What Is Hypnosis And How Does It Work

Towards the back end of 2009 the BBC reported on a study that was performed at Hull University in England. For proponents of hypnosis and hypnotherapy, the findings were very exciting indeed. The research showed that the brains scans of people who had been hypnotized showed a decreased level of activity in the part of the brain linked to daydreaming compared to those who were in a normal state of mind. This would seem to prove that hypnosis isn't just the placebo that skeptics make it out to be.

Since the news of this study broke more and more people have been willing to try hypnosis as a complementary treatment. The fact that it can be used to help treat addictions, anxiety, health issues, weight problems and other things means that hypnosis can aid a wide number of people. Even with this new found confidence people have in hypnosis though, few laypeople understand what hypnosis is and how it works.

While scientists are still not 100% sure about what hypnosis is and how it works (this can be attributed to the fact that we have only just scratched the surface on how the mind itself works), there is a general prevailing theory.

Hypnosis is considered to be an altered state of awareness whereby the person hypnotized obtains a heightened state of focus. This state primes the subconscious mind to be altered with hypnotic suggestions. This is the point at which a hypnotherapist will implant suggestions to their client that they no longer crave to smoke, that they desire to exercise regularly or that their body is healing at a faster rate. Because the subconscious part of the mind has difficulty distinguishing between fantasy and reality in the way that the conscious mind can, it begins to believe the hypnotic suggestions to be very real which causes a change in the way the mind works. Whereas before they had been hypnotized a person might crave a cigarette once every hour or so, after hypnosis these cravings would become more manageable or perhaps dissipate entirely.

A session of hypnosis consists of five parts. It begins with pre-talk where the hypnotherapist and their client discuss what they hope to achieve from the session. Then the session itself begins with a hypnotic induction which induces a light hypnotic state in the client. There is then a hypnotic deepener which deepens the hypnotic state. Both the induction and deepener typically consist of deep breathing exercises and/or creative visualization. At this point the client is ready to take hypnotic suggestions on board. Depending on the pre-agreed purpose of the session the suggestions could be to eat less fatty foods, exercise more often, feel confident around members of the opposite sex, or whatever else they wish to achieve. After this is done the hypnotherapist then wakes the client from the hypnotic state and the session is concluded.

Contrary to popular belief the client is neither asleep or unconscious whilst they are hypnotized. They are fully aware of what is being said to them and anything that may be happening around them. This is why a hypnotherapist can't make someone do something that they don't wish to do. Some people worry that a hypnotherapist might make them tell them all their secrets. However, not only is this not possible as the client would simply refuse (plus it is also possible to lie under hypnosis which is why hypnotic regressions cannot be used in a court of law) but a hypnotherapist would not want to risk their good name and business by doing something so highly unethical.

I hope that this article has cleared up any questions you may have about hypnosis. Should you choose to use it as a form of treatment I wish you the very best of success.

Further Reading

To learn more about hypnosis please visit the Self Hypnosis Guide on Squidoo. You may also enjoy this hypnosis success story of how a man turned his life around with hypnosis.