Let’s bust the myths…

Myth number 1: “I cannot be hypnotised.”
Everyone is suggestible to some degree, and light trance is enough for hypnotherapy. In fact, according to George Bien, a leading authority in hypnosis, the level of trance is irrelevant when it comes to interactive therapeutic work. I’ve never had a client who couldn’t go into a hypnotic state.

Myth number 2: “Hypnosis will make me quack like a duck against my will.”
If a participant is chosen for a stage hypnosis show, they will only act as directed (e.g., quacking like a duck) if they truly want to. Stage hypnotists select people who are open to hypnosis, often using a suggestibility test beforehand. Hypnosis helps break down inhibitions, allowing people to act out behaviours they may feel shy about in other contexts, but they still have full control over their actions. No one can be made to do anything against their will.

Myth number 3: “Hypnosis is like blacking out, and I can get stuck in the hypnotic state.”
You are fully awake during hypnosis and can come out of it at any time by simply opening your eyes or moving your body. We naturally move in and out of the hypnotic state all day long, especially when we first wake up and just before we fall asleep. Children under the age of 4 are only in the theta brainwave state, which means they are suggestible 24 hours a day.

Myth number 4: “I can’t clear my mind. I’m thinking during meditation/hypnosis.”
This belief is very common, but it’s important to realise that conscious thoughts during hypnosis do not interfere with the process. Trying to stop your mind from thinking is as impossible as stopping your heart from beating. Hypnosis is a guided, interactive meditation, intentionally crafted to achieve a goal, and thinking during hypnosis is perfectly normal. The great thing about hypnosis is that it’s easier to enter the hypnotic state through it than it is with meditation.

Myth number 5: “I cannot give up control, and being able to be hypnotised means I’m weak-minded or gullible.”
The ability to be hypnotised (or “suggestibility”) is actually linked to intelligence and the ability to focus and maintain heightened awareness. In fact, you are more in control under hypnosis because you are more focused than when you’re not in a hypnotic state.