THE DEFINITION OF SELF-HYPNOSIS: Hypnotism is a state of hyper-suggestibility where the conscious and the subconscious mind disconnect. It is an altered state of consciousness where the hypnotized patient is more likely to believe the Hypno-technician's suggestions.

You have been in self-hypnosis many times in the past without even recognizing the state. If you've ever seen a sad T.V. show and reacted with a tear in your eye, you have been hypnotized. You entered a state of increased suggestibility where you uncritically accepted the suggestion of gloom on the TV screen and reacted with a sad emotion, your tear. To put it into different words, your reasoning ability, which is controlled by your conscious mind, was bypassed. You did not reason that the show was just a play; you accepted the drama as being authentic. So you reacted with real emotion and shed a tear.

WHO CAN BE PLACED IN HYPNOSIS? It has been found that all normal people are hypnotizable to a greater or lesser extent. Subjects with the I.Q. of the moron level of intelligence or lower generally are not hypnotizable. People who are in an active state of psychosis generally are not hypnotizable. Senile people are usually impossible to hypnotize. I have found in my own hypnotherapy practice dealing with many retired people as old as 85 years of age, that self-hypnosis is a potent and beneficial method for most people. A person's motivation is the key to success.

DO I HAVE TO BE A "DEEP" SUBJECT TO BE SUCCESSFUL? For the curative applications of self-hypnosis we most often deal with, depth of any kind is not required. One can be the lightest possible subject and still obtain all of the benefits from self-hypnosis that the deepest subjects will obtain. I strongly feel that over the years, far too much importance has been placed on how deep a subject can go. If the client is deep, it can be of benefit. This however, may not necessarily be the case. In fact, with the latest hypnotic methods like Ericksonian self-hypnosis and state of the art "NLP" (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), hypnotic depth is one of the least essential aspects, which contribute to a successful outcome.

ARE THERE ANY DANGERS IN SELF-HYPNOSIS? There are basically no dangers to the practice of self-hypnosis. It is impossible to "get stuck" in self-hypnosis. The most terrible thing that can possibly happen while a person is in hypnosis is that she might fall into a natural state of sleep for 20 or 30 minutes. She would awaken rested and out of the state of self hypnosis.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT SELF-HYPNOSIS: There are many misnomers about self-hypnosis. Most of them are due to stage and television shows. As luck would have it, it's because of the fact that the television can hypnotize you that these misnomers are so well-established in people's minds.

IS SELF-HYPNOSIS A STATE OF SLEEP? The largest misconception about self-hypnosis is that it's a state of sleep. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are asleep, you are unconscious. If you are unconscious, you cannot hear anything. If you cannot hear anything, then the hypnotist cannot help you. Hypnosis is a state of keen awareness. The subject is wide-awake and aware of everything around her. This misconception comes from the stage Hypnotist's use of the word "sleep" as analogous to a state of hypnosis. When the old time hypnotist swung the watch in front of the subject's face, he told the subject that she was getting "sleepy." He then told the subject to "go to sleep." What he meant was to go into a hypnotic sleep, not a natural sleep.

IS THERE A HYPNOTIZED FEELING? The second largest misconception about hypnosis is that there is a hypnotized feeling. There is no particular hypnotized feeling. I repeat there is no particular hypnotized feeling. Most people feel very relaxed when in hypnosis, as relaxation seems to be the essence of hypnotism. Some people feel heavy. Some people feel light. Some people have other sensations and feelings. Other people have absolutely no feeling that they are in hypnosis, and believe they haven't been hypnotized when they most definitely have.

CAN THE HYPNOTHERAPIST TAKE CONTROL OF ME? NO! The hypnotist cannot force you to do anything against your will. There is always an observing ego state. Should the therapist make a suggestion that you find offensive; this ego state would reject the suggestion. Additionally, you will probably come out of the hypnotic state if the hypnotist makes an offensive suggestion to you.

CAN THE THERAPIST FORCE ME TO DIVULGE MY SECRETS? You won't give up any secrets while in self hypnosis unless you want to. The hypnotherapist doesn't have any control over the subject. Quite the contrary, the subject has more control over herself since at this time she can directly communicate with her own subconscious mind. The subject can easily decline any suggestion the hypnotherapist makes, no matter how simple or complicated the suggestion might be. The subject can open her eyes, emerge from the state of self-hypnosis, and walk out of the room at any time she chooses.

MUST PEOPLE TELL THE TRUTH WHEN IN THE HYPNOTIC STATE? NO! People can lie when in hypnosis.

DO HYPNOTISTS HAVE SUPERNATURAL POWERS? This is a common misnomer. The hypnotherapist doesn't have any special powers, nor does he have any special vibrations with which to hypnotize you into the hypnotic state. Actually, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The hypnotherapist leads the subject into a state of self hypnosis. In other words, the ability of self-hypnosis is within the subject.

WHY DO PEOPLE FAIL TO REACH THEIR GOALS WHEN USING SELF-HYPNOSIS? Perhaps the biggest reason for the inability to reach one's goals through hypnotherapy is an insufficient amount of practice where self-hypnosis is concerned. 

The most common reason for the return of a symptom or "relapse" is the premature discontinuance of self-hypnosis with the Hypno-therapist or recorded program. While self-hypnosis is important, it is generally the hetero-hypnosis with the hypnotherapist or hypnosis recording which has the greatest impact upon the subconscious mind. 

This is because of the experience that the hypnotherapist has vs. the lack of experience of the client. Some people are penny wise and pound-foolish. They mentally set an amount of time or money that they are willing to spend for help. And then they prematurely stop their sessions because; "I didn't lose 50 Lbs. in two days, so it isn't working." 

If a therapeutic method is really helping one to make positive changes, then it is invaluable and it should be sustained. For this reason it is wise to have follow up hypnosis sessions, even after a symptom seems to have disappeared completely. Self-hypnosis should be an ongoing affair on a daily basis. Ultimately, YOUR SUCCESS IS UP TO YOU!

WILL I BE BETTER OFF HIRING A HYPNOTIST, OR WILL PURCHASING A RECORDED PROGRAM WORK BETTER? That is a wonderful question. Normally I would recommend that you use the services of a reputable hypnotherapist. The reason is that by meeting with you, a good hypnotherapist / NLP'er will be able to customize his approach to your personality and your favored representational system -- the way you favor taking in information through your senses to make sense out of it and react to it. 

In my opinion, ninety-nine percent of the recorded hypnosis tapes available at this time are strictly Traditional Hypnosis, and consist of only one or maybe two sessions of it at that. Traditional Hypnosis is nothing more than a set of direct post-hypnotic commands: "If you eat a brownie you'll barf." "You will not have urges," etc.. This technology has a very poor track record of success because everyone of our generation has been educated to question everything. That's why you, your friends, and your kids usually do the opposite of what they are told to do. This is called a polarity response.

That being said, having sessions with any hypnotherapist / NLP'er who has enough experience to be able to actually help you can cost a great deal of money. There are some hypnotic programs available on the Internet that are based on Ericksonian Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) that have overcome those shortcomings. They've managed this by utilizing a mix of NLP, Traditional Hypnosis, Ericksonian Hypnosis, And the highly regarded Video Hypnosis technology. 

These are all modalities that are designed to do away with the resistance factor. In fact, Video Hypnosis and the NLP technology that it's based on do not utilize suggestion at all. These methods rely on using the thought processes that have created a problem, to eliminate it! 

Look for vendors who offer these methodologies in multi-session products. These are programs that generally have six to eight different hypnosis or NLP sessions, so you are exposed to a broad range of methodologies. It takes a lot of work to make this type of program, but the high success rates achieved are well worth the trouble. 

Stay away from the "one size fits all" -- "do-or-die" self-hypnosis CDs and downloads. Many people are lured in by these tapes because they are cheap, usually under $10.00. But is it cheap if it just wastes your valuable time and doesn't work? 

If you try something and it doesn't work, then you get mistrustful and start to expect the next approach to fail. And you get what you expect. Do you really think that the same exact post-hypnotic commands will work for everyone? Do you think that they will work for you? Do you always do exactly as you are told? Or do you usually feel a strong desire to do the opposite of what you are told?

Alan B. Densky, CH is an NGH Certified Hypnotherapist and NLP Practitioner who is a pioneer the hypnotherapy field. He started his practice in February of 1978. 

He is the developer of the Neuro-VISION Hypnosis technology, which received a US Patent. He also offers NLP and Ericksonian Hypnosis MP3s which effectively eliminate a broad range of symptoms. 

Visit both the Neuro-VISION Video Hypnosis site, and the  Best Hypnosis Downloads Hypnotherapy site to download a FREE Hypnotic Power Relaxation Program, or subscribe to one or more of the world-class hypnosis newsletters.

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