Entering a state of trance that’s just right for you.
Hypnosis has been around for the past 1,000 years give or take and varies wildly depending on who the hypnotist is. When we typically think of hypnosis, we immediately think of stage hypnosis where individuals are brought up onto a stage at random and induced into a trance state where they may be encouraged to engage in strange and unlikely behaviors by the hypnotist.
Pop culture over the years has given hypnosis a bad reputation making it seem silly or even fear-inducing where we lose control and act on behaviors we normally would not want to do (a crucial distinction).
Movies have even run with the narrative of hypnotherapists sexually assaulting patients while in a trance or having them commit murder on their behalf, which is undeniably cinematic and made for pure entertainment.
There have indeed been cases of therapists taking advantage of their clients with inappropriate behaviors however, this is uncommon, and murder while under the influence of trance has never been the case (now imposing an imbalance of power, manipulation, and the conception of cults on the other hand, well that’s another blog).
To better understand hypnosis, we should start by defining what being in a trance or hypnotic trance is.
Trance is something we experience in our daily lives without our conscious knowledge. Have you ever experienced a time when you drove home from work and parked out front with no recollection of any details of how you got there? Have you ever been so engaged in a task like listening to a favorite music album, playing a video game, or reading an enticing book, that you completely lost track of time? Or more commonly experienced, have you ever been on a device reading through emails, looking through social media applications, or shopping online, and before you know it hours have passed? Maybe even someone stepped into the room without you being aware or someone was trying to get your attention for some time before you recognized their existence?
These are just some of the naturally occurring examples of hypnotic trance states that we experience regularly and without real effort. Trance is a natural state of mind that we go in and out of each day. It is a state of total absorption in a task that requires our complete and focused attention.
I also use the metaphor of our view of the world throughout the day as being with a wide lens camera where we take in multiple stimuli at once and with the assistance of hypnosis, we can narrow that lens to solely focus on what we are attempting to achieve, whatever that may be.
With hypnotherapy, a trained and licensed therapist simply encourages you to enter this state of mind through facilitation which shares many qualities as well as benefits to meditation and mindfulness (even though there are specific differences between the states).
A concise definition of hypnosis is a state of consciousness involving focused attention with reduced peripheral awareness characterized by an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestions. In other words, through hypnotherapy, a hypnotherapist elicits this state of mind narrowing one’s focus to create the potential for complete absorption in a task by using different techniques to induce a form of dissociation from the immediate experience. Together I work with my clients to identify mutually agreed upon goals, skills they wish to enhance, or even a state of change through therapeutic suggestion.
A hypnotic trance allows the person to become more susceptible to therapeutic suggestions and even access unconscious materials that may benefit them in addressing current challenges. The important takeaway is that during this state of trance if one is not comfortable or open to the suggestion provided then they will simply ignore the suggestion. This strategy empowers the client to be an active participant in identifying solutions and mastering of skills they wish to achieve. So, encouraging someone to commit murder on my behalf – is highly unlikely.
Debunking myths of hypnosis
Hypnosis is not a magic cure to all ailments; the client must be open to the process and build trust with their hypnotherapist before any real progress can be made. It can be used to address a plethora of challenges such as somatic pain, confidence issues, depression, anxiety, healing trauma, and much more. Hypnotic trance is not at all like falling asleep as some may believe. The client maintains a level of awareness throughout the process. At no point during a hypnotic trance does a person lose consciousness. On the contrary, they may lose some awareness of specific phenomena and experience time distortion, and selective awareness of outside stimuli like background noises, they may become immobile, they may experience a disinclination to speak, or they may dissociate in separating emotion from physicality.
The use of dissociation in hypnosis can be used as a benefit for healing trauma. Through hypnotic suggestion, the hypnotherapist can suggest the client remove themselves from the traumatic imagery and instead suggest a happy or safe space that only they may access. Another tool used in hypnosis could be encouraging one to use their imagination and access creative parts of themselves that the client may have trouble accessing regularly.
Similarly to meditation and mindfulness, when one’s brain is in a hypnotic trance, they are utilizing the anterior singular cortex, thalamus, and brain stem areas of the brain which allows for further absorption, focus, and intensified relaxation. The difference, however, between meditation and mindfulness from hypnosis is, that during hypnosis there is a disconnection from the pre-frontal cortex (the area of the brain that uses logic and reasoning). This disconnection allows for individuals to seek further understanding, shift patterns of behavior, and recognize obstacles that ordinarily they were unable to conceive using logic or critical thinking skills.
Everyone is hypnotizable however, there is a difference in how hypnotizable someone may be. I usually explain to clients that the more often we practice entering the state of trance during the session the easier it becomes for them to enter this state and eventually possible to practice on their own time. Simultaneously, the more comfortable and trusting you are of your hypnotherapist, the deeper one may enter this state of mind allowing for greater achievement of one’s goals.
At the start of this journey of understanding and utilizing hypnosis in my practice I was somewhat skeptical of the efficacy of trance used in session. However, after applying the tools I have seen significant improvement in clients achieving their goals, accessing information that has been beneficial to them, and achieving levels of relaxation that may not have been possible otherwise.
Hypnosis is another tool used in therapy that can benefit clients who struggle with verbal communication or traditional talk therapy approaches. It allows clients to access suppressed materials that may unknowingly, be disrupting areas of their lives or overall health. It is a tool that assists clients in managing stress, anxiety, and fears. It allows for further self-exploration, change of habits, strengthens one’s ego, helps with regulating emotions, and encourages better sleep, just to name a few goals.
I advocate for the use of this tool in sessions as a collaborative effort between therapist and client to increase one’s ability to take control and become more autonomous in their life.
Hypnosis can be a powerful tool to induce progress in therapy and must be done only after building a trustworthy rapport with one’s client.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
People do not come into therapy to change their past but their future.” Milton Erickson
