Myth #1: You can be hypnotized against your will - all hypnosis is self-hypnosis.

You have to want to be hypnotized before you can achieve a trance state. Every practitioner of hypnotherapy knows this to be truth. There are methods of inducing deep relaxation in “resistant subjects”; however even those methods do not work unless the client intends to be hypnotized.

Myth #2: The hypnotist has complete power over you when you are hypnotized.

The truth is that the hypnotist cannot bypass your moral standards. If you are asked to do something that violates your moral convictions you will either ignore the suggestion or come out of trance. Thus a hypnotist will not affect the things you strongly feel about or believe in, unless you genuinely want to change your beliefs. This would happen if deep inside you truly believe that the particular change would be of greater benefit to your well-being.

Myth #3: People who are in a hypnotic trance can be made to reveal deep secrets or say things they will wish they had not said.

A person in a hypnotic trance (deep relaxation) always remains in full control. They can hear every word that is spoken to them and can decide how to respond at all times. If you have seen stage hypnosis where people run around and bark like a dog or cluck like a chicken, remember that these people volunteered to get up on the stage, knowing that they would be asked to do something “crazy”. Hypnotherapy can be used to reveal repressed memories or information. People undergoing these deeper trance states do so willingly because they are actively seeking to access this repressed information.

Myth #4: Only people with weak minds can be hypnotized.

Hypnosis is a state of deep focused relaxation. It is the level of relaxation wherein your brainwaves are operating at the “alpha” level. Alpha states are conducive to hypnosis and meditation, heightened creativity and physical relaxation. This is one of four primary brainwave patterns and all are measurable on the electroencephalograph (E.E.G.). Having a “weak” mind has nothing to do with the ability to relax or reach an alpha state. In hypnosis, the person being hypnotized maintains full control over how deeply they choose to relax.

Myth #5: If you can hear the hypnotist you were not hypnotized.

This misconception has probably come about due to another common misconception, which equates the state of hypnosis with sleep. A lot of people believe that when they are hypnotized they will not be aware of anything that is happening around them. Yet, if you lost all connection with the hypnotist, how could you follow the instructions?

Myth #6: You can remain permanently stuck in hypnosis

No one ever got stuck, but some people enjoy deep trance so much that they don't want to come out. Imagine being in a state where your body feels so deeply relaxed that you may not need to pay any attention to it, and your mind is completely free of any stresses associated with your daily life. At least here, perhaps for the first time, you are able to experience total freedom, inner peace and happiness and all seems absolutely perfect in your world. You are in control.