Can I get stuck in hypnosis?

If you put me into a trance, can I get stuck in hypnosis? The short answer to this is no, but I do understand why many of my clients want this question answered. The prospect of going into trance, or hypnosis, can feel a bit scary.

Actually, the first point to make is that trance isn’t something I do ‘to’ you. It’s something you do yourself, with my guidance. Think of it as a bit like learning to drive. The instructor sits next to you and talks you through using the controls. But you are in charge of the car. Most clients go more deeply into a trance each time we work together, because they get more skilled at knowing how to do this.

Have you already been in trance?

Trance is much more of an everyday experience than you might suppose. You may well have been there before you arrive at our first session. Have you ever responded emotionally to a film, computer game, or book? That’s one version of it. ‘Zoning out’ whilst driving a familiar route is another. So is daydreaming or letting your mind wander during a boring meeting at work. And many people also find hypnosis similar to a meditative state.

What these things have in common is being engrossed with what’s going on in your own mind. Although you are aware of what’s going on around you, you pay less attention than usual to your surroundings.

Ending a hypnotic trance

When it’s the end of the session and time to ask you to come out of trance, I generally use a counting technique. For example, counting from 1 to 5 as you become more aware of your surroundings. I like this method because it’s gentle and natural. It gives you plenty of time to re-orient to the here and now, and leaves you feeling relaxed and refreshed.

Stuck in hypnosis?

You might have heard that sometimes people don’t open their eyes immediately a hypnotist asks them to. There are a couple of reasons this might happen.

When you are in hypnosis, it generally feels very relaxing and pleasant. For some clients, it feels so pleasant that they do not want it to end. Well, that’s OK by me. I’ll teach you how to do this for yourself and then you can use self-hypnosis as often as you want.

A very small number of people might doze off because they are tired, and feel safe and secure. This happens listening to audio tapes at home more than it does in a session, where I can monitor how things are going. And I’ll adapt my approach if you let me know you are tired when you arrive.

However, these people are not ‘stuck in trance’. They are choosing to stay immersed in a pleasant experience or they are asleep. They will open their eyes when they choose to do so, or when they wake up, both perfectly natural events. 

Conclusion

I hope this has given you some information and put your mind at rest. If you’re thinking of seeing a hypnotherapist, don’t let worries about being stuck in hypnosis get in the way. Raise your questions with an experienced therapist, who should be happy to answer whatever you ask. If not, shop around until you find someone who does.

And feel free to contact me about using hypnotherapy, at any time.