Everything You Need to Know About Hypnosis

Believe it or not, you have already experienced hypnosis. For New Yorkers, it happens on the subway. Have you ever been so focused on your smartphone or your thoughts that you almost miss your stop (or actually do)? That is hypnosis: a state of mental absorption so heightened that you briefly stop paying attention to what is happening around you. Daydreaming and movies are other examples.

When to Try Hypnosis & How It Helps

Hypnosis improves communication between your conscious and subconscious mind. When these two parts are disconnected, you feel "blocked," "stuck," or as though you've tried everything to change, but nothing works.  Not only is this enormously frustrating, but over time it leads to a sense of powerlessness and helplessness that is further immobilizing.

Your mind has powerful resources (intuition, imagination, the capacity to learn through new experience) that are just under the surface of your everyday awareness and can be accessed at any time.  Hypnosis connects you with them and empowers you to use them instinctively and creatively.  You start feeling lighter and more hopeful, and your problem begins to change.

What Hypnosis Feels Like

In hypnosis, your body and mind unwind and release tension.  Images, thoughts, sounds, and feelings flow freely.  Most people describe the experience as deeply relaxing and report sleeping exceptionally well the night after a session. For many, the stress-relieving effects of hypnosis last for 3-4 days, or even longer.

There are many stages of depth in hypnosis. Full alertness is characteristic of the lightest stages: you hear every word the therapist says. In moderate stages, your mind repeatedly wanders off and returns. Only in the deepest stages (typically used as anesthesia for medical and dental procedures), is there a sense of having missed what happened. Most clients are surprised by how aware they are during hypnosis. 

Why Hypnosis is Safe

You are always in control of yourself and your actions in hypnosis.  You will only go as deeply as you are truly comfortable with and will only accept suggestions that are helpful and positive.  If you don't feel genuinely safe, nothing will happen - no matter what the therapist does. This is why choosing the right therapist for you is essential.

How You Will Change 

Some people experience "aha!" moments, in which a thought pops into their mind that helps them recognize what they need to do to change. Many develop insight after hypnosis, when they talk through what they experienced with the therapist or in the days after sessions. For others, they simply start feeling better and notice their behavior changing.