Hypnosis, Really?

Mention hypnosis and some people immediately picture someone on a stage clucking like a chicken.

Others imagine being asleep, unconscious or somehow giving another person control over their mind.

Thankfully, hypnotherapy is nothing like that.

What does hypnosis actually feel like?

Hypnosis is a natural state of focused attention.

You may experience something similar when you're absorbed in a book, daydreaming, watching a film or driving a familiar route and suddenly realizing you don't remember much of the last few kilometres.

You weren't unconscious. You were simply deeply absorbed while other things faded into the background.

Hypnosis works with that ability to focus your attention.

During hypnotherapy, you're not asleep and you don't lose control. You can hear what's being said, you can think, speak and make decisions, and you can stop at any time.

In fact, you remain in control throughout the entire process.

If you'd like to understand more about how I use hypnotherapy alongside mindset coaching, you can read about my approach on [How it Works].

Why use hypnosis if you're already consciously aware of the problem?

Because knowing something logically doesn't always change how you feel or respond.

You might know there's no reason to be anxious, but still feel anxious. You might know you're capable, but still doubt yourself. You might know a habit isn't helping you, but continue doing it. You might know you don't need everyone's approval, but still worry about what other people think.

If logic alone were enough, changing these patterns would be relatively easy.

But many of our thoughts, emotional responses, habits and beliefs have become automatic over time.

That's where working with the subconscious mind can be useful.

You can see how this applies specifically to worry and anxiety on my [Anxiety & Overthinking] page.

What is the subconscious mind?

Think of your conscious mind as the part that analyses, plans, reasons and makes deliberate decisions.

Your subconscious mind is responsible for much of what happens automatically. It includes learned associations, familiar emotional responses, habits and beliefs that have developed through your experiences.

These patterns can be incredibly useful.

You don't want to consciously think through every step involved in brushing your teeth or driving a car every time you do it.

But sometimes the mind continues running an old pattern long after it has stopped being helpful.

What happens during hypnotherapy?

Hypnosis allows you to become deeply focused while paying attention to thoughts, feelings, associations and experiences that may be connected to the pattern you're trying to change.

Sometimes that involves exploring earlier experiences and understanding the meaning you gave them at the time.

Perhaps you concluded:

"I'm not good enough."

"I'm different."

"I'm not safe."

"I can't cope."

"I need other people's approval."

The important part isn't simply finding an old memory.

It's understanding what you learned from it and whether that belief still serves you today.

As an adult, you can look at something from a very different perspective than you could as a child. And understanding that difference creates choice.

If you're interested in this part of the process, I explain it further in What Is Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT®) and How Does It Work?

Can a hypnotherapist control you?

No.

You cannot be made to reveal secrets, accept suggestions you don't want or do something against your values simply because you're hypnotized.

Hypnotherapy is a collaborative process.

A hypnotherapist can guide your attention, ask questions and offer suggestions, but you are actively involved in the process.

That's an important distinction between therapeutic hypnosis and the version of hypnosis you might have seen used for entertainment.

Hypnosis isn't magic

Hypnotherapy can be a powerful way of working with patterns that haven't shifted through conscious effort alone.

But it isn't about someone else changing your mind for you. You still bring your own willingness, choices and actions to the process.

And before trying to change anything, it helps to know what you want instead.

How would you like to feel?

How would you like to respond differently?

How would you like to see yourself?

Because ultimately, hypnotherapy isn't about losing control of your mind.

It's about learning how to use your mind more intentionally to create the changes you want.