What Is Hypnosis? How Can Hypnosis Help You?

What Is Hypnosis Therapy

When you hear the word hypnosis, what immediately comes to mind? Is it a dark figure with a goatee swinging a pocket watch back and forth in an attempt to take control over your mind and have you do his evil bidding for him? If so, then it’s time to turn off the cartoons and pay attention.

Have you ever been watching a movie and felt like you were actually there? Or perhaps pulled into a good book by the words of the author? Maybe you were driving down the road, singing at the top of your lungs to a new tune and were almost completely unaware of what was going on around you. If so, congratulations! You have been hypnotized! But what is hypnosis in psychology?

What Is Hypnosis?

Hypnosis is commonly defined as a relaxed and focused state of concentration. When you were watching the movie, reading the book, and exercising your vocal chords, you were relaxed in your environment and completely focused and concentrating on only one thing.

Facts about Hypnosis

Here are some facts and common misconceptions about hypnosis:

1. Hypnosis will not make you tell secrets.

When in a hypnotic state, you’re merely open to suggestions. You still have a choice and won’t divulge anything you wouldn’t ordinarily choose to divulge.

• How can hypnosis help you? You might bring forward some inner truths, which is what hypnosis is generally used for. These might shed light on some self-sabotage or some other situations you’re currently placing yourself in.

2. Hypnosis cannot make you do something against your will.

Those people you see on stage have the desire to do something outrageous, which is why certain suggestions work on them. If you don’t have that desire, hypnotic suggestions would not have the same effect on you.

3. You can’t be stuck in a permanent hypnotic state.

Hypnosis is merely a relaxed and focused state so it’s impossible to be “stuck” there.

• For instance, if the specialist left the room, one of two things would happen. Either you will fall asleep and wake up naturally, or your mind will realize nothing is happening and bring you out of your focused state.

Benefits of Hypnosis

Hypnosis can be helpful in many ways, from remembering people’s names to completely changing your life. Many people use hypnosis to change habits, such as quitting smoking, and to form new habits, like exercising daily. Hypnosis can even be used for weight loss. Many people with food and sugar addictions find hypnosis helpful.

Research even suggests that hypnosis may be able to make your body look younger by reprogramming new cells and instructing them to find the healthiest blueprint to develop.

What Is Hypnosis Used For?

There are a couple of different ways to induce hypnosis, including self-hypnosis and seeing a specialist. Here are some of the benefits of each:

Self-Hypnosis Tools

Using CDs and MP3 downloads, you can practice self-hypnosis in the comfort of your own home. This allows you to get into a comfortable and relaxed state more quickly and stay there for extended amounts of time.

The relaxation is a key part of being hypnotized, and there are many programs that take you through the relaxing process all the way to helping you accomplish the changes you wish to make.

Another added benefit is the cost. While seeing a specialist can be a huge benefit, cost is a giant hurdle for many people.

Specialists

Seeing a specialist is a great way to start your hypnosis regimen. Having a professional to guide you is a great tool. Specialists can also help with uncovering some of the innermost issues you might have and fix your problem on a deeper level.

If you have any questions, most specialists will allow a free consultation so you can first get the feel of them and their space. The biggest thing to remember is you must feel comfortable and be open to their practices if you want to make a change.

Hypnosis totally depends on you. If you don’t want to be hypnotized or feel you can’t be hypnotized, then your mind will stop you. Without your comfort and willingness, hypnosis will not work, no matter what route you try.

If you want to make a change for the better, do your research and understand what hypnosis really is so you can make an informed decision. After all, hypnosis can’t make you do something against your own mind, against your will!