Hypnosis
Questions FAQ Hypnosis frequently
asked questions (FAQ) answered here. Ask your question or find the answer
in others queries about Hypnosis, Hypnotism, Hypnotherapy, self-hypnosis
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HYPNOSIS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Simple Hypnosis
Definitions
Self-Hypnosis
- A self-induced state of trance.
Hypnotist
- A person skilled in the art of inducing trance in another.
Hypnotic
- Of Hypnosis. Having the ability to Hypnotize. Usually refers to
an object or occurance rather than a person.
Hypnotize
(Alternative
spelling Hypnotise) - induce a hypnotic trance state.
Hypnotized
(Alternative
spelling Hypnotised) - In a trance
Stage Hypnotist
- A performer who uses Hypnosis to influence others in a usually humorous
or spectacular display of mind power and influence. Often referred to as
Stage Hypnotism.
Hypnotherapist
- A person trained to present therapeutic suggestions to another willing
person in whom a state of trance has been induced.
Trance
- An alterered state of awareness (between waking & sleeping).
A person in an induced trance is said to be "hypnotized".
Somnambulism
- A deep state of hypnotic trance often charaterised by amnesia
Somnambulist
- A person capable of a somnambulistic trance.
States of Awareness
- Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta. The "Beta" state being the most aware and
the Delta being the least. ie. Beta = wide awake. Alpha = light trance.
Theta = deep trance/light sleep. Delta = deep sleep.
Post-Hypnotic
Suggestion - A suggestion given during a state of trance that it is
intended to be carried out upon awakening from that trance.
If you
have any further definitions you'd like added here, please and I'll be happy to add them.
Do you have a hypnosis-related
question that you'd like an answer to?
If you agree to abide by the "disclaimer"
statement below, then please your question.
Disclaimer:
While every effort
will be made to provide accurate answers to your questions, Grant Boddington
is in no way responsible or liable for the accuracy of those answers or
for the way any person chooses to interpret or use them.
All serious,
signed
email questions are answered by return email at my earliest
convenience.
Question from
S****
Can a person
be hypnotized in their sleep to help them overcome some personal problems?
If my wife suggested some things while I was sleeping, would I subconsciously
overcome personal insecurities or shortcomings?
Answer from
Grant
Hi S****. A hypnotic
trance is not sleep, but a stage between being awake and asleep. If appropriate
suggestions are given during such a trance then the subconscious mind is
generally more accepting of them. However, if you are indeed fast asleep
then it is more likely that you'll not hear any suggestions your wife makes
at all. The wording of the suggestions presented during trance is very
important and usually requires special training, so I'd strongly suggest
to you that you consult a reputable Hypnotherapist.
Question from A****
Hi...
I want to learn how to hypnotise one of my friends to help him get over
a fear of flying. I know who to talk to him to him while he's
in a trance and what to say...but not how to get him into the trance.
Will you tell me how to get him into a trance so I can help him... thanx.
Answer
from Grant The induction
of a trance and then giving the appropriate suggestions while someone is
in that trance for the purposes you've mentioned should only be carried
out by an experienced Hypnotherapist.
If you look
on the
HypnoLinks
International page of my website you may be able to locate a Hypnotherapist
near you who may be able to help your friend.
Question from S****
I
went to your site but I still didn't find what I'm looking for. All
I want to know is how to hypnotize another person. Please just tell me
how to do it.
Answer from
Grant
You haven't mentioned
exactly why you want to "hypnotize another person". I get lots
of requests from people wanting to know "how to hypnotise someone"
and in many of these cases I suspect that there may be some desire to "control"
others.
The art of
hypnosis is a very intricate one and requires much initial knowledge of
the mechanics of Hypnosis and the human mind and then a lot of practice
in the numerous techniques. Firstly, and most importantly, in order
to "Hypnotise" anyone - they must be willing for you to do so. And,
once they have succeeded in attaining a trance state, you cannot control
them or force them to do anything against their will.
I strongly
suggest that if you are keen to learn the art of Hypnosis - for either
entertainment or therapy purposes; that you seek professional tuition from
a reputable source. Be prepared to put in many hours of study and
practice though - as hypnosis should be taken very seriously. As far as
not finding anything on my website is concerned, there is in fact an absolute
wealth of information to be found there. Try my HypnoLinks
International page.
Question from E****
I have a ton
of questions!!! But, I do realize you are busy...so take your pick.
I have
seen stage hypnotists a few times. What intrigues me the most are
post-hypnotic suggestions. I have seen people wide awake, back in
the audience, chatting away....then the cue word is given-and they're up
and about clucking like chickens, dancing, running around doing anything
and everything silly. I guess my question is-why? What goes
through their mind once the p.h. suggestion is given? Do they realize
what they are doing? I feel no matter how deeply hypnotized I was,
there would be no possible way a simple cue word could trigger such ridiculous
behavior. I'm not refering to suggestions to take off a shoe or stand
up...those are everyday activities. But to hear a cue word and then
suddenly act out ridiculuos, silly suggestions without having a care in
the world baffles me. How is this possible? Also, when people are
hynotized, do they know they are hypnotized? Do they know they are
up on stage acting out silly suggestions? I've a
million more, but I've babbled enough. I'm sorry if there are too
many. I guess answer whatever one is the easiest. Hope your
eyes haven't fallen out by all my questions I just threw upon you. Thanks.
Answer from
Grant
Hi E***. Thanks
for your questions. I'll do my best to answer them - I'm pretty good at
babbling myself! :) When on stage in a hypnotic trance - that has
been deeply induced by the Hypnotist; the subjects' "critical faculty"
(the desire and ability to judge and reason consciously) has been reduced
to such an extent that they are more likely to do the tasks asked of them
by the hypnotist. In this deeply relaxed state, they are closer to
being asleep than awake, but are really in a state that is quite "dreamy"
and their subconscious mind is very aware and accepting of suggestions
that are presented by the Hypnotist. I suppose you could say that
the Hypnotist has become their consciousness. Often, they will not
remember exactly what has happened until
reminded after
the show. Sometimes they know what they are doing on-stage but lack
the desire to stop themselves - providing the task is non-threatening.
No-one can
be forced to enter a trance against their will, or to perform tasks they
don't want to while in that trance state. A trigger word or action
is simply a signal to perform the requested task. I've often had
people refuse to do things on stage because it was contrary to their morals
or beliefs. I guess the only way for you to know for sure how it
feels is to try it!
I once was
doing a show where I'd picked a deeply hypnotised subject to perform as
Elvis! I gave him all the usual suggestions (I'd done it many times
before during other shows), introduced Elvis to the audience, counted to
3 and started "Jailhouse Rock". The guy simply opened his eyes, glared
at me and said: "I HATE ELVIS!" Ooops! I could not bypass
his critical faculty enough to "make" him do something he hated!
As I am also
a Registered Hypnotherapist, I must add that for therapy purposes, a much
lighter trance is usually adequate - as the client and the Hypnotist are
very much working together to help the client achieve a DESIRED result.
There E***
- I hope that answers most of what you've asked.
Question from L**** Hi, I have
recently accessed you website and was wondering if you could provide me
with some advise. I was actually wondering what instituitions offer
professional hypnotherapy training in New Zealand and whether there is
a proffesionally governing body for hypnotherapy. I realise you are
not the right contact person, but I would appreciate if you could point
me in the right direction. Answer
from Grant Hi L**** Thanks
for your email. If you look at the bottom of my page "Directory
of NZ Hypnotherapists" you'll see a listing for the NZ Hypnotherapist's
Association - of which I am a member. There are other institutions
covering Hypnotherapists in NZ but the NZHA is probably the biggest.
If you look
at the first listing on my directory there is a listing for Alpha Hypnosis
- Roger Saxelby; he runs a Hypnotherapy training school in NZ.
I hope this
info is of use to you. I seem to have become NZ's major supplier
of Hypnosis info as a result of having my website. It's great to
see it being used. If you have any further queries I'd be happy to
respond.
Question from B****
I have studied
hypnosis myself and have induced a deep trance in at least one person that
I am sure about. However, I don't have anyone that can help me find
a missing part of my life. Though I can recall events from about
age 4, I am missing events that I know occured when I was about 16 -17
yrs. old. I tried asking former friends, but they would not talk
about it. After 25 yrs. hypnosis is my only hope. How do I
find a local professional that I can trust? What should I look for
in a local professional.
Thank you
for your assistance in advance.
Answer from
Grant
There are several
ways of finding a professional Hypnotherapist that may be able to assist
you. I'm not sure exactly where in the world you are so here's a
selection of URLs from the "HypnoLinks
International" page of my website. There are many others there,
but these may be a good place to start your search: Hypnodirect,
The Directory
of NZ Hypnotherapists , The UK Directory of Professional Hypnotherapists
or Dr. Bryan Knight's Hypnosis Headquarters - or else you could check out
your local telephone directory.
I suggest you
check the credentials of your chosen Hypnotherapist and and that he/she
is registered with a major Hypnotherapy organisation. Perhaps you
could ask a few friends who may have had positive experiences with Hypnotherapists
to recommend one for you. The final choice is of course yours - you
must be comfortable with the Hypnotherapist you choose.
Question from J****
Always want
to improve my golf, play really well when practising as the old story goes,
havn't played that well in tounaments, just started a year ago and on a
6 so have the natural ability but still lots to learn, want to see
how far
I can get, really motivated to do so. How can you help? Answer
from Grant Yes I probably
can help you with your golf - sports motivation (esp golf) is one of my
fortes. As you're aware, golf is a game played more mentally
than physically. With Hypnotherapy (especially my style of Motivational
Hypnotherapy) you can learn how to more easily focus your mind towards
what you're trying to achieve.
I'm not sure
where in NZ you are, but I'm in Wanganui - so if you visit here I'd be
happy to make an appointment for an initial session with you. The
initial session is $60.00 for about 75 minutes and includes a backup motivational
cassette tape. Subsequent sessions are $40.00 for about 45
minutes.
Question from B**** Grant I've
been practicing hypnosis for about 8 years and have been involved in small
partys etc non smoking, weight loss with hypnosis and qualified as a hypnotherapist
4 years ago I've read so much about the rapid induction but are these people
few and far between or am I missing something ? I have
various book on hypnosis (26 in all ) and none really go into detail about
the subject ,only mentioning it in brief. Any thing you can e mail?
Look forward to your reply with interest. Answer
from Grant Instant inductions
are generally the domain of the stage show. As both a Hypnotherapist
and a Stage Hypnotist I see many chances for instant inductions on stage
and in the clinic. Rapid inductions should only be attempted when
you're confident of the outcome or your credibility will suffer.
On stage, I
find the best time for an initial rapid induction is at the outset of the
show following a sucessful testing procedure such as a hand clasp when
the subjects entire concentration is focused on me.
After the initial
induction on stage (whether rapid or normal) it's usual practice for all
reinduction during the show to be rapid as a response to a trigger - such
as the instruction "Sleep", with an accomanying finger click for effect.
In the clinical
situation, the only times I use rapid induction techniques are when a client
has returned for followup therapy and is forming a history of easy entry
into a trance state. Of course in this situation (as with subsequent
reinductions on stage) the client has had previously been "primed" during
an earlier session with the use of some "ease of reinduction" suggestions.
Your own confidence,
coupled with experience at picking the appropriate client and timing will
all have a huge effect on the success of any induction.
Question from N**** Hi, I was
wondering if hypnosis can be used to make you forget a certain incident
in your life?? Please
help Answer
from Grant Hi N**** -
thanks for your question regarding specific amnesia. A VERY controversial
query and actually a common request I receive - especially after a failed
relationship where one party wishes to forget the other.
It's a question
that would have dozens of answers and most of them as variable as the Hypnotherapists
you ask. The most consistant answer would be probably be that specific
amnesia is inconsistant but very obtainable in many cases.
Generally,
a deep somnambulistic state of trance would need to be achieved before
specific amnesia that was to last for any length of time would be obtained.
The Subconscious
will itself sometimes block extremely unpleasant or traumatic memories,
so it therefore figures that with some assistance (Hypnotherapy) we can
also help "block" specific events or times that we may choose to.
I strongly
suggest you visit a Hypnotherapist and discuss the matter in depth with
him/her. There is a Directory
of NZ Hypnotherapists on my website. Hope I've been of some help
to you. Please contact me again if you've any further questions.
For a Canadian
Hypnosis FAQ go to Dr Bryan Knight's Hypnosis
Depot website.
Top
quality products, friendly service & reliable support, for over 10
years!
