Many people have concerns about hypnotism. A common image when thinking
about hypnotism is a stage show, perhaps one where a volunteer from the
audience is hypnotized into thinking they are a chicken, or caused to
quack like a duck when a bell is rung. There is a simple solution to
these fears. Just don’t volunteer at a stage hypnotism show. Many
people become more suggestible at a stage hypnotism show, merely
because of the number of people watching and the nervousness they might
feel. (Or sometimes they go along with it just to be funny).
Most other concerns can be addressed if you simply think of hypnotism
as similar to, although different from, meditation. Hypnotism is simply
a state of extreme concentration, and you are conscious during the
entire session, so you will not get stuck in, or unable to return from,
a hypnotic state. Rather, you will finish your prescription and slowly
come back to the mental state you were in before, only perhaps more
calm. During the hypnotic session, you will still hear everything that
is going on around you, and you will remember everything that happened
(unless you fall asleep).
Unless you are being hypnotized by someone else, you will retain
complete control over yourself during hypnosis. You will not do
anything that you wouldn’t do under normal circumstances; you are
simply making suggestions to yourself in order to become a better
person. Even if you are being hypnotized by another person, you will
still be aware and still be yourself while it is happening, and you
will remember what happened afterwards.
A common question people have is: will I wake up? Just as you can wake
yourself up from sleep, you will wake up easily from a hypnotic state.
You or your tape will simply instruct yourself to wake up, and you will
calmly come out of the hypnotic state according to your instructions.
Another concern many have is repressed memories. Many fear that they
have repressed bad memories of their childhood, and are scared that
hypnosis will cause all of these repressed memories to surface. This
can be one of the dangers of less professional hypnotherapists, as they
are often eager to find repressed memories as an excuse for anything
that is wrong with you. However, while hypnosis will occasionally bring
a repressed or forgotten memory to the surface, it is not that common
an occurrence, especially as during self hypnosis, you will be focusing
on telling your subconscious what to be thinking about, so there will
be little opportunity for a repressed memory to surface.
