THE DEFINITION OF HYPNOSIS: Self Hypnosis is a condition of hyper-suggestibility where the conscious mind and the subconscious mind dissociate. It is an altered state of mind where the hypnotized person is more likely to believe the Hypno-technician's suggestions.

You have been in the hypnotic state many times in the past without even recognizing the state. If you've ever seen a sad television show and reacted with a tear in your eye, you have been in a state of hypnosis. You entered a state of amplified suggestibility where you uncritically accepted the idea of sadness on the TV screen and reacted with a sad emotion, your tear. In other words, your ability to impose logic, which is controlled by your conscious mind, was bypassed. You did not reason that the show was just a play; you accepted the drama as being real. So you reacted with real passion and shed a tear.

WHO CAN BE PLACED INTO HYPNOSIS? It has been discovered that all normal people can be hypnotized to a greater or lesser extent. Subjects with an I.Q. of less than 70 generally are not hypnotizable. People who are in an active state of psychosis usually cannot be hypnotized. Senile people are usually impossible to hypnotize. I have found in my own professional practice dealing with many retired people up to 85, that self hypnosis is a potent and beneficial method for most people. An individual's personal motivation is the key to success.

DO I HAVE TO BE A "DEEP" SUBJECT TO BE SUCCESSFUL? For the beneficial applications of self hypnosis that are generally dealt with in therapy, hypnotic depth of any kind is not required. You can be the lightest possible subject and still obtain all of the benefits from self hypnosis that the deepest subjects will receive. I strongly feel that over the years, far too much importance has been placed on how deep a subject can go. If the hypnotic subject is deep, it could be beneficial. This however, may not necessarily be the case. In fact, with the latest hypnotic techniques like Ericksonian self hypnosis and state of the art "NLP" (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), depth is one of the least essential aspects, which contribute to success.

ARE THERE ANY DANGERS IN HYPNOSIS? There are fundamentally no dangers to the practice of self hypnosis. It is impossible to "get stuck" in self hypnosis. The most horrible thing that could happen while a subject is in hypnosis is that she might fall into a natural state of sleep for twenty or thirty minutes. She would awaken rested and out of a state of hypnosis.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HYPNOTISM: There are many misconceptions about self hypnosis. Most of them are due to stage and television acts. Paradoxically, it is on account of the fact that the television can hypnotize you that these misconceptions are so well-established in people's minds.

IS HYPNOSIS A STATE OF SLEEP? The largest misconception about self hypnosis is that it is a state of sleep. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are asleep, you are unconscious. If you are unconscious, you cannot hear anything. If you cannot hear anything, then the hypnotist cannot help you. Hypnosis is a state of keen awareness. The subject is wide-awake and aware of everything around her. This misconception stems from the stage Hypnotist's use of the word "sleep" as akin to the hypnotic state. When the old time hypnotist swung a watch in front of his subject's face, he told his subject that she was getting "sleepy." He then told his subject to "go to sleep." What he meant was to go into a hypnotic sleep, not a natural sleep.

IS THERE A HYPNOTIZED FEELING? The second largest misconception is that there is a hypnotized feeling. There is no hypnotized feeling. I repeat there is no hypnotized feeling. Most people feel very relaxed when in the hypnotic state, as relaxation seems to be the essence of hypnotism. Some people feel heavy. Some people feel light. Some people have other sensations and feelings. Other people have absolutely no feeling that they are in self hypnosis, and believe they haven't been hypnotized when they most definitely have.

CAN THE HYPNOTHERAPIST TAKE CONTROL OF ME? NO! A hypnotist cannot make you do anything against your will. There is always an observing ego state. Should the hypnotherapist make a suggestion that is offensive to you; this ego state would reject that suggestion. Additionally, you will probably come out of self hypnosis if the hypnotherapist makes an offensive suggestion.

CAN THE HYPNOTHERAPIST MAKE ME DIVULGE ANY OF MY SECRETS? You won't give up any secrets while in hypnosis unless you want to. The therapist doesn't have any control over the subject. Quite the contrary, the subject has more control over herself since at this time she can directly communicate with her own subconscious mind. The subject can easily decline any suggestion the therapist makes, no matter how simple or complicated the suggestion might be. The subject can open her eyes, emerge from the state of self-hypnosis, and exit the room at any time she chooses.

MUST PEOPLE TELL THE TRUTH WHEN IN SELF HYPNOSIS? NO! People can lie when in a state of self-hypnosis.

DO HYPNOTISTS HAVE SPECIAL POWERS? This is a common misnomer. The therapist doesn't have any special powers, nor does he have any special vibrations with which to hypnotize you into the state of hypnosis. In reality, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The therapist leads the subject into a state of self hypnosis. In other words, the ability of self-hypnosis is within the subject.

WHY DO PEOPLE FAIL TO REACH THEIR GOALS WHEN USING HYPNOSIS? Perhaps the largest reason for the inability to reach one's goals through hypnotherapy is an insufficient amount of practice where self-hypnosis is concerned.

The greatest reason for the return of a symptom or "relapse" is the early discontinuance of self hypnosis with the Hypno-therapist or recorded program. While self-hypnosis is important, it is generally the hetero-hypnosis with the therapist or hypnosis recording which has the greatest impact upon the subconscious mind.

This is because of the training and experience that the therapist has vs. the lack of training and experience of the client. Some people are penny wise and pound-foolish. They mentally set an amount of time that they are willing to spend for help. And then they prematurely discontinue their sessions because; "I didn't lose 50 Lbs. in two days, so it isn't working."

If a therapeutic method is really helping one to make positive changes, then it is priceless and it should be sustained. It is for this reason that it is wise to have follow up self-hypnosis sessions, even after a symptom seems to have disappeared completely. Self-hypnosis should be an ongoing affair on a daily basis. Ultimately, YOUR SUCCESS IS UP TO YOU!

WILL I BE BETTER OFF HIRING A HYPNOTIST, OR WILL PURCHASING A RECORDED PROGRAM WORK BETTER? That is a wonderful question. Normally I would recommend that you employ the services of a reputable therapist. The reason is that by meeting with you, a good therapist / NLP'er will be able to customize his approach to your personality and your favored representational system -- the way you favor taking in information through your senses to make sense out of it and react to it.

In my opinion, 99% of the pre-recorded self-hypnosis tapes available today are strictly Traditional Hypnosis, and are made up of only one or maybe two sessions of it at that. Traditional Hypnosis is nothing more than a set of direct commands: "If you eat a brownie you'll throw up." "You will not have urges," etc.. This technology has an unbelievably poor track record of success because everyone of our generation has been educated to question everything they are told. That's why you, your friends, and your kids usually do the opposite of what they are told to do. This is called a polarity response.

That being said, having private sessions with any therapist / NLP'er who has enough experience to be able to actually help you can cost a great deal of money. There are some hypnotic programs available on the Internet that are based on Ericksonian Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) that have overcome those shortcomings. They've managed this by utilizing a mix of Traditional Hypnosis, Ericksonian Hypnosis, NLP, and the highly regarded Video Hypnosis technology.

These are all modalities that are designed to eliminate the resistance factor. In fact, Video Hypnosis and the NLP technology that it's based on do not utilize suggestion at all. They rely on using the thought processes that have created a problem, to eliminate it!

Look for vendors who offer these technologies in multi-session products. These are programs that generally have six to eight different hypnosis sessions, so you are exposed to a broad variety of methodologies. It takes a lot of work to make this type of program, but the high success rates achieved are well worth the effort.

Stay away from the "one size fits all" -- "do-or-die" self hypnosis CDs and downloads. Many people are lured in by these recordings because they are inexpensive, usually under $10.00. But is it cheap if it just wastes your valuable time and doesn't work?

If you try a program and it doesn't work, then you get mistrustful and start to expect the next approach to fail. And you get what you expect. Do you really think that the same exact commands will work for everyone? Do you think that they will work for you? Do you generally do exactly as you are told? Or do you usually feel a strong desire to do the opposite of what you are told?

---------- Alan B. Densky, CH is certified by the NGH. He authored four books and dozens of articles on hypnotherapy and NLP. He is the developer of the Video Self Hypnosis Technology, which was perfected for weight loss and smoke cessation. Visit his Neuro-VISION Self Hypnosis website for FREE hypnosis articles, newsletters, and MP3s.