Can anybody be hypnotised?
Most people can be hypnotised regardless if they think they can’t. But there are exceptions to people who can’t, senile, educationally subnormal, those under the influence of drugs or alcohol
What is self-hypnosis? How do I do it? Is it safe?
Self-hypnosis is a fantastic tool to allow yourself to make permanent change, from giving yourself an ego boost or to relax for an exam you have coming up. To use self-hypnosis you need to simply get yourself comfortable and attempt to remember an induction script and allow yourself to ‘drop’. Once you are in this state you can then place suggestions in how you want to be/feel in any particular situation. You can also record an induction and script and place this back to you.
How do you hypnotise somebody?
By talking at around 130 words per minute in a calm controlled manner using at first an induction script to relax the client and then going onto a deepener to drop the client further into hypnosis. This takes anywhere from 5 minutes to 15 minutes and sets up the client for the ‘therapy’ to take place.
Is it good for performance enhancement?
Hypnosis, with the right sort of adjunct work, EXCELS at performance enhancement of all types! Here are just a few of the things with which it can make profound improvement:
* Sporting performance
* Career matters
* Memory and Concentration
* Stage performance
* Study
* Exams and tests
* Presentation/speaking skills
Is there anybody who should not be hypnotised?
I personally will not hypnotise anybody that shows sign of Psychotic illness, epilepsy, heart attack/stroke victims or pregnant women.
How does it work?
The induction and deeper allow the client to open what could be seen as a door way to the sub-conscious. At this point we can place new suggestions or change that would have otherwise not be able to be accepted as the sub-conscious is not directly available in any other waking state.
What is hypnosis anyway?
The answer is very similar to the above question. Some people believe it is nothing more than ‘social compliance’ (doing what you believe you should be doing) while others insist that it is a state of altered consciousness. There is no scientifically measurable change in brain wave patterns during hypnosis, as compared with normal consciousness. An individual in the hypnotised state usually feels very relaxed, but this is not necessarily the case. They will often feel as they are half asleep and at the moment they open their eyes at the end of a session there is sometimes an awareness, for a spilt second, that ‘something’ had been different.
What does it feel like to be hypnotised?
it will feel whatever it feels to you. Everyone experience of this is different and there is no right or wrong way to feel. Often the first few times people aren’t aware of what has really happened and believe nothing in fact did happen. But usually after a few sessions you can start to feel your experience of hypnosis. You may feel heavy, or light, see colours, tingling in parts of the body, sleepy. One thing that is fairly common amongst people is time distortion. Where a session may last around 50 minutes they may say it feels closer to 20 minutes.
How can you tell if somebody is hypnotised?
There are several external signs, though few people show all of them. Some of the most noticeable are: A facial flush, total immobility and relaxation, rapid eye movement, eyelid flicker, enhanced salivation (causing frequent swallowing), slowed respiration, drooping lower jaw.
Can you make people do things they don’t want to?
Potentially you will only do what you would do within your own moral code. So if it’s something you would want to do but didn’t have the courage to do then yes that is what hypnotherapy is for.
Can you get ‘stuck’ in hypnosis?
No, you definitely cannot! If you were hypnotised and the hypnotist just walked away and left you, you would simply bring yourself out of the state whenever you wanted to.
Is it dangerous in any way?
Not at all, in the hands of a properly trained individual. There are some circumstances that would be undesirable with a non-trained or poorly-trained operator, but nothing serious could happen, in any case.
How does hypnotherapy differ from stage hypnosis?
Stage hypnosis is about providing entertainment. The hypnotist deliberately picks susceptibility people that also have out going personalities so its looks as though they are under his control when in fact they are doing exactly what they want to do.
How long does a cure produced by hypnosis actually last?
There are two different angles to approach helping someone. If they want help for exam nerves, using direct suggestion a day or so before will provide everything they need to get through this. But if another test was in 6 weeks they may feel the same nerves again. Of course getting through the first exam may fill the person with confidence and the second is better but the cure provided via direct suggestion is only going to last days or a week. If you use Hypnoanalysis to find the root cause of a fault in the belief system and this is updated/removed then the change will last a lifetime.
Is it successful with real phobias?
Yes, but as above requires the correct level of therapy. A spider phobia using direct suggestion may get you over your phobia for a few days but it will almost certainly return. Analysis would be able to remove the underlying trigger.
Does it always work?
No, no more than any other form of medicine, complimentary OR orthodox does. A responsible therapist will soon detect when it is not going to and discharge that client so that they may seek the help they need elsewhere. Another hypnotherapist might produce the desired result where the first one could not, because of the different client/therapist ‘mix’.
How many sessions are required?
This is the million dollar question that really can’t be answered. Simple issues like exam nerves, stopping smoking, stress management can all realistically be undertaken in one or two session at most. But more complex issues that require analysis will likely take anywhere from 3-12.
What ethical, legal and moral issues are involved in the use of hypnosis?
Hypnosis should be used ONLY for the benefit of the client and a resolution should be made in as few sessions as possible.
Tim Grover - Bedfordshire Therapies 