Frequently Asked Questions

Will I be able to be hypnotized?

As a matter of fact every normal person has many times been in a state which is essentially the same as the hypnotic condition. You have at times been completely absorbed in something you were doing, e.g., reading a highly interesting novel. When you are in this state people may speak to you and you do not hear. Your attention is fixated on what you are doing. In a hypnosis session you give your attention to what the hypnotist is saying to you and other things do not distract you. You will certainly be able to go into the hypnotic state if you cooperate and concentrate on what is being said to you.

Will I lose consciousness?

No! You will no more lose consciousness in the hypnotic state than you did when you were paying complete attention to your reading. The word sleep is frequently used with reference to hypnosis, but it is not the night-time sleep. To someone else you will appear to be asleep because your eyes are closed and you are relaxed, but you will know that you are not asleep like at night. You might feel quite wide awake.

Will I have difficulty awakening?

No! You are at all times able to “awaken” yourself should you wish to do so. However, it is to your advantage to remain in the hypnotic state until your therapist asks you to awaken.

Is a “weak” will essential for hypnosis?

On the contrary, an imaginative and creative person is more likely to be successful in hypnosis. Strictly speaking, YOU put yourself into the hypnotic state. Hypnosis is learned and anyone can become better and better at it with time. A hypnotist is a teacher or instructor...an "operator." It takes self-control to go into the hypnotic state and with repeated hypnosis you will learn better self-control. This will be useful to you in many other ways later on.

On repeated occasions will I find going into hypnosis easier?

Yes, because you will learn better how to go into the hypnotic state just as you learn other skills by practice.

Some situations take several hours, can I stay under hypnosis that long?

Yes, if you are willing and the hypnotist asks you to do so.

Can I be hypnotized against my will?

No! No matter how well you have learned to go into the hypnotic state you can always refuse to do so if you desire. You have learned to write but you do not have to write unless you wish to. Hypnosis is the same. Remember, no matter what anyone says ALL hypnosis is actually Self-Hypnosis. In a session you decide what you accept and what

If I am in the hypnotic state and someone suggests I do an immoral act, will I comply?

No! It is unlikely that a person can be caused to violate a concept of morality to which he is strongly attached. However, an ethical hypnotherapist is a professional who is governed by a very strict code and he would not think of asking you to do anything immoral.

Just what is hypnosis? Is it sleep or is it wakefulness? Is it somehow related to occult phenomena?

It has nothing to do with the occult. Hypnosis is a naturally occurring state of consciousness that everyone experiences and will experience at one time or another. It is neither sleep nor wakefulness yet related to both. It is a state of receptivity, where the unconscious can be accessed, life-long patterns understood, and memories recovered.

If the client is always in control, how can a stage hypnotist make an adult act like a chicken or do foolish stunts?

Remember - everyone in the audience is there to be entertained and knows full well the sort of stunts that volunteers are asked to do. Obviously, only members of the audience for whom this behavior is OK will volunteer and get selected — the hypnotist also carefully screens the volunteers.

Does the hypnotherapist control my mind? Can he make me do things I don’t want to do?

No. You are always in control. Should the hypnotherapist make an unwelcome, inappropriate or destructive suggestion, you would reject it or become fully alert.

Will hypnosis harm me?

Hypnosis can do you no more harm than night-time sleep. However, if you are hypnotized by an untrained person he might give you suggestions which may cause you discomfort. Always be hypnotized by those who are skillfully trained and you trust before the session begins. If you feel uncomfortable before the session, you will feel the same during.

Should I use hypnosis for my problems?

Of course you should! Of course, that’s our opinion because this is our profession, but we think that hypnosis is an excellent way to get to the root of problems and issues. It is up to you, but we would like to help you solve your problems quickly and effectively by going into the subconscious to determine what is really behind the problems and working from the base-cause upward.

Except as an interesting phenomenon, what good is it?

The subconscious mind is infinitely more powerful than the conscious. It uncritically stores some 60,000 stimuli per second. It is the repository of our memories, emotions, habits and experiences while controlling the autonomic system which keeps all of our bodily processes synchronized perfectly, second to second, minute by minute and does it all - automatically!

Is there any danger that I won’t be able to “wake up”?

No; you are not asleep. In fact in order for you to stay hypnotized, you must receive a flow of continuous sounds or suggestions upon which you can focus. Left alone, you would easily become fully alert on your own.