About Hypnosis

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about hypnosis

Have a question about hypnosis? Get answers to your most common questions below.

What is hypnosis?

Hypnosis is a state of awareness where you’re both focused and relaxed at the same time.

To compare it to something you may be familiar with, hypnosis is similar to the feeling of being engrossed in a movie or daydream — you’re focused, yet less aware of what’s happening around you. In this state of focused relaxation, suggestions, visualizations, and affirmations become incredibly effective in helping you establish new beliefs and thought patterns in your subconscious mind, which are the foundation for creating positive, lasting changes in your life.

How does hypnosis work?

Your mind operates in two states of awareness: the conscious and unconscious.

The conscious mind controls things within your awareness, like moving your hand or making a phone call. The unconscious mind, however, controls all of the things you don’t think about, like your heart rate and blood pressure.

The unconscious mind also stores all of your thoughts, memories, and beliefs. In any given moment, your unconscious mind is processing about two million pieces of information. This means that while you may not be aware of it, your behavior is profoundly influenced by the activity happening within your subconscious mind.

As you can imagine, we all have a lot of subconscious beliefs that can influence our choices and behaviors. In fact, over time, subconscious beliefs we accumulate as a result of difficult or traumatic experiences in our past can negatively affect many different areas of our lives, even though they originated to keep us safe.

The key is understanding that a “belief” isn’t a fact, and it can be changed.

Hypnosis helps you shape the beliefs in your subconscious mind so that you can behave differently in the future with very little effort. With hypnosis, you’re communicating directly with your subconscious mind, which allows you to easily update outdated, limiting beliefs, with positive, helpful beliefs.

Is hypnosis scientific?

Contrary to what you may have seen on television or in movies, hypnosis is a scientifically-proven method for treating a variety of conditions, from chronic pain to insomnia. The world-renowned Stanford University School of Medicine’s Stanford Center on Stress & Health teaches hypnosis techniques as a treatment in clinical settings as part of an integrative medicine approach. There have been hundreds of studies conducted published in reputable medical journals on the efficacy of hypnosis; if you’d like to learn more about the studies and results, click here.

Why does hypnosis work so well?

Hypnosis works so well because it communicates directly with your subconscious mind. In doing so, hypnosis gets to the root cause of your limiting behaviors or beliefs, so you’re able to experience results much faster than if you were to try and change using willpower (or your conscious mind) alone.

Can anyone be hypnotized?

Yes, to an extent, but some people are more susceptible to hypnosis than others. Susceptibility to hypnosis can be measured with a hypnotic susceptibility scale, which classifies people into three categories: high, medium, or low susceptibility.

High susceptibility

About 10% of the population can readily experience dramatic changes in sensation and perception with hypnosis.

Medium susceptibility

About 80% of the population can experience many of the effects of hypnotic suggestion, and are likely to benefit from its clinical use.

Low susceptibility

About 10% of the population doesn’t respond strongly to hypnosis, but may experience benefits with continued use.

Does hypnosis work for everyone?

Some people are either unable to be hypnotized or have low susceptibility, in which case self-hypnosis may not be effective, or it may require listening over a longer period of time to notice changes.

How does it feel to be hypnotized?

The experience of being hypnotized can vary person-to-person. Because of the relaxation techniques used during hypnosis, many people often feel very calm and relaxed. Some people experience bodily sensations like a feeling of heaviness or lightness, even the feeling of floating. Some people become very focused. Others get absorbed into the hypnotic script and experience vivid imaginative experiences. Your own experience can also vary session to session depending on your own state of mind and environment at any particular time.

Will I lose control while I’m under hypnosis?

You will always be in control while listening to any hypnosis audio. In order to enter into a hypnotic trance, you will voluntarily become more and more accepting of the suggestions provided. But if the suggestions conflict with your wishes, you will always retain the ability to wake up from the trance and end the session. Rest assured, a hypnotic trance cannot make you act against your wishes.

What are the benefits of hypnosis?

The benefits of hypnosis vary depending on the person and condition. However, there is a great deal of scientific evidence which proves that hypnosis can effectively help patients experience:

• Deeper, more significant changes
• Longer-lasting changes
• A reduction in pain and other adverse symptoms
• Less consumption of pain relievers and other drugs
• Relief from fears and phobias
• Permanent, positive changes to different areas of the brain
• An increase in positivity and optimism
• No negative side effects

What kind of conditions can be treated with hypnosis?

Hypnosis can be used to treat a variety of conditions, including:

• Weight management
• Insomnia
• Anxiety and concentration
• Mild to moderate depression
• Smoking control
• Phobias
• Eating disorders
• Pain control
• Miscellaneous behavior disorders

Are there any side effects of hypnosis?

There are no negative side effects of hypnosis, only positive ones. In general, you will feel more calm and relaxed after your session. You will also feel more in control about whatever you’re using hypnotherapy for, and should start noticing positive changes that align with your goals. That being said, individuals with psychiatric or neurological conditions should consult with their doctor before trying hypnosis.

How long does it take to notice changes?

Everyone is different in this respect, but you should begin to notice changes after listening daily for one to three weeks. The more you listen, the easier it will be to relax, and the more change you’ll notice. Once you’ve achieved the desired result, listening to the recording from time to time will help you maintain your success.

Can I be cured after one hypnosis session?

Highly hypnotizable people may experience benefit in as little as one session, but generally, it takes more than one session before someone experiences the full benefit.

Can I use hypnosis to treat a variety of problems at the same time?

Yes, however, we recommend listening to only one hypnosis audio per session. If you’d like to listen to different audios, we recommend listening to one in the morning, another in the evening, and perhaps a different two the second day, then repeat that sequence. Everyone responds differently to hypnosis, and you can experiment with what works best for you.

Is it safe to combine hypnosis with other treatments or solutions?

Yes, it is perfectly safe to use hypnosis in conjunction with other treatments such as therapy, medication, meditation, and more. In fact, combining hypnosis with other forms of treatment may help you see results even faster.