3 Things 2 Know

People aren’t unconscious under hypnosis. In fact, they are in a state of focused hyper-awareness. Subjects’ suggestibility does not emerge from any lack of understanding, but rather from the suppression of inhibitions. That might result in a stage performer making a person feel comfortable enough to cluck like a duck that thinks it’s a chicken, but for a therapist, it might mean circumventing the conscious mind’s tendency to make excuses for an addiction.
You cannot be hypnotized against your will. Although it is true that a hypnotized person will be more susceptible to suggestion, it’s simply not possible to force them to do something that they don’t want to do. Likewise, when battling a deep-set psychological issue such as a phobia or an addiction, hypnosis doesn’t work by reversing the patient’s unwanted thoughts but by gradually strengthening their resolve to silence them.
Hypnosis often takes hold gradually. Many hypnotherapists use a method known as progressive relaxation. Introducing peaceful imagery in slow, soothing tones, the professional lulls the patient into a state of relaxation over a longer period of time—as long as a half-hour—and gauges their suggestibility with simple, easy-to-swallow commands such as “relax your arms.”