Top 7 Common Hypnosis Myths
Top 7 Common Hypnosis Myths
By: Dr. Wes Rupel
Myth 1: Hypnosis is mind control
Your mind is designed to protect you. Fundamentally, it would not allow a mechanism for someone else to “take over”. A hypnotist cannot make you do something against your will. It sometimes appears that way in hypnosis stage shows, but remember, those are shows for entertainment. The hypnotist is skilled at finding audience members who *want* to come on stage and follow his instructions to do silly things.
The hypnotist is the guide, and you’re the driver. The guide can tell you to turn left, but that won’t stop you from turning right if you want to. However, a good hypnotist does know how to help you, so if you choose to follow this guide then you will get good results.
Myth 2: The hypnotist can make me tell my secrets
Again, the hypnotist cannot make you do anything against your will. In one session, I as the hypnotist, regressed a patient to a scene where he was seven years old. I was asking the seven-year-old what was happening, and he wouldn’t say. At that point, he was unwilling to share with me what I later found out, which was that his father was sexually abusing him. The point is, even though he was in deep hypnosis, he was fully aware and made the choice not to tell me.
Some people think a criminal could be hypnotized to confess, but actually in that more aware state the criminal could make up a better lie.
Myth 3: I won’t hear the hypnotist
Sometimes after a session a patient will express surprise that they always heard the hypnotist. The example in Myth 2 also illustrates that during hypnosis, even though “a part of you” may be experiencing other things (like being 7 years old), there is still “a part of you” that is grounded, in the room, aware of what’s happening. In fact, the hypnotist is giving instructions on what to do next, and of course you require awareness to be able to follow the instructions. Hypnosis is actually a state of hyper-awareness. You’re even more aware than you are normally.
Myth 4: I won’t remember what happened
Normally the patient remembers everything that happened, but there are exceptions. It’s really up to the patient’s own mind whether to remember. Sometimes the unconscious mind will bring forth troubling childhood information that the conscious mind doesn’t really want to know. Under such circumstances patients often forget some of what happened in the session, much like you forget dreams.
Myth 5: Hypnosis is black magic or the work of the devil
People often fear things they don’t understand, but hypnosis is completely natural. It is merely the state of mind where you learn. We all enter into this state briefly every few minutes in order for our short-term memory to get written into long term memory. Hypnosis is just a way to enter that state and then stay there longer. Because it’s the learning state, it’s much easier to make desired changes in this state, for example to how you want to act, think or feel about things.
Myth 6: Hypnosis is a miracle cure
Everyone is different. There are often things the public thinks are hard to change, like PTSD, which hypnotists are often able to resolve quickly. Sometimes a problem someone has struggled with for decades is solved in just a few minutes. Hypnosis has a wide range of applicability, but hypnosis cannot cure everything. Everyone is different. Do not assume that your problem can necessarily be solved in one hypnosis session.
Myth 7: I cannot be hypnotized because I’m too intelligent or strong.
Some people think hypnotic suggestion is only for gullible people. In fact, it’s how everyone learns. Intelligent people are actually better subjects, not worse. However, as always, it requires that the subject *want* to cooperate.