9 Myths Most People Believe About Hypnosis

ByDorothy M. Neddermeyer Ph.D.

The majority of people have heard that hypnosis is an amazing tool to create dramatic changes. In spite of all the positive reports about hypnosis, many people wonder if hypnosis is safe or if it works. Will I lose control? What if I get “stuck” and can’t come out? Will I remember? These are just a few of the questions people ask when they consider using hypnosis to make behavior, habit or lifestyle changes.

  • Hypnosis resolves issues in one session – If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.  The truth is that few people resolve an issue in one session. Hypnosis usually requires 3 to 6 sessions, or sometimes 20 sessions. This isn’t naked profiteering, change takes time.  Hypnotherapy is a highly effective technique to resolve/heal issues at the subconscious and soul level. This comparison study illuminates the effectiveness.
  • American Health Magazine (1969) reported the following findings from a study by Alfred A. Barrios, Ph.D. An updated study “Hypnotherapy: A Reappraisal” by Alfred A. Barrios, Ph.D. published in Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice (Spring, 1970) clearly points out – Hypnosis is more effective and works more quickly than traditional talk-therapy or psychoanalysis. http://www.stresscards.com/esspsychotherapy.htm http://bit.ly/gc4hcr  Hypnosis Comparison Study:  Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice (Spring, 1970),  Alfred A. Barrios, Ph.D,
    • Hypnotherapy: – 93% recovery after 6 sessions
    • Behavior Therapy: – 72% recovery after 22 sessions
    • Psychoanalysis: – 38% recovery after 600 sessions
  • Not remembering – Although, some information may seem fuzzy, one is not in an amnesia state following a hypnosis session. Usually, you will have full recollection unless you have chosen, or unless it has been suggested as beneficial, to block specific memories.
  • Losing control – During hypnosis you are fully aware, and fully in control. Hypnosis is “a state of intense focused concentration.” Everyone goes into a natural altered state– trance–every day. You are actually in this altered state when you are watching a movie or reading a book and someone comes in the room and talks to you and you don’t hear them. Your conscious mind is so focused on what you are watching or reading that you don’t hear them. Children naturally go into this altered state easily, so they may not be ignoring you when they are at their play station or watching TV and don’t respond when you say their name. Another example is when you are driving and miss your regular exit or pull into your driveway and can’t remember the last several minutes of your drive. Like the everyday trance experiences described above you never lose control. For example, if during a hypnosis session you became aware that the building was on fire, or there was a loud noise you would open your eyes and return to ‘normal’ without any prompting.
  • Not ‘waking up’  – If you are tired, you may fall asleep, however, no-one has ever been ‘stuck’ in a trance. You would wake up naturally if unprompted.
  • Hypnosis may be dangerous – A hypnotic trance can be compared to a natural, everyday trance–only more highly focused. So long as hypnosis is used by a responsible professional there are no concerns regarding safety.
  • Hypnotized against your will – It is impossible to trick someone into hypnosis or hypnotize someone who does not wish to be hypnotized. You are in complete control at all times.
  • Being made to do something you would not normally do – You would never do anything which is against your morals or beliefs while hypnotized. A hypnotist can not make you cluck like a chicken or rob a bank, unless you wanted to rob a bank! Or you would cluck like a chicken as a form of entertainment.
  • Hypnosis might prompt unwilling disclosures – a person is prompted to tell their deepest dark secrets–like it is a truth serum. – A person will never disclose any information unless they are entirely comfortable to do so. Often it is not necessary for the hypnotist to know the exact details of an issue, so long as the person is aware of them and the significance they may play to their treatment. Due to the confidential nature of the client – hypnotist relationship, many people are surprised that they are happy to discuss issues which they may have never discussed with anyone before. You can never be made to say or do anything that you don’t want to. However, all knowledge and wisdom is stored in your subconscious mind, so you have all the answers to your own problems within you. If you want to resolve or release a person or event from the past or change a behavior, you can choose to access that part of your mind for the information needed to help heal, release or change a habit so you can move forward in your life.
  • You can’t lie under hypnosis – Hypnosis is not a magical state in which you only speak the truth. This is a natural result of the fact that you are not helpless when hypnotized, your usual moral (and immoral) faculties are still active. Not only can you lie under hypnosis, but lying is not necessarily any more detectable hypnotized than when not (Sheehan & Statham, 1988).

Like millions before you, these concerns are understandable, now you can rest assured hypnosis is safe. Most important to remember–there are no adverse side effects as a result of using hypnosis.