Most people’s first image of hypnosis is a swinging pocket watch, or someone on a stage clucking like a chicken. That’s stage hypnosis, and it’s entertainment. What happens in a therapy room is completely different.
Hypnosis is a natural state of focused relaxation where your conscious, analytical mind takes a step back and your subconscious becomes more open and receptive. You’re not asleep. You’re not under anyone’s control. You’re fully aware of everything around you the entire time.
Think of the feeling just before you drift off at night, where you’re not quite awake but not quite gone either. Or the experience of being completely absorbed in a film, unaware of time passing or the room around you. That’s close to it. These are natural hypnotic states we all move in and out of every day without realising it.
In a therapeutic setting, we use that state intentionally. It allows us to work at a deeper level than conversation alone can reach, communicating directly with the subconscious where habits, fears, beliefs and patterns are actually stored. That’s where the problem was created, and that’s where it gets resolved.
Hypnotherapy is very different to stage hypnosis. You will not be asked to do anything you don’t want to do. You cannot be made to act against your values or your will. Hypnosis requires your full consent and cooperation. Rather than giving someone power over you, its purpose is to help you feel more in control of your own life.
It’s not magic. But once someone experiences it, they often feel like it is. Feel free to read more about hypnosis.