FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. WHAT IS HYPNOSIS?
There are many definitions for hypnosis. Hypnosis is a natural state of mind we all go in and out of daily. It is a focused state of concentration.
2. WHY DO SOME PEOPLE HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT HYPNOSIS?
Hypnosis is such a misunderstood phenomenon. For centuries it has been affiliated with spiritualism, Witchcraft and various other “unexplainable” events based on “B” movies, cheap novels and exaggerated claims made by undisciplined persons.
3. HOW IS STAGE HYPNOSIS DIFFERENT THAN CLINICAL HYPNOSIS?
Stage hypnosis is real. People are volunteering to participate in the antics of the stage show as soon they raise their hand. You might notice that the hypnotist always starts with five to ten people and usually ends up working with one or two primary “performers” who are highly suggestible and amenable to the suggestions being given.
4. IS HYPNOSIS DANGEROUS?
There has never been a documented case of harm coming to anyone from therapeutic hypnosis.
5. WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO BE HYPNOTIZED?
Hypnosis is a very pleasant feeling of complete physical and mental relaxation. It is similar to that moment between knowing you are awake and going into the sleep-state.
6. CAN A PERSON BE HYPNOTIZED AGAINST THEIR WILL?
No one is hypnotized against his/her will. Entering hypnosis is a consent state. The hypnotherapist assists and guides the subject, who then hypnotizes him/herself.
7. WHAT IS SELF-HYPNOSIS?
Techniques exist by which one can attain a state of self-hypnosis and gain complete relaxation under the most stressful conditions. In this state, the subconscious mind is open to therapeutic suggestions.
8. DO PEOPLE HAVE TROUBLE COMING OUT OF HYPNOSIS?
A person may choose to stay in hypnosis after an experienced hypnotist asks them to come out of it. The reason being, it is such a relaxed feeling of enjoyment, they prefer to stay hypnotized a while longer. If the hypnotherapist where to leave or in an extreme situation, die, the person would merely drift into a natural sleep to awaken at a more personally convenient time. In self- hypnosis, you have complete and utter control, and set your own limits. There has never been a documented case of someone unable to come out of hypnosis.
9. WHAT IS THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND?
The conscious mind, the mind you are conscious of, is your “ME”. It is the critical part of your mind. The subconscious mind is the one that directs your conduct through the habits and emotional desires acquired from the influences of your environment.
10. HOW IS HYPNOSIS DIFFERENT THAN MEDITATION?
Normally the mind is like a floodlight with your thoughts expanding out in many different directions. Hypnosis is where your mind is like a laser beam! Your thoughts are directed to a narrow set of ideas or thoughts to achieve a goal. Meditation is a quiet mind with no thinking.
11. HOW DOES SELF-HYPNOSIS DIFFER FROM HYPNOSIS BY HYPNOTIST?
In self-hypnosis YOU choose your own time limits, realizing you have a choice and can now select your area for self-improvement. Using a hypnotist at the beginning of your awareness training is of great benefit. It speeds up the learning process.
12. WHO CAN BE HYPNOTIZED?
Anyone with an open mind, reasonable intelligence and an ability to concentrate.
13. HOW DOES HYPNOSIS WORK?
The human mind is extremely suggestible and is being bombarded daily with suggestive stimuli from external sources, and suggestive thoughts and ideas from the inside. A good deal of suffering is the consequence of “negative” thoughts and impulses invading one’s mind from subconscious recesses.
Unfortunately, past experience, guilt feelings and repudiated impulses and desires are constantly pushing themselves into awareness, directly or in disguised forms. These thoughts become feelings which sabotage one’s happiness, health and efficiency. By the time one has reached adulthood, there has been a build- up of “negative” modes of thinking, feeling and acting which persist like bad habits. Like any habit, they are hard to break or change. Using hypnosis, we are able to transform negative attitudes into more positive ones. It takes time to extinguish old habit patterns so do not be discouraged if there is no immediate effect. As you begin using the principles being taught, you will notice the change.
Even when no apparent changes happen on the surface, much is happening on the inside. An analogy may be useful; if you were to hold a batch of white ink blotters above the level of your eyes so that you see only the bottom blotter and then begin to dribble drops of ink onto the top blotter, as you do this, you observe nothing happening or changing to the bottom blotter until sufficient ink has been poured to soak through into the entire thickness. Eventually the ink will come down. During this period while nothing seemingly has happened, changes were always occurring. Had the process been stopped before enough ink had been poured, we would be tempted to label the process a failure. Hypnotic suggestions are like ink poured on layers of resistance; one must keep repeating them before they soak in to begin to influence old destructive patterns.
14. CAN ANYONE BE HYPNOTIZED?
Everyone enters a hypnotic state every day, several times per day. It’s that state you are in when you are watching TV, reading a good book, engrossed in a movie that makes you happy or sad, and while listening to music. It’s the state you are in when you are just waking up or just going to bed. The lightest state of hypnosis (Alpha) is achieved easily and feels like you are daydreaming. Deep hypnosis which is when your brain waves are resonating in Theta tends to feel more like a light dream state or sleep.
15. WHAT IF I CAN’T BE HYPNOTIZED?
Most people feel or think this very same way. The fear is giving up control. The opposite is true. You are exercising a more powerful form of thought control than at other times by accepting the suggestions given. The only thought to prevent you from going into hypnosis is the thought , “I cannot be hypnotized”.
16. WHAT CAN SELF-HYPNOSIS DO FOR ME?
Anything you want it to do! Instant learning and photographic memory systems are based on self-hypnosis. Champions in many sports use it to improve their game concentration. You can now learn to overcome unwanted and undesirable habits, such as smoking, overeating or drinking. Effective Pain control is now at your finger tips. You regain self-confidence. You realize success is within easy reach of an active mind, and erasing harmful emotions leads to a happier and healthier life.
17. HOW MUCH TIME WILL IT TAKE ME AT HOME TO MAKE THIS WORK?
The true results of hypnosis come from your daily at home listening where the suggestions bombard your subconscious mind creating the changes from the deeper levels of the unconscious mind. The latest research shows that listening to hypnosis is MOST EFFECTIVE when falling asleep which seems to produce the fastest results! (I call hypnosis the best kept secret for modern life!)
18. HOW MANY SESSIONS BEFORE I SEE RESULTS?
Results vary from client to client based upon various factors but in an overall sense, hypnosis is intended to be brief and typically helps to accelerate learning and accelerate change! It is designed to get you there as quickly as possible. Most of our clients will tell you that our programs helped them to achieve results much faster than they could have done on their own or with just using talk therapy or coaching because it addresses the problem at the unconscious, not just at the logical, thought level.
19. DO I NEED A DOCTOR OR MENTAL HEALTH REFERRAL?
Hypnosis is widely recognized as a complimentary health modality to supplement and enhance traditional methods of healing. All medical and psychological conditions require a referral from your doctor or licensed mental health professional. All other topics do not require a doctor’s referral. Medical referral forms are provided upon request.
20. WILL I BE UNCONSCIOUS OR ASLEEP WHEN HYPNOTIZED?
The fact is, you do not have to go to sleep or lose consciousness to experience success with hypnosis. On the contrary, most clients achieve a very pleasant alpha brain wave state or daydream level of hypnosis in their first session.
Hypnosis is not a state of being unconscious. It is a state of deep relaxation or focused concentration instead. At home, on second and consecutive listening of your recording, most clients experience a deeper level of hypnosis (theta brain wave state) which feels like light sleep. This happens because your conscious mind is your protector and once it has heard the suggestions and is comfortable with them, you should notice yourself going deeper into a relaxed state with consecutive listening sessions.
21. DOES INSURANCE COVER HYPNOSIS?
We do not process insurance claims because each insurance company has different policies about hypnosis and the terms under which it is covered are constantly changing from year to year from policy to policy. However, many insurance companies do cover insurance for issues such as anxiety, smoking cessation, and weight loss with a medical doctor’s referral.