Short easy guide to hypnosis for people like you
If you are wondering if hypnosis is for you, or how effective it is, then read on.
By the end of this you will know how hypnosis works, and how you will react to hypnotherapy. Hypnosis is powerful. People use it every day to get over their problems.
Hypnosis is a quick and easy way to end emotional problems. Stop smoking and losing weight of course. But it can also help you with other things: lack of confidence, nervousness, fears - you'd be surprised.
Hypnosis is effective. Hypnosis works on everyone. It probably will give you what you want. Hypnosis works because it connects you to your own natural healing ability. It is safe. It has no side effects at all.
A hypnotherapy session takes about an hour. You can drive home or go back to work afterwards.
What is Hypnotherapy?
'Hypnosis' and 'Hypnotherapy' are not the same thing. You need to know the difference between hypnosis, hypnotherapy and trance.
Trance is a natural state of mind. It happens to you all the time. Going into trance is so normal, happens so often, that you are unaware of it when it.
For example, suppose you are standing in a queue, and get bored. You start thinking about dinner. And then you get nudged in the back. You were in trance. You were there, but your mind was off in a different place. That is all there is to trance.
People think that trance is something weird or special or hard to achieve. In fact trance happens all the time. That is why hypnosis is easy. You are hitching a ride on a natural, normal process.
Have you ever driven home and couldn't remember anything about the journey? Or you have been so absorbed in a game or a film that you lost track of time? Or you realize you have no idea what someone just said to you?
When that happens, you have actually been in a trance. Going into a trance like that is normal and natural and happens to all of us. There is nothing special about creating trance. What is special is how using the right words can affect your mind while you are in trance.
So, what is hypnosis? There are a hundred different definitions, every hypnotherapist has their own ideas. We know how to do it, how to use it to fix things, but it still remains mysterious. But that doesn't really matter. We don't know exactly how gravity works either, but it doesn't stop us from using it.
Hypnosis is a process. It is the process for creating trance. There are many ways of hypnotizing. If I tell you a story, and you start visualizing what I am describing, then you are in trance. Your mind went into the imaginary world I was describing.
It happens all the time. You get hypnotized by advertising. When they show you carefree people on a remote beach they are inviting you think about being there. And then, when are in trance, they bring out the bottle they want you to buy. Trance is what happens when your mind is distracted.
Hypnosis moves you into a trance state. But, you can't actually do anything with 'hypnosis'. The fact you are in trance doesn't mean much. It is the words that the hypnotist uses while you are in trance that matters.
Hypnotherapy is the art of putting ideas into your mind while you are in trance. That is where the magic happens. Hypnotherapy is how people to overcome their problems.
There are also dozens of different types of hypnotherapy. But they all work. They work in different ways, and part of the skill of a therapist to know which one to use.
Doing hypnotherapy takes skill. A hypnotherapist needs to have empathy, to be able to sense other people's feelings. A good hypnotherapist develops insight. It takes experience and education to analyze other people's problems. Hypnotherapy takes years to master.
How does hypnotherapy work?
This is actually a difficult question. Trance is natural, everyone can do it. People have investigated it for centuries. But still, no one can say exactly why hypnotherapy works.
Every human has three 'minds'. There is your logical mind, the frontal cortex, the thing you think is you. Your conscious mind makes decisions, works logically. Then there is your primitive 'alligator' mind. This controls your heartbeat, temperature, digestion - all basic animal functions. Your alligator brain is out of reach. It works even when you are unconscious.
The other 'mind' is your unconscious mind. This is your 'emotional' mind. When you go through your day, control constantly shifts between your logical mind, and your unconscious mind.
In trance, your mind cannot tell the difference between something vividly imagined and the real thing. That is how change is manufactured. While you are in trance, you are using your unconscious mind, instead of your logical mind.
For example, our unconscious mind regulates all your bodily functions like taste 
and smell, and your emotions. In trance, your subconscious is highly responsive to suggestion. So the hypnotist can suggest that you can taste lemon juice, or smell oranges.
Your subconscious will generate the appropriate responses, and you will experience them as if they were real. You really do taste the lemons, or smell the oranges.
You still react to things you see and hear, but you do not logically evaluate them. In fact, this is not so different from your daily routines. Much of your daily behavior is unconscious.
When you are driving and you see a red light, you do not start to consider who designed it, or how it got there - you just press the pedal. You have learned to obey the traffic sign unconsciously while thinking about something else.
In that unconscious state your mind becomes responsive to suggestion. In hypnosis, under the guidance of a professional hypnotist, you can do things you cannot do in normal circumstances.
For example, hypnotism can alter your heart rate, reduce your blood pressure, make you feel that one hand is warmer than the other. Or ignore pain, and perform many other functions that are normally not within conscious control. You can be hypnotized to recall long forgotten events,
In trance, your mind gets so focused on one thing that it disregards everything else. And while it is so focused, it is open to any positive suggestion. That is why hypnotherapy is effective. The right suggestions work to stop smoking, lose weight or get back sexual confidence.
Most psychological problems are caused or maintained by ideas put into your mind by other people.
Ideas like 'you are no good', 'should never have have been born', 'don't deserve to succeed', 'I will never be good enough', 'people will reject me'. These bad ideas, and others like them, are what cause most of the misery people feel.
Hypnotherapy can clear these out. Releasing you from your past will let you live your life the way it should have been all along. The theory is that hypnosis works because your mind processes hypnotic suggestions automatically. When you are in trance, the normal process of thinking and worrying is absent.
It seems to your mind as if the suggestions come from inside yourself, rather than coming from outside. Your mind will therefore accept the suggestions and will act on them.
First session of Hypnotherapy
What to expect the first time they go into hypnosis
Most people are curious about hypnosis. They don't know what to expect. Actually, your first hypnosis session usually feels liberating and enjoyable.
Your session will take about an hour. The session starts with identifying exactly what it is you want to change. Remember:
- Hypnosis is safe and enjoyable.
- You will be aware of what is going on at all times
- You will not do anything against your own values
- You can come out of hypnosis any time you want
- You are always in control of what you say and do
- You can use hypnosis therapy online
What actually happens in a hypnosis session?
The hypnotist will sit you in a comfortable chair and after checking that you are ready will then begin the hypnotic induction. The hypnotic induction is a form of words designed to lead you into a relaxing and comfortable trance.
During the session you are deeply relaxed, but you are actively involved in the process at every stage. You are not a passive observer. You are always aware of what is going on. You are following what I am saying, and actively working with me.
I might ask you at various points to open your eyes, to move a hand, or speak. These tasks are all designed to let me know how you are progressing. They also to let you know that things are going right.
You will not go to sleep. I will make sure that you do not get so relaxed that you go to sleep - I need you to be able to communicate with me all the time.
Once in trance, the hypnotist will guide you in making the changes you want. You can talk, move and even come out of trance if you want to.
You will be pleasantly relaxed but you will be able to hear a telephone ring or a car horn outside. But when you are in the trance state, your mind will dismiss these things as of no importance. You will normally remember everything that was said and you will not lose control.
At the end of the session you will come out of trance feeling refreshed and alert. After hypnosis you might feel a bit 'spacey' for a while but you are safe to drive.
What does hypnosis feel like?
Most people find the experience very enjoyable. A hypnotic trance is like a state of deep relaxation. Your mind becomes detached from everyday cares and concerns.
In trance, nothing seems to matter, you feel you don't have anything to do, anything to worry about. You are aware of the hypnotist's voice, 
of things around you, but it is too much effort to attend to them.
There is no right or wrong way to experience hypnosis. Some people go into trance and report feeling deeply relaxed and sinking into the chair. Others report a light airy feeling of drifting or flying.
For most people, once you are deep in trance you feel a lovely luxurious ease. You can choose to forget about everything and detach completely from your surroundings.
You might feel disconnected from your body and just exist in a timeless formless state until called back. Most people's first words after a hypno session is "Wow! That was amazing."
At the end of the hypnosis session you will feel deeply relaxed and refreshed.
