Dispelling myths about hypnosis

There is no getting away from the fact that there are a lot of myths about hypnosis around. A search for images connected with hypnosis will produce many like the one in this article. Some are even weirder, and some are downright scary. Full of fainting young ladies and looming, predatory men (usually with goatee beards, though I have yet to work out why). Hypnotists with swinging watches or multi-coloured eyes.

Is it really like that? Well, no. And here are some of the reasons why.

The myths about hypnosis – and the facts

Hypnosis is not the greatest word for what I do.

The term hypnosis was coined by James Braid who was trying to separate his therapeutic procedures from mesmerism, which was not taken seriously by most of the medical community.
It comes from the word ‘hypnos’ which is Greek for ‘sleep’. Later, Braid realised that being in hypnosis wasn’t much like being asleep at all, and tried to rename it; unfortunately, he chose ‘monoideaism’ (meaning focussed on one idea). It never caught on.

Hypnosis is different on the stage

Stage hypnotists probably still use the word ‘sleep’ because they use fast inductions (methods of hypnotising people) and need a single-syllable word that is easy to say quickly and emphatically. Stage hypnotists ask you to do foolish things because it’s entertaining for their audience. Hypnotherapists don’t because they don’t have an audience and it wouldn’t solve your problems.

Hypnotherapy relies on us accepting suggestions made by the therapist.

One of the most widespread myths about hypnosis is that somehow you are under the control of the hypnotist. It’s true that we are all susceptible to suggestions, whether we’re in hypnosis or not. There is a massive, worldwide, advertising industry based on that very fact. But we can always reject suggestions we don’t like or which are inappropriate to us. Hypnosis puts us in a calm, focused state where we are more than usually susceptible to suggestion; when therapists use it to suggest ways in which we can be happier or deal with our problems, we comply. But we always retain the ability to say no.

Operations can be carried out using hypnosis.

James Esdaile worked in India in the 1840s and used hypnosis as his only anaesthetic for operations to remove what he called ‘monster tumours’ (up to 80 pounds in weight). Previously no anaesthesia had been used at all and many patients had died from shock or blood loss. Esdaile claimed that the introduction of hypnotic anaesthesia cut the death rate in these operations from 50% to 5%.

Hypnosis is not a lie detector.

I’ve had the odd call from people who want me to hypnotise their partner and ask if they’re having an affair. Unfortunately for these callers, it’s a myth that people in hypnosis must be telling the truth. They can invent or imagine information, make mistakes and even tell lies. This is one reason it’s important to see a hypnotherapist who is well trained and will not ask inappropriate or leading questions which might result in you working with inaccurate information.

Can hypnotherapy help me?

Want to know more? If you’re thinking of using hypnosis to help resolve a personal problem, browse this site or make an appointment for a free discovery session. I also train hypnotherapists at both Foundation and Practitioner level, and would be happy to chat about accepting you on a course.