Frequently asked questions about Hypnosis

What is hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a condition of relaxation with highly focused concentration. Earlier on it was believed that the hypnotized individual was almost unconscious during trance and that hypnosis bore a strong resemblance to sleep. This is far from the case! On the contrary the subject is fully conscious, but in a condition of powerful concentration, where it is very easy to visualize or imagine things. You are so focused on the matter at hand, however, that your entire body relaxes completely. All major muscle groups are completely relaxed and your subconscious mind is open and accessible.

Can hypnosis be dangerous?
Hypnosis is a natural state of mind, that we all enter and leave many times per day. This happens naturally and automatically - and as needed. If - for instance we are driving on a long or well-known route, our mind might start to wander during the drive. Perhaps something over the radio makes our minds wander. And suddenly it's like the car is on automatic pilot and we continue our train of thought, while the car literally drives itself. However - if need be - if a dangerous situation should arise on the road - demanding our complete attention, we quickly and automatically snap out of it and return at once to deal with the situation - and nothing bad happens. But otherwise we might have a difficult time afterwards trying to remember the road trip - because we weren't actively driving - we were in a light trance - busy processing interesting thoughts or ideas. This is such a well-known phenomenon, that it has a name of its own: road trance. Or we might be watching a really great movie, that we are completely absorbed by - almost as if we are in the movie - or the people in it are our real friends. This too is trance. The only difference between naturally occurring trance and the trance brought forth by a hypnotist is, that a hypnotist will help you use that trance to work with you - in order to facilitate mental healing and growth, whereas random trance has more to do with daydreams or escape from reality - with no beneficial effect.

Can a hypnotist make me do things I wouldn't want to do myself?
No! A fundamentally shy person can not be made to strip down or act indecently. You cannot be hypnotized to do anything that you are morally opposed to. We each of us have a moral compass that guides us and tells us what is right and wrong. This cannot be tampered with, and it works great - even when we are in trance. If a hypnotist should attempt to override this moral compass, it will result in the subject simply refusing to accept the suggestion or might even cause the person to come very quickly out of trance, and there will be no resulting effect in suggestions that contradict one's morals. We only do what we would like to do. If you don't want to quit smoking, then I can't make you! What I can do is to help you strengthen your moral reserve and your determination to quit smoking, and I can help you by taking away any mental or physical withdrawal symptoms. I can help you find out why things affect you as they do and help you make positive, permanent changes to help you see things differently. For instance: I can help you not see yourself as a smoker any more and help your subconscious accept the fact, that you are now a non-smoker.

What if I am not able to wake up afterwards?
It has never happened that a hypnotized person remained in trance indefinitely. Some say this is too bad, because being in trance is such a lovely and wonderful feeling, where you are totally relaxed and floating off inside yourself! A condition where you have a total time-out from the stresses of everyday life. But this cannot be. Trance must be maintained constantly to exist. Otherwise it will fade, and you will either drift off into normal sleep or come out of trance all by yourself. So if you are on Skype with me, and the line is suddenly down, there is nothing to worry about. Probably very quickly your subconscious mind will signal the conscious mind telling it to investigate what suddenly happened, and at that point you will leave trance and wake up to evaluate the situation.

Will I forget what took place during the hypnosis session?
Usually not. Because you are so 100% focused during trance you will usually be able to remember things even more vividly afterwards. But the hypnotist may ask you to let go of certain memories if they are better not to be remembered afterwards, or your own subconscious may decide that not remembering is better for you. But I usually give my clients a suggestion to remember anything beneficial to them, because it helps improve healing and adapting to a new situation afterwards.

Can anybody be hypnotized?
Yes. Everybody can be hypnotized. Except very small children or very old people. This is because these individuals are unable to focus on something  during a longer period of time. Earlier it was a widespead misunderstanding that not anybody could be hypnotized. But that is not true. Some people are hypnosis "naturals", and others you need to work more with before they can obtain the correct level of trance for me to help them. But a certified hypnotist is always able to test for depth of trance and to determine if the client is ready for hypnotherapy.