HYPNOSIS MYTHS

 

 

 

MYTH:  I am too strong minded to be hypnotized, I think only weak minded people can be hypnotized.

 

The more intelligent and imaginative you are the more easily you can be hypnotized.  Hypnosis is all about  narrowed focus and concentration.  It is true though, that some people can't or shouldn't be hypnotized.

 

People  with IQ's under 80, people suffering from dissociative disorders and children under 5 should not be hypnotized. These clients may have trouble achieving the concentration necessary to achieve the alpha brain state.

 

MYTH:  Hypnosis comes from "Black Magic" or is "Supernatural" and a Hypnotist is like a psychic or a fortune teller

 

Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy is based on many years of clinical research by the medical community. Famous researchers and proponents include Dr. Sigmund Freud, Dr. Carl Jung, Dr. Milton Erikson and Dr. John Kappas. Oft times people equate hypnotists with psychics and palm readers and nothing could be further from the truth.  Hypnosis is a natural state that has been studied scientifically. (See RESEARCH) People go into trances all the time. Have you ever been stopped at a stop light and "zoned out?" that is a trance state.

Have you ever been completely absorbed in a movie or book? That is similar to a trance state.

 

MYTH:  This is mind control. I don't want to cluck like a chicken or start moonwalking

 

If you wouldn't do it in "real life" then you won't do it under hypnosis. Hypnotized people are very aware of their normal standards of behaviour and moral conduct. Stage hypnotists rely on extroverted folks looking forward to having an excuse to "cut loose". Your morals and ethics remain completely intact.

 

 

MYTH Hypnosis is sleep

 

No. While a person in a trance may look like they are sleeping they are not.

 

EEG's done  on subjects under hypnosis reveal a high level of alpha waves revealing that the hypnotized person is awake, alert and very responsive.

 

MYTH:  I will lose all awareness of my surroundings and be at the mercy of the hypnotist.

 

Hypnosis is a state in which you can think clearly and your imagination is active. It’s a state where you could move if you wanted to or if there were an emergency but you would rather just remain delightfully relaxed. It’s a state in which beneficial ideas can more quickly and easily gain access to the inner mind. And because we all experience trance each day, we can understand just how safe it is.

 

 MYTH:  You will become stuck in hypnosis if something happens to the hypnotist.

 

The subject will eventually become bored and will get up when they feel like it. The hypnotist does not exercise mind control or special powers they are facilitators and the patient is in charge of how long and how deep their hypnotic trance is.

 

MYTH:  Hypnosis is like truth serum

 

In hypnosis, the psychological “Law of Self-Preservation” is in effect. You can control what you choose to say. So while in a hypnotic trance you won’t “spill the beans” or tell your secrets.--if you talk at all. Most sessions require you to do the work internally and ideomotor signals are used rather than dialogue.