How does a hypnotherapy session feel? What you need to know about hypnosis

Hypnosis has a halo of mystery around it, but there’s nothing mystical or mysterious about this technique, which was commonly used in the first form of psychotherapy and has proven major clinical utility in recent years. There’s a lot of science backing up the effectiveness of hypnotherapy to relieve obscure sources of pain, relieve stress, sleep better, and help patients get rid of unhealthy behaviors (1, 2).

What is hypnosis?

Hypnosis is a state of mind that brings together relaxation, suggestibility, and dissociation. In other words, in order to be hypnotized you need to relax your mind, listen to your hypnotist, and start role-playing and traveling with your mind according to his instructions (2). Even though there are changes in the brain waves and brain patterns during hypnosis, it is a personal experience, and hypnotherapy relies on psychological cues and subjective perceptions (3). But people say many things about this technique, and not all of them are accurate. That’s why we are going to address one of the questions that people usually ask their hypnotist before a session starts.

How does a hypnotherapy session feel?

Common myths and misconceptions about hypnosis include the belief that you will lose your consciousness or enter a state of blackout. However, during a session of hypnosis, you will be fully aware of your thoughts and actions. You will have complete control of your body, and it will be impossible to force you to do something you don’t want to. In this regard, hypnosis shares similar features found in daydreaming and meditation, and studies show that it changes the default-mode network in your brain (4). Hypnotherapy will help you let go and achieve a state of relaxation that will allow you to enter a state of mindfulness that is a bit similar to what you feel in a session of guided meditation. The only risk you take is dozing off in the middle of your hypnotherapy session or resting your head at an uncomfortable angle and experiencing mild neck pain afterward (2). However, all of this will be adequately addressed and prevented by your hypnotist.

Am I a candidate for advanced hypnosis?

Since you will not be forced to do anything against your will, and the experience depends on your absolute compliance, the main requirement is that you really want to go through advanced hypnosis. Some individuals are more hypnotizable than others, and it apparently has to do with their will to be hypnotized, their response to hypnotic suggestions, and their brain waves (5). So, you’re free to try hypnotherapy for yourself if you want to reach your dreams and feel there’s something obstructing the way. If you can’t rid of unhealthy habits or want to recover your calm and peace, the advanced hypnosis we offer in Master Mind is what you’re looking for. Hypnotherapy has much to offer, not only for clinical applications but in your personal and professional life as well. Are you willing to try a hypnotist for yourself and see how your life starts to change?

• “Approved as a valid treatment by the American Medical Association in 1958, hypnotism has become increasingly accepted by the medical community. Its use for chronic pain was approved in 1996 by the National Institutes of Health.”

-The Capital (Annapolis, MD), 4/04

• “There’s entrancing news about hypnosis; it’s gaining credibility as a treatment for a multitude of troubles, from nicotine addiction to post-traumatic stress disorder.”

-Business Week, Feb 2/04

• “It is employed today to combat phobias, control bad habits and enhance performance.”

• “Can Hypnosis Help You Lose Weight? I’m 32 Pounds Lighter.”

Ira Allen, Center for the Advancement of Health -Washingtonian, 3/02

• “…hypnosis can help adult patients control other forms of pain, relieve gastrointestinal problems, stimulate weight loss, clear up skin problems, and accelerate the healing of bone fractures and surgical wounds.-Consumer Reports, 1/05
• ” Master Mind  can also be found under the following search phrases: Hypnotist, Hypnotists, Buffalo Hypnotherapy, Hypnotherapist, Hypnotism, Stage Hypnotist