INTRODUCTION: Consider this your introduction to Hypnosis: Like the popular "Dummy" book series, the following article is a crash-course in Hypnosis: who can be Hypnotized, what it is and why it works:
I get this question ALL the time: "Can I be hypnotized?"
Or, "I can't be Hypnotized!"
Or, the clincher, "My mind's too strong to be Hypnotized."
Once and for all, let me explain what Hypnosis is, and answer the million-dollar question: Can everyone can be Hypnotized?
Yes, everyone can. Let me explain:
Since 2003 when I went into private practice as a Hypnotherapist, I have Hypnotized hundreds of people. Children, adults, skeptics and enthusiasts alike. Some were more easily relaxed while others had to work at it; some were so relaxed that they fell asleep and I had to wake them up repeatedly. But ALL of them, regardless of age or symptoms, could be hypnotized. How?
Hypnosis is not magic, it is not mysterious; it can be explained easily and scientifically. The only "un-fun" thing about science is that it can seem to "take the magic" out of what first seemed a miracle. Hypnosis is like a card trick; once you know the trick, it's childlike in simplicity. Hypnosis is simple and not complicated. Hypnosis is nothing more than a slower brain wave than the waking, conscious brain wave known as the Beta. The slower brain wave of Hypnosis fame is known as the Alpha, and occurs whenever we are "falling asleep," or awakening from a deeper sleep. We pass through a natural state of Hypnosis at least twice daily: once when falling asleep, and once upon wakening (and more if we take a nap). It is a deep state of relaxation, where your concentration is fixed upon the Hypnotherapists voice, and you are still considered conscious (awake), but are close to slipping into sleep (sleep being the Theta/Rapid Eye Movement brain wave, and the Delta/Dreamless Sleep brain wave). Now that I've de-mystified it, and you realize you've been experiencing hypnosis with regularity, why would you pay a therapist to use it?
In our conscious, waking state of the Beta brain wave, all of us have what Sigmund Freud first coined as, "Defense Mechanisms" unconsciously running. You might be thinking, wouldn't I know if I was defensive? How could I not be aware of that? Don't worry, it happens to everybody. Kind of like an unintended burp; once in awhile it bubbles to the surface when we are under stress, because we are human. Anna Freud named about a dozen of them for purposes of psychology, but for our purposes here, suffice to say we have these unconscious defense mechanisms which are "underground" that surface from time to time. However, when we are deeply relaxed, such as in the Alpha brain wave (or Hypnosis), our defense mechanisms are inhibited; they are being lulled into a peaceful state where they forget all about objecting and defending us, and "let their guard down." It is this state of acceptance that the Hypnotherapist is hoping for, and once deeply relaxed, makes suggestions to. The suggestions may be to stop smoking, to lose weight, to stop other unhealthy habits, or to cure a phobia. Hypnosis works because the therapist is speaking directly to the unconscious mind, and not to the conscious mind; this is important, because the conscious mind is armed with crafty defense mechanisms to "shoot down" conscious changes we would like to make. Why our conscious mind does this to us is a whole other story...just understand that the right brain, the seat of the unconscious mind, houses our childlike ability to create, to play, to imagine, to make music, to dream and to believe. Therefore, it is the accepting right brain, or the "unconscious mind," that the therapist is itching to work with, because it is the seat of change.
Because Hypnosis is a natural, slower brain wave than our waking brain wave, and we are accustomed to experiencing it on a daily basis when we enter and exit out of sleep, it is also a natural, comfortable and gentle means of changing habit patterns. It is utilizing the power of the right brain for change. It is a method of bypassing the old, stuck unconscious belief systems and defense mechanisms, and going for a new result. It is not a miracle, but a method of reprogramming our brains so that we allow the fresh, new energy of the right brain in to "reason" with our defensive conscious mind. It allows us to attain a balance between our old, stuck patterns and new information. Yes, you can be Hypnotized. The question is: will you?
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