Self hypnosis can help you improve your life by relaxing your mind, allow you to sleep better, help you give up bad habits, improve general fitness and even lose weight. The benefits are many; however, self hypnosis is not dangerous, cannot move mountains or cure ulcers. Here are 15 common self hypnosis myths debunked.

1.    You Can Get Trapped In A Trance

Hypnosis is a naturally occurring state and happens to most people while driving long distances or while day dreaming. It’s not possible to be permanently stuck in hypnosis. That would be like being stuck for ever in a daydream. The subject under hypnotist is aware all the time and there’s no way one can get trapped in an altered mind scenario.

2.    Self Hypnosis Works Only On Dumb People

Self hypnosis requires a great deal of concentration, visualization skills and intense focus. For a person to be hypnotized, his or her subconscious mind has to agree with the suggestions hypnotist makes. This calls for a person who’s cooperative, creative and does not fear hypnotism, not a low IQ person.

3.    You Are Asleep Or Unconscious

While you’re hypnotizing yourself, both your conscious and subconscious minds are at work. If you were asleep, there’s no way you’ll be able to feed suggestions to your subconscious mind. So that goes to show that you are neither unconscious not asleep while performing self hypnosis. Since hypnosis is just an altered state of awareness, you are always aware of everything around you, even though your focus is mostly internal.

4.    You Don’t Remember What Happened Afterward

You do not lose consciousness while hypnotized. The state of a self-hypnotic trance is similar to meditation, but with a stronger internal focus. Unless the subconscious mind decides not to recall specific details, you will have full recollection of everything.

5.    Hypnotists Are Psychic

Hypnotists are not psychic; do not practice black magic or the occult sciences. Hypnotists are trained to observe; their intense focus, observation skills and knowledge of human beings are the only special powers they bring to the table.

6.    Hypnosis Can Damage One’s Mind

When the subconscious mind is activated during self-hypnosis, subliminal messages can be fed into it. This only brings out latent strengths, sharpens memory and recall and helps improve quality of life, not damage one’s mind.

7.    Hypnosis Is Not An Effective Life-Changing Tool

Hypnotism is actually used to support traditional medical procedures along with different types of alternative medicine. People with mental health issues have reported a 93% recovery after just 6 sessions of hypnotherapy. This goes to show the transformative role that hypnotherapy plays in life, medicine and health.

8.    Only A Psychologist Can Safely Perform Hypnosis

self hypnosis spiral

The truth is that psychologists are not trained in hypnotism as a matter of course. Hypnosis is a separate science in itself which does not involve psychotherapy. Self hypnosis is considered the same as being hypnotized by someone else. This means that anyone who’s determined to self-hypnotize themselves can do it.

9.    People Are Made To Do Silly Things

When hypnotized, you may be able to respond to certain questions that are posed to you. You won’t get up and start dancing if asked to. Basically, your subconscious mind will ensure that you don’t do anything that’s not in character for you. Self hypnosis gives you the added leverage of privacy, since no one else is involved.

10.           Hypnosis Makes One Lose Control

Your conscious mind is alive and aware during the time you’re hypnotized. There’s no chance of losing control during the entire session. The only thing that happens is that during the session, your conscious mind stops being the critical observer. This absolves the ego boundary and the firewall that your subconscious sets up around itself.  That’s how you are able to access it.

11.           Anyone Can Feed You Subliminal Messages

From the beginning to the end of the session, you’re very much in control of your hypnotic state of mind. It’s within your power to leave that state of mind at anytime. It’s not possible for anyone to feed you sublimal messages that your conscious mind is not prepared for. Your free will is still in control.

12.           Some People Cannot Be Hypnotized

Anyone can be hypnotized. However, people need to make the choice to be hypnotized. If they choose not to be, then the conscious mind does not relax sufficiently for the procedure to work.

13.           Hypnosis Is A Form Of Mind Control

Hypnosis is not a form of brainwashing or mind control.  This is only as far as movies and books are concerned. You cannot control another person’s actions or thought process when they’re under. You cannot control your own mind to follow orders when you are self-hypnotized. Your conscious mind won’t agree to it.

14.           Hypnosis Is Imaginary

Hypnosis is not the result of an overactive imagination; in reality, an active imagination actually helps you achieve better results. Hypnosis is very real and a very effective method to unlock a person’s subconscious mind.

15.           Hypnosis Can Alter Physicalities

Hypnosis can only help you unlock your subconscious and make it open to suggestions for positive improvements. It cannot suddenly improve your metabolism, or clear your pimples or make you grow longer hair. You can, however, work on your subconscious to stimulate your motivation for exercise and better body care.

Dating Symbol’s guest article is by Teena Celis who works for SelfDevelopment.net, a home of self development resources and articles where you can grab self-hypnosis Cds and binaural beats recordings from world’s best hypnotists.