What Does Hypnosis Feel Like?

    Being licensed to practice hypnosis, I often get questions over what it feels like to be under hypnosis. People ask with understandable fears since hypnosis not typically a subject we learn in our education or everyday lives. What most people relate to when they think of hypnosis is a man swinging a pocket watch saying "you are getting very sleepy" or an unlucky volunteer on stage unknowingly acting like a duck without any control. It is generally believed that the person on stage was really a volunteer, but they were truly just an actor acting. Hypnosis is actually more common than you might think and can be used in so many areas of one's life including pain control, hot flashes, behavior change, insomnia, bed-wetting, smoking, overeating, anxiety, phobias, and post-traumatic stress. The applications are virtually limitless.

How Hypnosis Feels

    Both in my experience being under hypnosis and in what my clients have described to me, being under hypnosis really just feels exactly as if you closed your eyes right now and focused on a memory. You would just feel more relaxed and clear-minded than you do now. The majority of the session would be spent focusing on the words being communicated to you. There's almost no difference in being under hypnosis to how you feel right now! You can speak normally and remember everything in the hypnosis session. You still have complete control over what you do and don't want to do or say. 

    There has been quite a false reputation of hypnosis caused by theatrical acting where one could be forced to do or say things, but hypnosis cannot force you to do or say anything you do not want to.  A hypnosis practitioner will ask you to close your eyes and relax your arms and so forth, and this is done to allow your brain to ease into the hypnosis state and stay in that state, but at any point if you truly desire to, you may open your eyes or scratch your nose, etc., it just slightly brings you out of hypnosis, but you can easily allow yourself to relax back into the state of hypnosis.

What is Hypnosis Scientifically

    It is simply allowing your brain to ease electrical activity until it reaches the Theta brain wave state, which is the brain wave state right before deep sleep.

    The Theta brain wave state is where your brain's electrical activity is producing waves that are in the 4 to 8 Hz range. When you are in Theta state, you are either deeply relaxed, practicing visualization, daydreaming, in a deep hypnotic trance, in light sleep, or in the REM dream sleep state.

    When you are in Theta state, your conscious mind is less active, and you are able to tap into your unconscious. This is also a state where your brain is open to suggestions and change. Theta waves are linked with memory, emotion, and neuroplasticity, which is what allows your brain to reorganize itself. When you learn something new, your brain has to both memorize the information and store it away for later, and it does that by making new connections between brain cells. Neuroplasticity allows your brain to change ever so slightly as it forms these new connections. The reason why hypnosis works is because it enables you to make lasting changes in your brain.

The Truth

    Hypnosis has helped millions of people all over the world. It's an amazing tool that can do so much while requiring very little. It also has such a vast realm of applications that I have barely touched in this article. It is safe enough that many people even practice self-hypnosis. It is completely natural, only using our naturally occurring brain wave state, and it is long lasting. If you're debating whether to try hypnosis, I can tell you with confidence that it is very safe to give it a try.

I hope this article eased your feelings about hypnosis. I always try to keep my articles short and concise but if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!
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Enlightening Guidance