SAFE HYPNOSIS

Q. Can anybody be hypnotised? A. Pretty much. The exceptions are: those who are educationally subnormal or suffering from senility, very young children, hard drug addicts, anybody under the influence of large amounts of alcohol.
Q. What is self-hypnosis? How do I do it? Is it safe?A. Self-hypnosis is induced either by remembering an induction script or, preferably, by recording it onto a tape and listening to it.Read slowly, no faster than 130 words per minute, and use frequent pauses. You will not feel hypnotised because there really is no such thing as a hypnotised feeling. It's better if you also use a 'deepener' to follow the induction and the whole thing should last about 15-20 minutes at least. The 'quality' of self-hypnosis is sometimes not as good as that induced by an 'operator' (a better word for 'hypnotist'), but hypnosis comes from within you - it has as much to do with you as it does the operator, though a good operator will know many different methods of helping you focus and will be able to choose one that is exactly right for your thought processes.
Once into the hypnotised state, a good way of working is to simply see yourself looking exactly the way you want to feel, or easily doing whatever it is you want to do. If you want to quit a habit, for instance, see yourself with evidence that you've quite the habit, e.g. if you want to stop biting your nails, create a VIVID image of you with elegantly manicured nails and allow yourself to feel truly elated. This is probably a better way of working, for the beginner, than using direct suggestion - which means repeating to yourself over and again what it is that you want to happen. Suggestions must be phrased POSITIVELY - no 'not' or 'won't' or 'cannot' statements, etc. Self hypnosis is absolutely safe and you can exit the state whenever you want to - it is totally impossible to get stuck in any way. You can even set your own 'inner timer' first, so that you simply decide that you want to finish the session after, say, 30 minutes. Try it!
Q. How do you hypnotise somebody? A. Usually by a voice induction, though there are various other methods such as strobe lights, rotating spirals and so on. Usually the voice is used as well, though. There is no special way of speaking, no 'incantations' or magical words, and the accent is quite often on producing a very relaxed state of mind. Mostly, a slow and soothing approach is taken but there are many therapists who use their normal speed of speech and may even step it up a bit or use a fairly 'crisp' delivery if they prefer the 'command' method of induction. Sometimes, too, they will employ - with permission - the use of touch in various different ways, commonly of the subjects hands or forehead. Mostly, the client will close their eyes fairly soon in the induction, but an individual can quite easily be hypnotised with their eyes open. After hypnosis is induced (usually in a matter of a few minutes) a deepener routine might be used to deepen the state. Many therapists work from scripts, especially when they are new to the profession, but most soon build up a store of suitable scripts and stories in memory to recall as needed.
Q. I've heard about instant inductions - what are they and do they work?A. Instant inductions usually rely on shock or surprise and more often than not involve a jolt or jerk to the physical body - usually to the arm or hand. It is not dangerous, but its intrusive nature probably creates a situation where the operator is dominant for a few fractions of a second. Since there is then no further reason for resistance, if the hypnotised individual wishes to be hypnotised (and s/he would not be if /she did not want to be), the state tends to persist. Many therapists are uncomfortable with rapid or instantaneous inductions, while others scarcely use anything else. Stage operators often rely heavily on this type of induction. Q. Can people be made to forget things, like suggestions or the session itself? A. You cannot actually 'make' anybody do anything in hypnosis. Hypnosis gives nobody any power over the person who is hypnotised. Theoretically, you could suggest to a hypnotised person that they would forget the content of the session. But it is not reliable, by any means, and it is most unlikely that you could create a lasting and total amnesia, and certainly not of the session itself.

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