The following points discuss common misconceptions about Hypnosis and what it can or cannot accomplish.
- A hypnotist can make you do things against your will:
FALSE, The hypnotist has no power over you. While you are under hypnosis your logical mind is still functioning. If a hypnotist tells you to do something you do not want to do you will do one of the following things. Tell the hypnotist you will not do it, automatically pull yourself out of the hypnosis or simply ignore the hypnotist. Under hypnosis you will never do anything, nor can you be made to do anything, that is against your personal moral code. You can not be made to “Quack Like a Duck” if you do not want to do so. - A hypnotized person is unconscious or is actually asleep:
FALSE, While you are in hypnosis you hear everything the hypnotist says. In many cases it is as if your body is asleep but you subconscious mind is hyper alert, taking in everything that is being said by the hypnotherapist. If you are in a deep hypnotic state you will remember most of what is said. - A hypnotized person can be made to tell the hypnotist things about their personal lives that they do not want to share:
FALSE, if a hypnotized person does not want to answer a question they will either refuse to answer OR they may just lie to the hypnotherapist. - A person can become stuck in hypnosis:
FALSE: It is impossible to become “stuck” in the hypnotic state. If your are hypnotized and the hypnotist were to leave the room permanently you would come out of hypnosis in one of the following two ways. Your own mind would realize that the hypnotist had stopped talking and you would simply come out of the hypnotic state on your own OR drift into a normal sleep state for a few minutes then awake normally. Should there ever be an emergency while you are hypnotized, such as a fire alarm goes off, you would immediately come out of the hypnotic state on your own and be able to immediately function normally. - A person under hypnosis is under the complete power of the hypnotist:
COMPLETELY FALSE: The movies, novels and television have done the general public a major disservice by portraying something as wonderfully helpful as hypnosis as it has. YOU are always still in control of your own mind while you are in hypnosis. If you decide to allow yourself to take in the information the hypnotherapist is giving then that is completely YOUR decision. If the hypontherapist says something you disagree with you will simply reject that information as being false. It is always up to you, if you are listening to a hypnotherapist or anyone else, your doctor, a family member, or reading a book or watching a movie, etc., whether or not you want to accept or reject the statements offered as fact or fiction. - If you can hear the hypnotist then you were not really hypnotized:
FALSE: Many people believe that when a person is under hypnosis you will not be aware of what is happening around you. The fact is that when you are in hypnosis your mind is almost hyper aware of what is being said. Even if you go into one of the deepest states of hypnosis, and after come out of the hypnotic state you feel that you don’t remember what was said during that time, your subconscious mind has take in all of the information. However, even during the deepest states of hypnosis, if the hypnotherapist says something you disagree with you will disregard that information. - Only weak minded people can be hypnotized.
FALSE: In truth everyone of average or greater intelligence can be hypnotized. It is the hypnotists job to find the way you go into hypnosis the easiest. You are actually experience some of the hypnotic type state every time you become engrossed in a great book, or a movie or even when we engage our deepest emotions. Yes everyone can be hypnotized but NO ONE can be hypnotized against their will. - Hypnosis will only work if you go into the deepest hypnotic state.
FALSE: Any level of hypnosis from the lightest to the deepest will bring good results. There are a few times when it is best to be in one of the deepest states, such as with hypnosis during surgery, however good results can be achieved even with a lighter hypnotic state.