Of late, I have been meeting clients who constantly claim they cannot enter hypnosis even though they have already by my guidance entered a moderate level of hypnosis. So upon emerging them, I asked them what is stopping them from relaxing further.
"I can hear you perfectly well! Shouldn't I not be able to hear you? Shouldn't I be sleeping?"
Well it seems that even though it has explained time after time during consultation and before the session, I would like to take this chance to explain yet again. In hypnosis, we are not sleeping. We are not in a zonked out mood. We are not out cold like an iron bar to the head. In fact, contrary to belief, we are in fact more able to hear our therapist; our sense of sound and smell is much stronger. We feel very relaxed; some people feel heavy while others feel floaty, other than that, they are always listening to the therapist and very aware of what is happening.
Then when they go under hypnosis, I realized the one thing that is stopping them from entering a deeper state: Am I hypnotized? That is the question that most clients ask when they are hypnotized by us therapist. The answer is simple, yes you are if you only let yourself so. By doubting yourself and questioning yourself, you are not allowing yourself to enjoy the full benefits of entering a deep state of hypnosis. The trick in letting yourself go is just to focus on the voice of the therapist, let yourself experience the bodily sensations that will follow and just go with the flow, don't fight it.
SO the next time when you all come for therapy, bring in your stereotypes about hypnosis but be ready to let them be debunked. Do bring in an open mind too!
