• Hypnosis is mind control. The hypnotherapist is your guide in the process. You stay completely aware. And you can accept or
    reject any suggestions made. So don't fear being turned into some sort of "terminator" robot, because your willpower is crucial to
    get effective results. Hypnotized stage-participants are not "controlled" either. Though it doesn't appear so, they are in control.
    They comply with those suggestions to have fun, but they won't go along with deeply embarrassing or dangerous suggestions
    (because it violates their moral code which our subconscious minds protect).

  • Hypnosis is sleep. Instead you'll be wide awake. So when your eyes are closed your body is mostly still, so it looks to others like
    you're asleep. Some people accidentally drift off during a session, but then they would no longer absorb the hypnotic
    suggestions. The hypnosis-is-sleep idea is often perpetuated by hypnotists who use the words "sleep" or "sleepy" during their
    sessions. When the hypnotist says, "You're getting sleepy," they are only suggesting that deep relaxation comes with the proper
    hypnotic state.

  • Hypnosis creates amnesia. People who are new to this subject worry that after hypnosis they might not remember what
    happened. While that's possible, it's rare. Most people really do fully remember everything during hypnosis. Most stage hypnosis
    subjects just don't go deeply enough into hypnosis to account for post-hypnotic amnesia. The stage hypnotist is counting on
    widespread misconceptions about hypnosis to amaze the audience, even if entertainment wins out over truth. And the stage
    participants are co-conspirators in this friendly lie by pretending not to remember their own antics onstage.

  • Hypnosis is a supernatural practice. Hypnosis is not a product of the occult or the new age movement. For many decades,
    the American Medical Association has recognized hypnosis as a therapeutic tool that can be used for a broad variety of mental
    health solutions. It is true that hypnosis has been utilized toward spiritual ends, but there is nothing particularly "spiritual" about
    hypnosis.

  • It's difficult to awaken from hypnosis. Question: Do you worry that when you go to sleep at night you may not wake up in the
    morning? I bet you don't. Here's the truth: returning from hypnosis to everyday consciousness is even easier than waking from
    sleep. In fact, no one gets "stuck" in a state of hypnosis. Each of us can rouse from it anytime we wish as we'd be awake and fully
    in control.

  • Hypnosis is for the weak-minded. Being hypnotized has nothing to do with being stupid or gullible either. The reality is that
    almost everybody is hypnotizable. The main prerequisites are a willingness to be hypnotized and the ability to follow simple
    directions.

What's the result of getting your perceptions about hypnosis clear? Ask someone who's spent years in psychotherapy and switched to a
hypnosis-trained psychiatrist, who's now "cured" if he doesn't love the results of his hypnotherapy. Ask a woman who's been helped by
weight loss hypnosis how she reduced from a size 18 to a size 8 and how it's affirmed her life. Ask the many stadiumloads of people all
over the world how hypnosis has eased their pains, helped correct their bad habits, made them feel more relaxed. They're very positive
about hypnosis. You don't have to let any misperceptions about hypnosis keep you from being a success story either.



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Forbes Robbins Blair is the author of two self-hypnosis books: the popular Instant Self-Hypnosis and the
new book The Self-Hypnosis Revolution. His website http://www.instant-self-hypnosis.com helps people
understand benefits of hypnosis. He produces his own series of hypnosis audios. And Mr. Blair offers
professional hypnosis-by-phone and in-office client hypnotherapy services.
Hypnosis: Won't I Lose Control?

By Forbes Robbins Blair


How many times have you wondered whether hypnotherapy or even self hypnosis might cause you to lose
control of your mind? Or that you might fall asleep? End up with amnesia? That hypnosis might even be
supernatural? That you might not awaken from a hypnotic trance? Maybe you've wondered if it's for the
weak-willed? These mis-perceptions about hypnosis need some clarity.

Let me tell you about a television interview I did where a show producer was talking pleasantly with me until
she asked with a smirk: "If hypnosis can really get people to stop smoking or lose weight, why aren't all of
you hypnotists millionaires?"


Well... after my jaw bounced off the floor because the unfair question, and I reminded myself not to be
defensive, I replied: "Part of the reason is because people are afraid of hypnosis."

Hypnosis is practiced by many psychologists and psychiatrists, thousands of certified professional hypnotherapists and a few interesting
stage entertainers. But still many people don't understand that hypnosis creates real life changes with the subject (you) helping the
process.

Here are six misperceptions about hypnosis:




copyright 2010 Forbes Robbins Blair
masthead: instant-self-hypnosis.com