Why Hypnosis?

Your mind works on two levels. The uppermost level is your conscious mind, which is very rational and sensible, and is pretty much responsible for taking your routine, day to day decisions, like whether your socks match and what to have for tea.

Beneath that is the unconscious (also sometimes called the subconscious) mind. Your unconscious is responsible for things that you don't really take decisions about - imagination and dreaming, emotions, and automatic functions like breathing or blinking. It also stores the 'data bank' of memories and information which the conscious mind uses to make its decisions.

A lot of issues that bring people to therapy start in the unconscious mind. For example, the same part of the unconscious mind that is responsible for automatic body functions also controls behaviours we carry out repeatedly. In time, they become just as automatic as blinking so we don't even think about it when we're doing them. That's OK when it's balancing as we ride a bike; not so good if it's smoking, or over-eating when you're stressed.

Or sometimes a piece of information you have in your memory is misfiled, misunderstood or out of context. Then the conscious mind can't make its rational decisions properly, because the data it's basing the decisions on is unreliable or unhelpful. This is how a phobia can make you feel afraid when you see something you know rationally is harmless.

What is needed is a way of changing what's in the unconscious mind. And that is where hypnosis comes in. Being in trance makes it easier to access the unconscious part of your mind. It allows you to change what's stored there, so you can be happier, more positive and more confident. That's what makes therapy given whilst you are in hypnosis more effective.

What does hypnosis feel like?

Different people do experience hypnosis differently. However, there are some things that tend to occur quite often.

  • During hypnosis, your attention is focussed very narrowly, a little like getting engrossed in a book, computer game or film. Some people say these activities do bring on a light level of trance

  • Hypnosis is not the same as sleep. If you are asleep, you don't really know what's going on around you. If anything is obvious enough for you to notice it, you wake up.
    In hypnosis, you are aware of your surroundings, though you may not pay as much attention to them as usual. You continue to hear my voice, and when you come out of trance you often remember what has been said.

  • Your body may feel heavier or lighter than usual or you may notice slight changes in temperature, especially in your fingers or toes.

  • Your imagination may seem very vivid: if asked to think about relaxing on a beach for example, you may feel as if you're actually there, just as you do when dreaming.

  • You can never get lost in trance. If you were to drift deeper you would simply fall asleep and wake up normally.

  • You will not feel as if you are 'under a spell', out of control or being compelled to do anything you do not wish to do. There is more about this on the Chickens, Ellvis and other worries page, or for a more light-hearted take on the subject see my hypnosis as a magic wand article.

Some people will go more deeply into trance than others, and most find it gets easier with practice. Despite these variations, the majority of people find hypnotherapy an effective way to treat their problems.