What are the myths and truths surrounding hypnosis ?

If you have wondered how much you have heard about hypnosis is a myth, please read on.

Myths and Truths

1.    The hypnotherapist will be able to control my mind, and I surrender my free will.

     No one can control your mind, unless you let them. Your hypnotherapist will give you suggestions that you want to be given, based on the pre-hypnotic Interview. At no point during your session will you lose control of your mind. If you hear a suggestion that you don't agree with, or don't understand, your subconscious mind will automatically reject it. By the same token, you need not worry that you’ll be made to perform embarrassing acts, such as bark like a dog, or walk like a duck. This assumption is based on stage hypnotism. The truth is, these people volunteer to act on stage, and they allow themselves to participate in silly suggestions. Hypnotherapy is a serious process of self-improvement, not entertainment. Legitimate clinical hypnotherapy practiced by a qualified professional is not the same process as that performed on stage.

2.    Hypnosis is sleep.

      Not at all. Hypnosis is a heightened state of concentration and focused attention. When you're under hypnosis, you don't lose your free will. A hypnotherapist only serves as a knowledgeable guide or facilitator.

3.    Hypnosis is "supernatural" and has something to do with mystical forces.

      Definitely not. Hypnosis is a natural state that has been studied scientifically. Hypnotherapists are not psychics or palm readers with "special powers". Hypnotherapy is based on many years of clinical research by famous psychologists such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.

4.    Will a person always be able to wake up from hypnosis ?

 No one ever gets “stuck” in hypnosis and be unable to wake up. Hypnosis is very safe and is in fact, a state of hyper-awareness. The worst that could possibly happen is that you drift into natural sleep, and after 5 or 10 minutes you wake up naturally. Anytime there is an emergency, a person would naturally be able to come out of the hypnotic state by opening his or her eyes, and stretching or speaking.

Every person naturally enters a state of hypnosis at least twice everyday ; just before falling asleep at night, and upon awaking every morning, before getting out of bed. Most people easily enter "Environmental Hypnosis" while at the movies, watching TV, driving on the highway, or while reading a good book. We go in and out of trance frequently during the day. When you space out and miss a turn during driving or lose track of time while reading a book or painting a picture, you're in trance. Creative people do much of their work while in an altered state in order to access creative inspiration.

5.    Hypnosis is a great tool to get someone to "confess" or reveal secrets.

Not true. Hypnotherapy sessions are kept private and cannot be used for court testimony. It is not an alternative to lie detector tests. Besides, hypnosis cannot force anyone to "tell the truth" or to confess.

 6.   When hypnotised, I will still be conscious of my surroundings.

Yes, indeed. Hypnosis is not an unconscious state of sleep. 

In fact, most people report having a heightened sense of awareness, concentration and focus, and can even hear more acutely during a session.

7.    I will become dependent on the hypnotherapist.

Not true. The hypnotherapist works to empower you so that you will be guided to help yourself. This empowerment serves to make you rely on yourself instead of the hypnotherapist.

8.    I can be hypnotised no matter how strong my mind is.

       Basically, anyone can be hypnotised except the following groups of people :

-  children who are age under 4
-  people who are mentally challenged
-  people who are under the influence of drugs and alcohol
-  people who are unwilling to be hypnotised

9.   The hypnotherapist will solve my problems for me.

The biggest myth about hypnosis is that you don't participate in the healing process, and that your hypnotherapist simply solves your problems for you while you lie passively in trance. In actual fact, hypnotherapy is an interactive process that requires active involvement by the clients both during sessions and in putting their new decisions, insights, and knowledge into effect in their lives. Although it can be a much faster way to heal than through traditional forms of counselling or therapy, it's not a magic pill you can swallow. You have to want to change and be involved in the healing process, and to resolve the root of your problem.

10.  Hypnotherapy is not the same as psychotherapy.

      Although both the above are forms of therapy, the approach is different. Hypnotherapy involves working with the subconscious mind, and thus necessitates trance induction. Psychotherapy, on the other hand, works primarily with the conscious mind.