What is a Hypnosis Session and Would it Be Right For You?

[Medium Wanda]

Hypnosis session - hypnotherapy - is an alternative healing method that has gained significant recognition in modern medicine, and is approved by the American Psychological Association and the British Psychological Society as a cure for anxiety, stress, and pain. It is a treatment method that lets your mind maintain focus while in a sort of suspended, dream-like state.​

The question of whether it would be right for you depends on the hypnotherapist you use. The experience of a hypnosis session varies for different patients, however, it has been mostly described as relaxing and enjoyable. Hypnosis has helped many individuals reach deeper states of rest, and has helped many feel better after their first session.

What happens in a hypnosis session​

There are a couple of activities that happen during a hypnosis session, but before then, your hypnotherapist must first get acquainted with your medical history and background. This is done to build a rapport between you and the therapist.


There are four phases of hypnosis;

• Induction​

You begin by inducing calmness, getting focused, and dismissing disturbances at this point. The hypnotherapist would then lead you through this phase using special methods like breath control (breathing in over a count of seven and breathing out over a count of eleven), muscle relaxation (tensing muscles as you inhale and relaxing muscles as you exhale, then repeating in a precise sequence of muscle groups throughout your body), or concentrating on an image.

• Deepener​

This phase builds on the previous phase by enhancing your degree of relaxation and attention. This phase sometimes entails countdown or employing analogous downward images, such as gently descending a flight of steps or sinking further and further into a cozy bed. The first phases are meant to make you more receptive to possibilities.

• Suggestions​

During the suggestions phase, your experience, attitude, or perspective begins to change significantly. The hypnotherapist would employ images and deliberate word choice. Usually, the suggestions are exploratory (to find experiences manifest at the beginning of symptoms) or symptom-focused (to treat a condition).


Changes in perception, feeling, emotion, memory, thinking, or action may be suggested. To stop smoking, for instance, you'll discover your triggers, discover healthy strategies to change, comprehend the tools available to you to make changes, break your pattern, connect a better reaction, notice the difference, and adopt the modified habit.


Your "new" healthy self with clear lungs may be seen in the mirror in front of you while your "old" unhealthy self with black lungs can be seen in the mirror behind you. After that, you'll be given instructions on which self to approach.

• Emergence​

In this phase, you awaken from hypnosis. To induce reverse hypnosis, your hypnotist may imply that you are ascending stairs or counting to a certain number.

What is hypnosis best for​

Over time, health experts have adopted the use of hypnosis to cure conditions including anxiety, sadness, pain, and undesired behaviors like smoking and overeating. Generally, it's beneficial.


Hypnosis can also be useful for:

• Pain management: Pain from wounds, cancer, childbearing, arthritis, mastic joint issues, dental operations, and migraines may be relieved by hypnosis.

• Behavior adjustment: Insomnia, bedwetting, smoking, as well as overeating, have all been treated with great effectiveness through the use of hypnosis.

• Mental health conditions: Hypnotherapy may be a useful tool for managing stress and anxiety as well as for treating phobias, post-traumatic stress, and anxiety symptoms.

Hypnosis may help with the symptoms of hot flashes brought on by menopause. It has been used to reduce the negative effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer. Hypnotherapy works with your subconscious mind, which is where all of your habitual behaviors and patterns are stored.


Some other medical applications of hypnosis include:

• Asthma.
• Diseases of the digestive system, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
• Skin diseases like dermatitis and warts.
• Nausea and vomiting - downsides of cancer radiation therapy or chemotherapy.

Hypnosis is still being researched for the treatment of these and other medical disorders.

How does hypnosis work on the brain?​

Two things happen to the brain during a hypnosis session. First is that the two parts of the brain that control your ability to process and also tell what goes in your body become highly reactive.


Second is that the part of your brain that tells your actions and the part that drives awareness of the actions tend to become disconnected during a hypnosis session. The parts of the brain responsible for controlling your actions and awareness are altered to some extent during hypnosis.


The brain behaves quite differently while under hypnosis. This shows that hypnosis affects the brain which is distinct from the placebo effect.


This placebo effect is typically fueled by suggestion, just like hypnosis. Any form of behavioral treatment, including guided discussions, has the potential to significantly alter behavior and emotions. Hypnosis is only one of these therapeutic techniques that can alter one's actions significantly.

Things hypnosis cannot do​

Hypnosis is not magic, hence, there is a limitation to what can be achieved using hypnosis. Hypnosis requires the client's participation and engagement and desire to change for it to be effective.


Hypnosis cannot effect change unless the client desires it and changes. The client's volition is what determines if a hypnosis session is effective. If you don't want hypnosis to work on you, it won't.


Hypnosis cannot transform you or your personality by itself. You cannot be compelled to break into a bank using hypnosis. If you truly don't want to stop smoking, it cannot force you to do so.


It cannot change your fundamental beliefs or ideas, nor can it force you to act against your will. It can't force you to act unethically or morally wrong on its own.


During a session, you wouldn't doze off; rather, you enter a relaxed state. Typically, you don't need to go into a profound trance to reap the benefits. You'll always be conscious of the sounds around you. Hypnosis won’t make you lose control.


Hypnosis cannot also be used on a robot, well maybe, not yet. It also cannot cure cancer or aids. It can help you deal with pain related to some of these ailments but cannot bring a cure to them.


Hypnosis would also not change a person's appearance, making them look different so that they won’t be recognized, anyone who needs such should use makeup or undergo plastic surgery.

Hypnotherapy benefits​

Hypnosis may have a profound impact on many people. In other situations, folks could only feel quite at ease. Some benefits of hypnosis:

• Some folks are completely conscious during the entire encounter. They can communicate while hypnotized and remember everything that occurs. Others may go into profound levels of relaxation where they even start to lose awareness of what is going on.

• The majority of the time, our surroundings keep us from paying attention. It might be challenging to focus on yourself while the TV is on, your children are demanding attention, or your partner wants to discuss.

• You might be anxious about supper, a payment that is due, or a project that is coming up. These everyday worries are meant to be left behind during the treatment session so that you may give your whole attention to the issue at hand.

• You are calm while you are hypnotized. Your conscious mind feels at ease, which enables your subconsciousness to pay close attention to the problem. Additionally, you are more composed and open to confronting the issues or worries as a result.

When should hypnosis not be used?​

A person who uses drugs or alcohol, or who exhibits psychotic signs like hallucinations and delusions, may not be a good candidate for hypnosis. It should only be used for pain management following a medical examination to rule out any physical conditions that would necessitate medical or surgical intervention.


For mental problems, hypnosis may also be less successful than other, more conventional therapies like medicine. Some therapists employ hypnosis to unearth memories that may have been suppressed and which they think may be connected to the patient's mental condition.


Information remembered by the patient while under hypnosis may not necessarily be of high quality or dependability. As a consequence of unintentional recommendations or the therapist's use of leading questions, hypnosis also carries the potential of inducing false memories.


Additionally, the use of hypnosis for specific mental conditions, like dissociative disorders, one where patients may be particularly susceptible to suggestions, is still up for debate.

Frequently asked questions​

• Can hypnosis be dangerous?

Hypnosis is not dangerous. It is not brainwashing or psychological manipulation. A person cannot be forced to perform anything embarrassing or against their will by a therapist. However, the likelihood of creating false memories provides the biggest risk.

• Can hypnosis have negative effects?

When conducted by a qualified therapist or health care practitioner, hypnosis is a safe, complementary, and alternative medical therapy. Hypnosis, nevertheless, could not be recommended for those with serious mental diseases.


Although they are uncommon, hypnotic side effects might include headaches, drowsiness, dizziness, distress or anxiety, and creating false memories.