You cannot be hypnotized against your own will. You have to “want” to be hypnotized.
A person needs to feel confidence in the hypnotist and willing to accept suggestions from them. A professional hypnotist will follow the client, not lead.
Could they be made to cluck like a chicken or dance around in a silly manner? Could they be made to commit a crime or go against their wishes?
Answer: In hypnosis, a person will not go against his or her ethical standards. Since this is hypnotherapy, and not entertainment hypnosis, it would be pointless under these these circumstances to suggest something like dancing. Even in the situation of cessation of nicotine, the hypnotist doesn’t simply suggest the person to stop picking up the cigarette or vaporizer. It goes beyond a physical action. A skilled hypnotherapist digs deeper, discussing the possibility that a person see themselves with COPD in 15 years carrying around an oxygen
tank, or possibly all the wrinkles around their lips due to smoking. Still, a person has the power to select only the suggestions that they are willing to accept. The power is always in the mind of the client. A good hypnotherapist takes the time to understand the client’s emotional standpoint and gently paces the person to reframe their thinking in a more beneficial way. During hypnosis, the conscious, reasoning mind does not dissolve away. The mind simply steps to the side. It’s like the bouncer at a club. He doesn’t go away, he just has to move out of the way to allow more people in the door. Just as the conscious mind doesn’t dissolve entirely, but it simply allows in new information. The adult conscious mind is observing the entire time. A person will reject suggestions that conflict with their “moral” compass
Can a person be made to reveal secrets?
No. You can actually withhold information in hypnosis. You do not have to reveal secrets. When hypnotized, you will not do anything against your personal will. You can reject any suggestion that is given to you. A client will never reveal or do anything that he or she would not say or do in a regular waking state. Again, the normal conscious mind doesn’t fully go away, it is still there, it is simply moved to the side to access the subconscious.
No. There are no religious connotations with hypnosis. A professional hypnotherapist respects a person’s religious preferences.
During hypnosis, awareness is actually increased. If a person falls asleep, they are not in hypnosis. In hypnosis, you are aware of everything that is going on around you. Hypnosis might look like sleep, but it is not sleep, and is in fact a state of expanded consciousness. You are fully aware of what is being said to you when in hypnosis and can reject any suggestion that is given to you at any time. The ego never totally dissociates when in hypnosis. The ego is present when in hypnosis and therefore, you would never act outside of your own principles. The conscious mind does not go away entirely. A person’s senses are generally enhanced(hyper-acuity) when a person is in hypnosis. The person hypnotized hears sounds in the general area and is aware of what is going on. Quite often the client is more aware and not less aware. If there were a fire in the room, the person would immediately come back into the room and evacuate properly. Hypnosis is not like a drug, it’s a natural state of being and can be terminated at will.
You do not necessarily need to be in a super deep state of hypnosis to benefit from it. Beneficial results can come from taking suggestions while in a light or medium state of hypnosis.
Hypnosis is a natural yet altered state of mind. Slipping into that state happens very frequently like when we are driving and forget to take our exit, or when we are engrossed in a movie or a favorite book.
You can be totally serene and yet not be hypnotized or you can be hypnotized and not be relaxed. Relaxation is only one part of hypnosis.
Closing the eyes does not imply hypnosis. The eyes can actually be opened in a hypnotic state. This happens very often to mothers using hypnosis for labor.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines Brainwashing as “Intensive, forcible indoctrination, usually political or religious, aimed at destroying a person’s basic convictions and attitudes and replacing them with an alternative set of fixed beliefs.” Brainwashing involves removing the client’s personal will. Hypnotherapy hopes to enhance someone’s personal will so they enjoy their life with balance and peace. A professional hypnotherapist follows the client, not the other way around.
Hypnotherapy can be used to uncover suppressed memories, but the hypnotic state itself does not alone bring them up. The client may bring them to the surface if they are ready. A client will never see something that he or she is not ready to see, and such memories will only come up if the client and/or the hypnotist intend to bring them to the forefront. A person can’t “bite off more than they can chew.” They will only be willing to look at that which they are prepared to see. A professional hypnotherapist gently paces a client into reframing or managing any difficult memories if needed.
A good hypnotherapist will help you uncover your emotions and beliefs, so that you can realize your own patterns during the hypnosis session. A professional hypnotherapist will help you to see what’s “in your own head” by asking you questions in hypno so that your own inner-mind finds solutions, not by simply telling you how to think.