Hypnosis is an altered stated of consciousness where there is reduced frontal executive control allowing your mind to get wonderfully quiet, hyper focused, and open to suggestions. It can also be called a trance, something we naturally go in and out of all the time. Think of being deeply immersed in a book or movie, or concentrating on a task and tuning out the sound of your kids until something about that sound changes: happy playing turns into arguments, or distress.
Hypnosis puts you 100% into the moment, and living in the moment increases happiness. While in this moment of focused attention, the mind is open to suggestions. It is a virtual reality where suggestions become real and have a real impact. Hypnosis can facilitate the development of new skills, behaviors and thought patterns in place of maladaptive ones.
Hypnosis is not losing control, losing consciousness, and there’s no risk of being “trapped” in hypnosis. The individual can always leave hypnosis at any point (just like turning off a television).
All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. No one can “put” you in hypnosis unless you allow it. When a person goes into hypnosis, the executive mind gets very quiet. Hypnosis calms the part of the brain that worries and chatters in the background: “What can I fix for dinner? Don’t forget the kids get out of school early. That left rear tire looks low, it’s probably a nail.”
The executive mind can have internal arguments with people you’re currently upset with, daydreams of being on vacation while you’re in a Zoom meeting, or it may play a recurrent tape that you’re not good enough, smart enough and you’ll never get what you want.
During hypnosis most people feel calm and relaxed and it can help you gain control over behaviors you’d like to change. It may help you cope better with anxiety or pain. Clinical hypnosis has been used with some success to treat sleep problems, smoking and overeating. It’s widely used to help with substance use disorder. It has also been used to ease side effects from chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Hypnosis is not intended to cure disease but rather to relieve symptoms of illness, operating similar to the placebo effect.
In 1958, both the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association recognized hypnotherapy as a valid medical procedure. Since 1995, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recommended hypnotherapy as a treatment for chronic pain. When offered by a trained and licensed practitioner, clinical hypnosis may be covered under insurance. When seeking hypnotherapy choose a provider with a healthcare background, such as a doctor, psychologist or counselor.
Alexandra Hinst is a counselor specializing in clinical hypnosis. www.therapistalexhinst.com
