The term 'hypnosis' comes from the Greek word hypnos, which means 'sleep'.
Hypnotherapists use exercises that bring about deep relaxation and an altered state of consciousness, sometimes known as a trance.
Many people routinely experience a trance-like state while they are doing everyday things, such as watching television or sitting at traffic lights. They may day-dream and drift off from reality until something jolts them back.
A person in a very relaxed state is usually more responsive to an idea or suggestion. But this does not mean they can be controlled by a hypnotist. In fact, hypnosis can actually teach people how to master their own state of awareness.
Just like being in a day-dream or in a deeply relaxed state, a person can wake up at any time they want to. This is true of an induced trance during hypnotism. A person can, at any time, open their eyes and become fully awake. They are always in control.
When something new happens to us, we remember it and we learn a particular behaviour associated with the thing that happened. Memories stored in our brains hold both the memory of the event and the reactions that occurred when the memory was first formed.
Each time similar events occur again, the physical and emotional reactions are repeated. For example, if we had a frightening experience as a young child that involved spiders, our subconscious mind would have stored that memory and experience, and then every time we are faced with a spider in future, we react to the original memory.
These reactions may be inappropriate or unhealthy. During hypnotherapy, the trained therapist will guide you to remember the event that led to the first reaction, and then he will separate the memory from the reaction and learned behaviour in such a way that the event is reconstructed with new and healthier associations.
During hypnosis, a person's body relaxes while their thoughts become more focused. Hypnosis causes a wonderful state of calm; blood pressure reduces and so too does the heart rate. Brain wave activity changes as the mind relaxes. A person will usually feel physically relaxed yet fully awake.
In this state of deep relaxation, people are highly responsive to suggestions. For example, if you are trying to give up smoking, the therapist may suggest that in future you will have a strong dislike for the taste of cigarettes.
One very important thing to remember is that the client is always aware of what is happening. She can open her eyes at any point in the process. She is definitely not under a spell! A hypnotherapist could never get a person to do something they would not normally do. Clinical hypnosis is not the same as stage hypnosis.
Hypnotherapy results differ from client to client and while a hypnotherapist will always try to fix the problem, results are not guaranteed.
The best thing to do first is to speak to the hypnotherapist. Call to discuss your particular issue and to discuss any concerns or questions you may have.