The question of losing control during hypnosis often arises, and it's important to realise that hypnosis is not magic, it’s an actual science that has been used for years to change human behaviour and the way our brains work.
The first wave of psychologists practising psychoanalysis—such as Sigmund Freud—studied hypnosis as a form of treatment. While Freud’s own methods and findings remain a big subject of debate to this day, the practice of hypnosis has been refined and recognised for its benefits and used in tandem with psychotherapy.
Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis does not involve surrendering control over your actions or thoughts. Instead, it's a state of heightened focus and concentration, allowing you to access your subconscious mind more effectively.
During hypnosis, you are not under someone else's control, and you won't do anything against your will. Despite what stage hypnotists want you to believe. It's a collaborative process where the hypnotist serves as a guide, and you actively participate in the experience. Your moral and ethical boundaries remain intact, and you won't engage in behaviours that go against your values.
In fact, hypnosis empowers you to enhance self-control and make positive changes. It's a tool for harnessing your inner resources to address concerns, break habits, or promote personal development. The notion of losing control during hypnosis is a misconception that undermines its therapeutic potential.
How does hypnotherapy really work?
Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool for unlocking your subconscious and changing self-sabotaging behaviours.
Hypnotherapy is a type of mental healthcare that uses hypnosis (alongside other methods) to address personal issues or problems. The goal of each session is to help you function and feel better, and only certified professionals can practice clinical hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapists help their clients by using a variety of techniques besides hypnosis, this includes relaxation techniques, creative visualisation, NLP, EMDR, EFT and positive suggestions in order to shift their mindset and aid in changing their behaviour or perceptions.
Hypnotherapy uses a light or a medium trance. This means that while your conscious mind is distracted or in a state of relaxation, your subconscious mind becomes fully awake and active, thus facilitating rapid transformation. You remain in full control, aware of your surroundings and actions at all times.
Can you lose control during hypnosis?
I had clients who later admitted that because they did not feel like they lost control, they were unsure if they were ‘doing hypnosis right’. I would like to put your mind at ease right away. There is no right or wrong way to experience hypnosis for hypnotherapy to work. Yes, you have to let yourself be vulnerable and open, but that does not mean losing control. So what is hypnosis, how does it feel and does hypnosis work for everyone?
Like any therapy it requires your desire for change and a bit of faith in the method as well as skills of your hypnotherapist. This therapy process helped many before you and it can help you too if you let it. It is possible that while you're trying to relax and clear your mind during a hypnotherapy session, your conscious mind may wonder. But your subconscious mind is always listening.
And slowly but surely, without you even noticing, you will let go of your self-limiting thoughts, which isn’t about letting go of control. Afterall letting go of unhelpful thoughts can lead you to some surprising changes. You might feel lighter or experience an energy shift, but you are always aware of what you’re doing. You’re simply more receptive to the power of suggestion that is in line with your therapeutic goal, and you’ll never do or say anything that you don’t want to.
Hypnotic trance and the importance of trust
The key is to find someone who you trust, so that you’re able to feel fully comfortable in your hypnotherapy sessions. That trust is necessary if you want to truly let go, bypass the noise of your conscious mind, and open yourself to suggestions that can begin to change your life for the better.
The key to relaxing into trance is working with a therapist that you can build a good rapport with. It is important that you feel it is your person. Someone you feel relaxed and comfortable with and, most importantly, who makes you feel heard.
A good rapport is the key to any effective communication, and when it comes to therapy, it is essential. If you have doubts, before you see your hypnotherapist feel free to make a call to them first and have a chat. Discuss what it is you want to work on and ask about their process. You can usually find an option for a free 30 mins consultation call.
This way, your first session will not be meeting a complete stranger. A lot of the time, I see clients going deeper into trance in our second session, once they get familiar with the process and are allowing themselves to fully relax into it and enjoy their experience of transformation.
What sort of issues can hypnotherapy services help with?
Here are some areas in which hypnotherapy services can help you regain control and confidence in your life:
Hypnotherapy is beneficial in stopping unwanted habits, such as quitting smoking, overcoming fears, and even treating insomnia.
Hypnotherapy can help heal past trauma or emotional pain from past experiences through visualisation exercises and guided imagery techniques.
It can also be an effective treatment for anxiety, depression, and phobias.
With the help of hypnotherapy, people have been able to overcome a wide range of personal and emotional issues. You can establish a new mindset by transforming negative patterns into positive ones with therapeutic assistance from certified experts in the field.
Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool for self-discovery, healing, and transformation. Hypnotherapy can help you achieve your goals in life by increasing your confidence and helping you change the limiting beliefs that are holding you back.
The benefits of hypnotherapy have been proven by science again and again. So, despite all of these advantages, why do so many still opt not to undergo hypnosis?
The misconception about losing control is to blame for keeping a lot of people from trying hypnotherapy, but hopefully this article has shown you that the myth is far from the reality. As long as you work with a hypnotherapist you trust, you can use this powerful tool to actually regain control, not relinquish it.
So, the next time someone wonders about losing control during hypnosis, you can reassure them that it's quite the opposite and hypnotherapy is legit. Hypnosis is a tool for strengthening and focusing your control, allowing you to navigate the subconscious realm for positive and transformative outcomes.
Take control of your life today - get in touch to find out more about my hypnotherapy services in Sydney and how they can help you.
If you are looking for more details about my services you can check my next article "Hypnosis Quiz: can you be hypnotised? "