My background in hypnosis started at 16. My mother was, unfortunately, dying of cancer and went to a pain management specialist who made her a hypnosis tape. She listened to it exactly one time before it was turned over to me. One side was a guided meditation, and the other side was simply the ocean. I listened to the guided meditation repeatedly and was fascinated by how I felt after the journey.
I had also always been obsessed with reincarnation and past lives, which did not sit well with my very Catholic mother. I started reading books and listening to audio tapes about reincarnation around that same time. In college, on Friday nights when everyone else was out partying, I would gather friends and hypnotize everyone to discover who they might’ve been in previous lives. Needless to say, I was an odd kid.
But my endless curiosity paid off as I built my natural healing business, including medical massage, Reiki, homeopathy, coaching, nutrition, and so many other things. In 2013, I yearned to return to my exploration of hypnosis, so I enrolled in a free discovery course at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in Los Angeles.
I realized this was the next addition for me, so I finished their entire program in 2014. During my time utilizing and studying hypnotherapy, I began to realize there are a lot of misconceptions about the method. My objective in this article is to dispel those for you and hopefully open your mind a little bit more as to how hypnotherapy can benefit you. Enjoy.
Getting Trapped in a Hypnotic State
You’ve probably seen the movie where the evil villains hypnotize someone, fall through the floor and become trapped, go assassinate some sitting politician, or get stuck in hypnosis and completely change their behavior, as happened in Office Space. Let’s dispel this one first.
It’s not possible. It makes a great movie plot but you cannot get stuck in hypnosis. During a session with me, if I leave the room, pass out, or stop talking, you will eventually open your eyes and go, “Oh, I should probably call someone to get Kathy off the floor.”
And in hypnosis, you will not do or say anything you would not do out of hypnosis. So, all those crazy stage hypnosis shows where people pretend they’re Beyoncé or act like they’re on a roller coaster? These people would do that not in hypnosis. This is why the stage hypnotists are very specific to test the audience to see who is easily hypnotizable and who wants to have fun. I will say that most of us walk around through our everyday lives pretty much hypnotized, like the movie Shaun of the Dead.
Often, I have to un-hypnotize people in my office before I can hypnotize them to do the work that we want to do.
Thinking You Can’t Be Hypnotized
This has gone back and forth in the industry for years. For a while, it was thought that certain people could not be hypnotized, but the latest thing I’m aware of is that we believe everyone can be hypnotized somehow. We might just have to go about it differently.
Some people have a condition called aphantasia, meaning they can’t see anything in their minds. If I tell them to picture a cat, they just get blackness in their mind’s eye and can’t see anything. But that does not mean that they conceptually do not understand what a cat is. If you need to go to the store to buy a lemon, you don’t have to Google what a lemon looks like before you can buy one. So, even though you can’t see images in your mind, hypnosis can be effective for you.
There is a swath of the population that is very analytical, and in their heads, they believe that they cannot be hypnotized. That has also proven to be untrue if you use certain induction techniques. As I mentioned before, we walk around in hypnosis most of the time.
Sitting in front of a slot machine with all the lights, sounds, colors, and movement is hypnotizing. We probably all have had the experience of driving on the freeway and suddenly “come to” and wonder if we passed our exit or showed up to our office on a Saturday because we just automatically drove that route.
This is basically hypnosis. It’s that feeling of not quite being asleep and not quite being awake. It’s a natural state for us, and it feels really good. So, as far as I believe right now, everyone can be hypnotized in some way.
What If I Get Out of Control?
As I mentioned before, you will not do anything in a trance that you would not do out of a trance. You are not losing control, and I am not taking control of your mind, your thoughts, or your bank account. You will not give me your pin number or run down the street naked unless those are things you would do out of hypnosis.
Assuming Hypnosis Will Solve Your Problems
Some hypnotherapists may disagree with me on this one, but I do not believe hypnosis will fix everything! It can help a lot of things, but it is not a cure-all. I had a man call me and ask if I could hypnotize him to be a better husband. I laughed because I thought he was kidding. I asked for further clarification.
He said, “I want to be a better husband, can you hypnotize me?” I said, “What does being a better husband mean?” and he said, “I don’t know.” (I would like to have a conversation with his wife).
He thought that I could literally snap my fingers and make him a better husband without him even knowing what ‘better husband’ meant. He got very belligerent when I told him that’s not how it worked, saying that he quit doing cocaine with hypnosis, so why couldn’t I make him a better husband? I congratulated him on overcoming his addiction and told him he would have to move on to someone else.
So, Then, What Is Hypnosis Good For?
I divide hypnosis into three categories.
Spiritual
A lot of people use hypnosis for past life exploration or tapping into myth and archetype in an altered state. Psychedelics are the up-and-coming next big thing for medicine and mental health, and much like psychedelics, we have to remember that hypnosis is also an altered state. Like I said before, I’ve been playing with hypnosis for reincarnation since I was an early teenager, and it has been beneficial for my clients as well as myself.
Don’t believe in past lives? Doesn’t matter to me. If you have to make up a story that you are a Russian princess in the 1400s, and that heals the relationship with your father or makes migraines go away, I won’t argue with what your brain had to create to make that happen.
For many people, exploring their past lives is a type of therapy that cannot be bested by traditional talk therapy. It’s like jumping through a time portal to address common patterns that find a way to keep coming back to you. And for some people, past life regression can help them eradicate some of these issues once and for all.
Medical
This is where hypnosis can shine. I use hypnosis for pre- and post op for surgeries and also pain management. Several different methods help decrease pain in the body. You do want to make sure things like that are cleared by your doctor so you are not turning off pain in an area that has not been diagnosed correctly. The last thing you want to do is turn off the debilitating headaches that are letting you know you have a brain tumor.
Hypnosis can help with rehab after injuries and surgeries, help wounds heal quicker, and increase range of motion. The medical impact is endless, and more and more studies are being done about the benefits of medical hypnosis. Dental surgeries and less use of anesthesia are some of the top ones that have been studied.
Behavioral
This is another top use for hypnosis. Smoking cessation and weight loss are two of the most common reasons people seek out hypnosis. I have gotten clients to quit smoking after a lifetime of cigarette use in just one session. It is pretty remarkable. Hypnosis is also great for fears, phobias, and anxiety.
I have had clients with claustrophobia, fear of flying, fear of public speaking, and inability to drive more than 10 miles away from their house. After a few sessions, I have found those symptoms dissipating and full function returning. I can’t guarantee that you’ll be a better husband, but you will be more comfortable sitting on the plane with the one you have.
Ready to Try Out Hypnosis?
I hope this gives you a better idea of hypnotherapy and how it can be used to benefit you andyour friends and loved ones. If you are interested in pursuing hypnosis, you can visit this site to find a practitioner near you.
