Myths and Concerns About Hypnotherapy

Questions

When I am in a trance can you make me cluck like a chicken? Bark like a dog? Act like a newborn baby? Will I tell you something I've never told anyone? Will I talk about things that are private? Could I stay "frozen" in one position and never come out of it? Could I harm myself?

What these questions are getting at is this: Can a hypnotist make you do something that is embarrassing, shocking, or irreversible? No, you will not do anything you do not think is acceptable. That is, you cannot be "made" to violate your own values or accepted patterns of behavior.

It is important for you to remember that a trance state can be terminated by you at any time. It is your choice to enter the trance state, and you can always choose to leave it. If you were left in a trance state by your Hypnotherapist or by your hypnotic tape, you would either return to full consciousness on your own or enter a natural sleep and awaken after a pleasant nap. No one has ever disappeared for long.

Myths

There are many serious is understandings about hypnosis. Many of these mis-understandings have been promoted by B-grade movies that depict people being transformed into zombie like creatures by some super-powerful mystic who says, "Look into my eyes". While this may make for an exciting movie, it is 100% fiction.

Some further myths are:

A hypnotist has magical powers.
This is completely false. A hypnotist is a very ordinary human being who has mastered the skill of utilizing suggestion to bring about desired results.

A person can be hypnotized and made to do things against his/her will.
Absolutely false. First of all no person can even be hypnotized against his or her will. The subject must be 100% cooperative in order for hypnosis to work. Secondly, no one under hypnosis can be made to do anything they would not freely do if not under hypnosis.

Only weak-minded people can be hypnotized.
Again false. The contrary is true. The more intelligent a person is, the easier it is to hypnotize him. Only about 1% of the population cannot be hypnotized, and most of these are because of mental deficiencies.

A hypnotized person is in a trance or is unconscious.
Not true at all. Under hypnosis, the subject is quite awake and aware, extremely so. The subject has merely focused his or her attention to where the hypnotist directs it, and is oblivious to anything else.

A person can get stuck in hypnosis.
This is completely false. Even if the operator dropped dead after putting the subject under deep hypnosis, the subject would come out of it quite easily.

Deep hypnosis is necessary for good results.
Not true. Any level of hypnosis from light to very deep can bring good results.