Unlike how it is often depicted in the movies, hypnotists can not force subjects to do something against their wills. Instead, there are many benefits of hypnosis including as a tool for self-empowerment. In fact, contrary to this myth, self-hypnosis is effective for self-care according to a vast number of studies.

The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis states on their website:

“In hypnosis, the patient is not under the control of the hypnotist. Hypnosis is not something imposed on people, but something they do for themselves. A hypnotist simply serves as a facilitator to guide them.”

From the beginning of a hypnotic experience, hypnotic subjects have certain choices about how to direct their own attention and can remain in control of their behavior if that’s what they chose to do.

While it’s true that people vary in their level of hypnotic susceptibility, no one, not even the most hypnotically susceptible person, can be forced to act foolish or behave out of character.

If a stage-hypnotist, for example, picked you out of the crowd, brought you on stage and told you to act like a chicken, and you weren’t receptive to the idea, the hypnotist could not force you to do it. The act requires a receptive volunteer.

The reason people do funny things or act out-of-character while under stage-hypnosis is because they are open to having those experiences.

In my opinion, hypnosis used in stage-shows is unethical. Hypnosis is a powerful tool and should not be treated like it’s a game.

I am against the use of hypnosis for comedy or entertainment. This is one of the things that separates licensed health care professionals from stage hypnotists. 

The key to understanding why this statement is a myth is that there is NO license for hypnosis per se!

All licenses are not created equally and having just any kind of license does not necessarily qualify someone to safely and effectively treat your issue, even if they have had some training in hypnosis.

Practically anyone can get trained as a hypnotherapist and use hypnosis with the public.

However, only being licensed as a health care provider means that the practitioner has met the regulations of a State Licensing Board in the healthcare field.

Licensed health care providers like, for example, psychologists, marriage family therapists, social workers, physicians, and dentists have advanced academic training such as graduate school or medical school, and have undergone supervision, and have taken a comprehensive exam administered by their State Licensing Board.

Most States, however, do NOT license hypnotherapists.

People claiming to be a “licensed hypnotherapist” may have some kind of a state license allowing them to provide some type of service to consumers, and also may have been trained as a lay-hypnotist.

But when someone claims to be a licensed hypnotherapist, the license that they have could be any type of license including, for example, in auto repair or cosmetology. Those are specific and important licenses, but they are not licenses for health care.

Since calling oneself a licensed hypnotherapist does not describe what type of actual license is held, please be sure to ask what kind of license someone has before beginning hypnosis.

If you would like to learn about hypnosis and receive the benefits of hypnotherapy, I recommend that you only work with a hypnotist who is licensed as a health care provider by a state licensing board.

Almost everyone can have some type of hypnotic experience and almost everyone can be hypnotized to some extent, if open to it, although hypnotic susceptibility is testable and is distributed in a bell curve using standardized measures.

Research has shown that highly hypnotizable people actually exhibit strength in terms of sensitivity, focus, creativity, and attentiveness.

They often show a remarkable ability to stay focused and follow through on what’s important to them.

Strong-minded, intelligent people are tapping into their own brain-power when they experience hypnosis.

Hypnosis is a natural state of mind that occurs automatically in some form throughout the day for many people. By utilizing the hypnotic state, individuals can become more empowered and in some cases, may even feel more connected to their spiritual path and faith.

Hypnotists who are licensed health care practitioners are trained to utilize hypnosis to help the subject become more independent and healthy. This is one of the many benefits of hypnosis.

The best self-hypnosis downloads can act as great self-help hypnosis tools that teach you to reduce stress and relax. When you to learn how to hypnotize yourself, you may find that there are many effective self-hypnosis techniques that can empower you in many areas of your daily life.

While the word hypnosis comes from “Hypnos”, the Greek god of sleep, being hypnotized is not the same as being asleep.

The brain responds differently during hypnosis than it does to sleep.

Under hypnosis you can respond and remain aware. As I mentioned earlier, sometimes people experience hypnosis during their normal daily activities, while awake.

Other times, however, especially while in a formal hypnotic trance, even with quick hypnosis techniques or when listening to self-hypnosis audios, it often feels different from the normal waking state and may sometimes feel like you are asleep, but subjects can still open their eyes and “wake up.”

Licensed health care providers who have expertise in hypnosis have been trained to awaken and re-alert subjects who are in even the deepest and most relaxed trance states.