"Forget the stage-show stereotypes. Hypnosis has helped people cut back on pain, anxiety, and depression medications, resolve intestinal problems, quit smoking, even have less stressful childbirth. There's no pocket watch involved. Hypnosis is simply a state of concentration and focused attention -- focused on a mental image. It's a skill that must be learned from a trained therapist. With practice, hypnotizing yourself comes easily. Self-hypnosis is the path to training both mind and body to make a desired change."  WebMD

There are many misconceptions about hypnosis, what it does and what you can do with it.

So first I would like to make it clear that hypnosis is not sleep. In fact in the hypnotic state your alertness and awareness is heightened not decreased.

The reason the hypnosis is often associated with sleep is because of a misnaming by Dr. James Braid in 1841. Dr. Braid experimented hypnosis methods on several patients and noticed that the people would also go into a very relaxed state and since their eyes were closed it looked that they were fact asleep. So he named the state after the Greek God of sleep Hypnos (from which the word ‘hypnosis’ comes from).

Later Dr. Braid realized that although his subjects were very relaxed they were aware of his every word. In fact they were completely focused on his words. So they were in a state of focused attention. When he realized this he tried to change the name to ‘mono-ideasism’. ‘Mono’ means one and ‘ideaism’ refers to the meaning of what was being said.

However, the name hypnosis had caught on and non one was willing to change it. So we are stuck with the name hypnosis.

In yoga there is a technique called ‘Dhayana’ which is a form of meditation to help the yogi focus his or her mind. The technique involves focusing your mind on one image or object and maintaining that focus for a long period of time. Hypnosis is exactly like dhayanic meditation in that you focus your mind. The difference is that instead of focusing on an object or image you focus on the words of the hypnotist and follow the images and suggestions that the words convey. So it is actually easier than dhayanic meditation as the depth of your focus is partially dependent on the skill of the hypnotist (and partly dependent on your own comfort level and trust in the hypnotist guiding you).

The second thing that I would like to make clear is that hypnosis is not mind control.

The main reason that people believe they can be controlled with hypnosis is because of its portrayal in movies. Stage hypnosis is also a culprit as it uses suggestions to entertain a crowd with carefully selected people who want to be the center of attention. Every person hypnotized in a stage hypnosis show is fully aware and can refuse a suggestion if they want to at any time.

For any hypnosis session to be effective certain conditions must be met:

First – you must get along with your hypnotist. If you don’t like the person then obviously you will not be comfortable listening to suggestions.

Second – in the hypnotic state your awareness is focused on the words of the hypnotist. That means that the hypnotist is your guide. You have to follow everything that is said instantly.

Third – You must have a positive mental attitude about the suggestions you are heaing. That means you have to love the suggestions and want the change that the suggestions represent. If you have any discomfort at a suggestion, it won’t work. If you don’t really care about a particular suggestion then it won’t work. If you like the suggestion and don’t really believe you can follow it then it won’t work. In other words the only attitude that makes hypnosis or even self-hypnosis work is the attitude “I love this visualization/suggestion and this will work”.

Remember you are completely aware during hypnosis no matter how relaxed or focused your mind is. That means that hypnosis is a 100% consent state at all times. You can’t get stuck in a hypnotic trance because the continuation of the hypnotic state is dependant on your focus on the words of your hypnotist. If the hypnotist were to stop speaking then you would start wondering “whats going on?” and you would open your eyes to take a look. In other words, you don’t need a hypnotist to tell you the session is over or to open your eyes – you can do so at any time you want.

To repeat what I wrote before, hypnosis is like dhayanic meditation in that it’s a state of focused attention. That means you don’t go ‘deeper’ into hypnotic trance, you become more and more focused on the words and instructions of the hypnotist. You will be more aware of everything said to you and will have the capacity to reject any instructions you don’t like as you are not asleep but in a state of focused attention.


Being in a state of ‘hypnosis’ or ‘focused attention’ is something everybody experiences everyday!

When you are obsorbed in watching your favorite sports team, reacting to each success with joy and each loss with sorrow, you are in a state of focused attention or hypnosis.

When you are absorbed in watching a movie, laughing at funny situations or crying at sad ones, you are in a state of focused attention or hypnosis.

Being absorbed in a good book is also a state of focused attention or hypnosis.

Other examples include TV, concentrating while studying or at work, learning a new skill, paying attention in class, driving a car while daydreaming etc.

In other words being in a state of hypnosis is not only normal but an everyday occurrence. Switching from having focused attention on one activity to another is the same as a shift in type of ‘hypnotic trance’ . It is just the word ‘hypnosis’ with its historical and media based misconceptions that suggest that it is something other than a normal state of consciousness.