MYTH #1: HYPNOSIS IS WEIRD.

Truth: There is certainly a lot of stigma around hypnosis in the mental health community and in broader pop culture. However, hypnosis itself isn’t a super strange or uncommon phenomenon. Hypnosis is simply a state of hyper-focused attention coupled with relaxation. You fall in and out of hypnosis on a daily basis. For example, have you ever been so engrossed in something that you tune out the sounds or distractions around you? That’s hypnosis. What about driving down the highway and forgetting the last few miles? That’s also hypnosis. What about the moment before you fall asleep when you’re conscious but very, very relaxed? That’s also hypnosis—and mostly how hypnosis feels in session.

To reduce the general weirdness around hypnosis, I like to compare hypnosis to meditation. Meditation is becoming increasingly popular and so it’s a nice in-road for people who are interested in hypnosis. Hypnosis and meditation happen in the same brain wave called Theta; Theta waves are associated with states of deep relaxation. So, imagine that hypnosis and meditation are like siblings. They both occur in the same brain wave, but you’re doing different things in your brain while in hypnosis versus while meditating.

So in summary, we fall in and out of hypnosis everyday. It’s a really normal state of mind and it’s quite pleasant.