Have you ever caught yourself daydreaming or you driving on an extended road-trip and your mind and body seem to go into auto-pilot? 

You are completely awake, but your senses are magnified.  You can actually hear the crashing of the waves or smell the sweet nectar of the lilies in your mind.  You are still aware of your surroundings, in control of yourself, but you have chosen to ignore the immediate world and let your mind float off into a much more pleasant place.  That, my friend, is hypnosis in its simplest form. 

That being said, here are the most frequent questions people have about hypnosis.

• What is hypnosis and what does it feel like?
• How does hypnosis work?
• Is it safe to be hypnotized?
• Do people ever get “stuck” in a hypnotic state?
• Are there any dangers of being hypnotized? Can my hypnotist manipulate me into doing things against my will?
• Will I say or do anything embarrassing like I’ve seen people do on TV shows?
• What will I feel like after? Are there any side-effects of hypnosis?
• When I “wake up” am I going to remember any of this?
• Am I hypnotizable? 
• If hypnosis is so simple and great, why don’t more people use self-hypnosis and receive hypnotherapy sessions?
• Ok, how do I get started?

Q:  What is hypnosis and what does it feel like?
A:  Hypnosis is a basically a meditation process.  Who would have thought closing your eyes and drifting away into a daydream could be considered therapeutic!  Isn’t that something we’d get in trouble for in school?  The human mind is very susceptible to suggestion and visualization, making hypnosis a very real option in therapy intervention.  And because your body is on auto-pilot and allowed to be in a complete state of relaxation and peace, hypnosis is a pleasant experience for most. 

Of course the experience is going to differ from one person to the next, and their reason for induction, but the overall feeling can be one of euphoria.

Q:  Does hypnosis work?
A:  Let’s look at a few facts.  Milton Erickson, a 20th century founder of hypnotherapy, actually began to popularize the practice with his studies and methods.  The American Medical Association and American Psychological Association both recognized hypnosis as a valid form of treatment in 1958.  Then in 1995 the National Institutes for Health, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, recommended hypnotherapy for treatment of chronic pain.  If hypnosis didn’t work, I can’t imagine these well-known institutions endorsing it!  You have organizations like The Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis who are currently working on their 60th annual conference.  With 60 years and still going strong, you can be confident the benefits of hypnosis are real!

Flammer and Bongartz, German researchers from Konstanz University, handled a meta-analysis on the efficacy of hypnosis reflecting a 74% success rate for patients in a combination of studies to include more than 6,000 patients.  (Flammer & Bongartz, "On the efficacy of hypnosis: a meta-analytic study", Contemporary Hypnosis, 2003, pp179 – 197.)  Pretty amazing results!

Q:  Is it safe to be hypnotized?
A:  Hypnosis is a completely safe form of therapy.  As with anything in life, there are associated risks to be weighed in making this decision.  Your therapist wouldn’t recommend this treatment if he/she didn’t feel it was appropriate, and hypnosis is not recommended for sufferers of schizophrenia and/or serious clinical depression.

Q:  Do people ever get “stuck” in a hypnotic state?
A:  Many clients may have a fear of getting “stuck” in a hypnotic state.  If this were the case, we would be in a world of danger when our minds shift to auto-pilot while driving!  Hypnosis is simply tapping into the brains’ suggestive sensibility by audio stimulation. 

Even if your therapist drops dead on the floor next to you while you are in trance or your CD player comes unplugged in the middle of the session, your mind and body will know when it’s time to emerge from this state.  Similar to daydreaming in biology class, your mind knew when it was time to snap out of it.  The monotonous tone of the teacher in the background stopped or the environment shifted in one way or another.  The superficial level of your trance-like state during hypnotherapy isn’t going to allow for a deep sleep, contrary to popular myths of the entertainment industry. 

Q:  Are there any dangers of being hypnotized?  Can my hypnotist manipulate me into doing things against my will?
A:  Hypnotherapy utilizes the power of suggestion, yes.  But in over 200 years of documented hypnosis history, dating all the way back to Austrian physicist Franz Mesmer, there isn’t one single documented case where a patient has been injured.  You, the patient, are still very much in control of your actions. 

If your therapist made a request that your mind told you was inappropriate, illegal, or went against any of your moral convictions, your mind could instantly remove itself from the trance-like state.  Likewise, your mind will not allow someone to coax you into falling down a flight of stairs or even worse.  You know it will be painful and could cause injury, so your mind stops you from doing such. 

Q:  Will I say or do anything embarrassing like I’ve seen people do on TV shows?
A:  We’ve all seen the shows, perhaps even been to a live-show, where subjects were lined up on stage and coached by words like “you’re falling deeper and deeper”.  The next thing you know the hypnotist snaps their fingers and the subjects are dancing about in the aisles of the audience clucking like a chicken or beating their chests like King Kong. 

Let me fill you in on a little secret:  These people are willing.  They have come up on that stage by their own will.  Your mind makes the choice of what to and not to do, and these subjects are more thrilled by the curiosity and laughs they will receive than worried about how silly they may look.  We are looking at the more clinical, purpose-driven type of hypnosis.  In hypnosis more geared toward positive outcomes, such as help with addiction, analgesia and tapping into or “awakening” the creative center of your brain, your hypnotist is concerned with keeping you safe, comfortable and relaxed.  The hypnotist will not be not concerned with the suggestion of comedic antics and stage-side ooh’s and aah’s from the crowd, as his main focus is to help you, the patient.

Q:  What will I feel like after?  Are there any side-effects of hypnosis?
A:  One of the many benefits of hypnosis versus conventional medicine is the lack of side effects.  No nasty pills to choke down and you don’t have to take another pill to cover the adverse affects from the first one.  No headaches.  No blurry vision.  No ringing of the ears.  Nothing.  Our products only contain healthy suggestions that can unlock your ability to write!

Q:  When I “wake up” am I going to remember any of this?
A:  I’m sure we’ve seen on TV where a hypnotist will tell the subject once they awaken from the hypnotic state, they will have no recollection of the preceding events.  Most hypnotists – Dr. Jay included – want you to be aware of the entire session. 

You are aware of everything around you and will remember most, if not all, of the session when we are finished.  The goal here is for you to remember how to access that part of your brain again, how to reach that inner feeling of relaxation and euphoria, thus allowing you to steer clear of writer’s block and keep that pen moving!

Q:  Am I hypnotizable? 
A: Now I’m sure you’re wondering if there are people who simply cannot be hypnotized.  Everyone is hypnotizable.  Everyone!  If you can reach a level of relaxation and serenity, you can be a success with hypnosis.  Remember the daydreaming and auto-pilot events?  The big difference lies in thinking you were hypnotized and actually being hypnotized.  Take the test and see for yourself!

Writers have commonly been dubbed “right-brainers” - which is believed to hold the key to creativity and imagination in our brains.  Like the old adage, left-hand dominant people use the right side of their brain more often, writers do too!  Because they often reach for and utilize their creative juices, they are typically the ideal candidates for hypnosis versus their “left-brain” counterparts (mathematicians, engineers, etc.), who are the more analytical, detached people.

There are a limited number of medical conditions you should get prior consent from your medical professional prior to hypnosis.  As I mentioned before, serious mental illness such as severe clinical depression or schizophrenia sufferers are not typically recommended to undergo hypnotherapy.  Also, epilepsy patients should definitely seek the advice of their neurologists before utilizing this treatment. 

Q:  If hypnosis is so simple and great, why don’t more people use self-hypnosis and receive hypnotherapy sessions?
A:  It constantly amazes me why more people have an aversion to attempting self-hypnosis or get hypnotherapy sessions.  Putting this into more relative terms, why don’t people take daily vitamin supplements or abstain from fatty, cholesterol raising foods?  Just because something is good for us, we don’t always comply.  In today’s day and time, people are busy.  Our day-runners are packed and our agendas are full.  Daily life and responsibilities sometimes seem to get in the way of our own personal growth, not to mention our own routines we are comfortable with, and reluctance to try something new.  We know that having 10 minutes of quiet time could be beneficial, but we seldom take that moment to enjoy the serenity of just BEING instead of constantly moving and DOING.  Try sitting in the middle of your bed, legs crossed, TV off and the room quiet, without interruption to clear your mind.  You’ll be surprised how challenging it is!

Hypnosis is simple.  In today’s culture, we are conditioned to believe the more complex and complicated the answer, the better the chances of benefits and rewards.  The truth is, activities do not necessarily need to be difficult to work.  For instance, your dentist recommends flossing after eating for obvious reasons.  Simple, yet effective.  Your doctor recommends daily exercise for heart health.  Sit ups or a 20 minutes walk around your block is, again, simple, yet effective. 

Because of the negative hype hypnosis receives from pop culture and Hollywood movies, we tend to think of hypnosis as a joke or losing self control.  When you see that hypnotist on stage urging people to run from an oncoming swarm of bees or use their invisible net to catch imaginary butterflies, it doesn’t leave a very settling impression of hypnosis.  Quite the contrary, when used properly hypnosis is not only beneficial, but it allows its subjects to gain a better understanding of personal control and growth.  So are you ready yet?

The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis advocates hypnosis in almost every venue for a countless surplus of medical facets.  Dentists have even been known to use hypnotherapy for their patients, and for some, the dentist office is mainly associated with pain and needles.  Hypnosis has been successfully used to help those wishing to stop smoking, weight management, eyewitness recollection, pain and anxiety relief and so much more.  Most of us have done the crash diets without rewards.  We have subjected our bodies to pharmaceutical interventions for anxiety and pain with many unpleasant side effects from the chemicals ingested.  We continually search for the most complex and expensive answer when hypnosis offers such a simple and natural remedy.  Frankly, I am baffled. 

Q:  Ok, how do I get started?
A:  Upon completion of your order, you will receive your listening instructions along with the product itself.  For those suffering a severe case of writer’s block and staring down the barrel of an upcoming deadline, you will listen to the audio three times in a row the first day and then once a day thereafter.  You will want to find a comfortable placed when you will be free from interruptions for about 30 minutes.  Headphones are ideal, although you can listen through speakers as well.