|
WHATS IT LIKE BEING
HYPNOTISED
By Lou Ravelle
In this
article the author, Lou Ravelle, explains something about what hypnosis is
and what it feels like. He also discusses what you can hope to get out if
hypnotherapy. Lou writes from many fears of experience in this field. He
presently runs a busy hypnotherapy practice in Mallorca, Spain,
specialising in smoking cessation, weight loss and phobias.
Many
people have all sorts of ideas about hypnosis and in the main they are not
very accurate. These ideas are often influenced by what they have seen on
the stage, in films, or on television. Because of this a good
hypnotherapist will spend a considerable time talking to a first-time
client, before he starts the actual hypnotic induction and then gives the
therapy. The idea of this is to give the client a true idea of what
hypnosis is before the proceedings begin. Hypnotherapists who follow this
path have a much higher success rate than those who don't 'put the client
in the picture' before the proceedings begin.
The
article below is actually based on part of my own 'pre-induction talk. If
you’ve not yet been hypnotised but you are considering hypnotherapy as a
treatment, then I recommend you read the following:
The state
of hypnotic trance doesn’t necessarily generate a particular feeling. It
tend to be different for different people. There is no special sensation
or feeling that you can identify and say "This is it this is what they
told me about, I'm hypnotised."
After a
session some people report that during the trance they felt very heavy, as
if the body had turned to cement and was solid. On the other hand others
say they felt like a balloon; floating and weightless. There are a few,
not many, who say that they felt nothing at all. They just had their eyes
closed. And it doesn’t really matter. Most people experience time
distortion when in trance. They are surprised that what seemed like five
minutes with their eyes closed, was in fact, a period of 35 or 40 minutes.
Most
people don’t realise that they have been hypnotised until they are coming
out of the hypnosis at the end of the session. Coming out of hypnosis is a
bit like coming out of an afternoon nap or siesta. Perhaps with a bit of
that “Where am I?” feeling.
The
important thing to note here is that the subject has NOT been asleep nor
unconscious. No, hypnosis is neither of those two things - it is a state
of deep relaxation and nothing else. In this state the barriers are down
and the therapist can access the subconscious to implant the necessary
suggestions and ideas.
In my
practice I always explain all of the above in what I call my pre-induction
talk. I also say,” During the session you will be aware of everything that
is going on, like the sound of my voice, passing traffic in the street
etc. Because you will not be asleep and you will not be unconscious.”
However, in spite of all this there are a goodly percentage of people who
come out of the trance state and say, sometimes a bit indignantly, “I was
aware of everything that went on - I remember everything.” Or something
like, "You didn’t put me out.” They usually say this as though it were
something exceptional, even though I have told them in my pre-talk that it
is quite normal to be aware of everything that goes on during trance.
Some
people are nervous or apprehensive at the thought of going into hypnosis.
Normally my pre-induction talk does much to take away this nervousness,
especially when I explain that hypnosis is neither a state of sleep nor
unconsciousness - just deep relaxation.
Incidentally, I’d like to say here that I have found that the majority of
people who approach a hypnotic session with some degree of nervous
tension, seem to relax quicker and go deeper into trance, than many of
those who appear to have approached the session with calmness.
During the
session some people find that they drift off and start thinking about
other things that have nothing to do with the problem being addressed.
They may feel that they have spoiled the session through lack of
concentration. In fact it doesn’t matter because that was the conscious
mind that was thinking about something else, say football, but the
therapist is talking to the subconscious on the other side of the brain.
In this wonderful state of hypnosis we have complete separation of the two
halves, so it’s OK. The subconscious is still receiving the therapist’s
message.
I always
advise people that if they want to get the best out of their hypnotic
session they should, once the proceedings are under way, just ‘go along
with’ and accept everything that the therapist says. Don’t try to analyse
what he’s doing. If you do, then this is the conscious mind coming to the
fore. The conscious will be aware, it’s true, but we want to keep it in
the background.
I hope
that in the above I have been able to give some idea of what hypnosis is
and how it feels. It is not some dark mysterious art, as portrayed by some
movie makers, but a scientific process which can be used therapeutically
as a tool for change.
Lou
Ravelle
www.hypnogold.eu
www.hypnogold.tv
|