Hypnosis FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you cure me?
Therapy is not about providing a cure – it is about building rapport, challenging beliefs and helping the individual to find a profound sense of self-belief. I will help you overcome barriers to progress by enabling you to find your true self and realise your potential in life.
Is it possible to hypnotise anyone?
Basically yes - of course, it will be more beneficial for you if you are co-operative, relaxed and feel positive about this form of therapy.
How do you hypnotise somebody?
Usually through voice induction - a soothing and calm tone of voice, which is a very relaxing experience for clients. Once relaxed you will move through a visualization (depending on the personality type of the individual). A ‘deepener’ can then be used, which intensifies the relaxing hypnotic state. (This is simply when a client experiences a hypnotic depth as feelings of relaxation mental absorption and suggestibility increase).
Is there anyone who should NOT be hypnotised?
It depends on the sort of therapy that is being used. Care needs to be exercised with pregnant women and people who suffer from epileptic fits and asthma. Regression/analytical therapy should be avoided with these conditions. People suffering from psychosis should also not be taken into hypnosis.
What does it feel like to be hypnotised?
There is actually no such thing as a 'hypnotised feeling'. Some people may insist afterwards that they have not 'gone under', as their expectation was a loss of conscious awareness. However, after a few sessions most people start to become aware of how the state feels to them, they may feel excessively heavy or light or even slightly numb. They can sometimes feel other phenomena; including sensations of floating or spinning are not unusual, as is feeling that some parts of their body are distorted in some way. Eyes may start to flicker and sometimes cheeks can become flushed. It is also possible that an individual might feel quite emotional when they enter hypnosis and some people also may encounter some form of time distortion. Clients should be re-assured though that the positive effect of total relaxation, focus and calmness almost always greatly outweigh any additional experiences encountered in the hypnotic state.
Can hypnosis control you? - Can you get 'stuck' in hypnosis?
As hypnosis is a truly natural and safe state of body and mind that an individual enters when they feel relaxed, there is no form of unconsciousness. People in hypnosis are totally aware of themselves and their surroundings at all times and are able to leave the hypnotic state whenever they wish.
How does it differ from stage hypnosis?
The stage hypnotist seeks to entertain whilst the clinical hypnotherapist seeks to help people and alleviate symptoms and problems. The stage hypnotist uses showmanship and seeks to create sensationalist results by placing individuals in a deeply hypnotic state. The clinical hypnotherapist uses knowledge of the human psyche and has a caring and compassionate attitude – clients are not made to do or say anything they do not want to do. There are common misconceptions fuelled by stage hypnotherapy, as though it is some sort of voodoo magic, which increases people's wariness about ever going to see a professional hypnotherapist about a genuine problem. These are two separate fields, both with completely different aims.
How long will each session last?
Sessions last up to one hour. My aim is to help clients to quickly overcome their issues, realise their potential in order to allow them to then get on with enjoying their life. This should will be the aim of every session that we undertake together.
How does hypnosis differ from sleep?
Hypnosis is not a form of sleep, even though it can give the appearance of being so, for some clients. You are neither asleep nor semi conscious, but fully aware of everything that is going on around you. When you are in a hypnotized state, the brain waves will often change from the Beta state of normal wakefulness to the Alpha state of deep relaxation, which represent non-arousal. When we are asleep however, our brainwave state is in Delta. Here, the brainwaves are of the greatest amplitude and slowest frequency. During sleep, respiration gets slower and slower, blood pressure, reflex and heart action also slow down. In hypnosis, there may be the mildest of slow downs, but for the majority of time there is no slow down. In sleep, the mental processes slow down considerably and in deep sleep, there is an apparent loss of consciousness. This does not occur in hypnosis. Clients are fully aware of everything that is going on around them.
What is hypnosis?
As hypnosis is a natural state of body and mind, it has of course been around for as long as humans have, helping us to learn, concentrate and give birth for example. However, it was Franz Anton Mesmer, who was the first person to use the phenomena of hypnosis extensively (during the 1780's), using what he called 'animal magnetism' to create a state of hypnosis. He believed that our bodies were like magnets with poles at both ends and that bringing a magnet close to the body would help balance and harmonize this magnetic fluid around us. It was, however, James Braid (1795-1860) who actually first coined the term 'hypnosis' from 'hypnos', the Greek God of sleep after seeing a presentation of Mesmerism, who forced a pin beneath the finger-nail of a young girl without her feeling any discomfort. He was also the first to discover 'waking hypnosis.
