath the surface, which is metaphorically like our subconscious. In much the same way, people sometimes react emotionally, repeat bad habits, or behave in ways they don’t fully understand and out of their awareness. Hypnotherapists can help people become more aware of these patterns and be more open to changing them by speaking directly to the subconscious.
How Much Power Does Hypnosis Have?
Although hypnosis has been around for over two centuries, many people still have misconceptions about it. These misunderstandings often come from movies, television, and stage hypnosis shows. If you have ever attended a stage hypnosis show, it may appear that the hypnotist has complete power over the volunteers. In reality, the hypnotist first attempts to hypnotize many people and then keeps on stage only those who are in a deep trance, highly responsive, or eager to participate. The others are politely sent back to their seats.
Even in a deep trance, a hypnotist cannot make you do something you truly do not want to do. You are never under the hypnotist’s total control. You retain your values, your judgment, and your free will.
One of the most common misconceptions about hypnosis is that you surrender control to the hypnotist. In reality, hypnosis is a cooperative process. You remain aware of your surroundings and can reject any suggestion that feels uncomfortable or inconsistent with your values. Hypnosis doesn’t erase your free will, it simply helps you focus your attention in areas you want to change.
In high school I attended a hypnosis show. The hypnotist brought many students on stage and told the audience that if they wanted to be hypnotized, they could follow along. A girl sitting in front of me listened the hypnotist’s suggestions and fell into a trance. At one portion in the show the hypnotist told four guys to take off their shirts. The girl in front of me started to remove her shirt but stopped herself. She was ultimately in control.
You also cannot become trapped in a trance any more than you can become trapped in a dream. Whenever you choose you can open your eyes, stretch, and end the experience. Getting out of a trance can take some time or it can be done quickly, just like in the morning it can take a while to fully wake up or instantly when you realize you are late.
Just as some people dream vividly while others rarely remember their dreams, some people enter hypnosis very deeply while others experience a lighter trance.
Is Hypnosis Helpful if Getting into a Trance is Challenging?
During a hypnosis session, it is completely normal for your mind to wander or for part of you to wonder whether hypnosis is really working. Many people finish a session asking, “Was I actually hypnotized?” The answer is often yes. Even a light trance can be relaxing, beneficial, and impactful.
For those who can enter a deep trance, hypnosis can sometimes produce remarkable results. Research and case reports have shown that hypnosis can significantly reduce pain and anxiety. In rare circumstances, it has even been used as the primary method of pain control during certain medical procedures.
Some people experience dramatic changes after a single hypnosis session, while others benefit from repeated practice over time. Some stop smoking. Others overcome fears they have struggled with for years. The outcome depends on many factors, including motivation, practice, and the specific issue being addressed.
Don’t give up hope if you have trouble entering a deep trance. There is a learning curve, and improvement is possible. The more familiar you become with hypnosis, the more relaxed and comfortable you are likely to feel.
Hypnosis is not something done to you. It’s a collaborative process. Like ballroom dancing, one person leads and the other follows. The more willing you are to participate in this manner, the more rewarding the experience can be.
How Effective are Digital Download Hypnosis Sessions?
A digital hypnosis download can be just as effective as an in-person session. In some ways, it may be even more beneficial because you are in the privacy of your own home, feel less self-conscious, and can listen as often as you like.
I recommend listening to a hypnosis session daily for maximum benefit. Just like learning any new skill, repetition and practice matter. The more often you strengthen new ways of thinking and responding, the more natural they become.
Whether your goal is to build confidence, overcome fears, stop procrastinating, or achieve important personal goals, hypnosis can be a powerful tool for change. The key is repetition and practice. Just as you strengthen your body through regular exercise, you strengthen new habits and ways of thinking through repeated hypnotic experiences. With time, what once felt difficult can begin to feel natural and automatic.
Hypnosis is not mind control, nor is it a cure-all. It works best when used within a broader approach. Doing hypnosis in conjunction with talk therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy is most effective.
My Personal Growth Hypnosis Series consists of six hypnosis downloads that focus on building confidence, maximizing motivation, overpowering obstacles, ending procrastination, overcoming the fear of failure, and achieving goals.
If you’re curious about what users think, their experiences under hypnosis, and how it helped them, I invite you to listen to Hypnosis Myths and Facts, which includes interviews with five people who listened to the hypnosis sessions for a month and describe the changes they experienced.
