What does Hypnosis feel like?

Real client versions of how they experience hypnosis. Prepare to be amazed or even be a little shocked by some of these!

Lady hypnotized
Hypnosis is a focused state of attention

Blog post by Genine Raats, founder and Clinical Hypnotherapist at Ecomindz, Gregory Hills, New South Wales, Australia

Have you ever wondered what Hypnosis feels like? I get this question all the time in the clinic when I see a new client for hypnotherapy. Most of the clients I see have never been hypnotised before, so in this post, I will give you real-life feedback I get from my clients when they first emerge from hypnosis.

I find it fascinating when I ask my clients at the end of a session “So is there anything about your experience you would like to talk about?” and then I wait to be amazed…”

You may then also ask “What is hypnosis? The short answer is hypnosis is really a state of focussed or absorbed attention, where we bypass the critical side of the mind to deal directly with the subconscious, the powerhouse of the mind. You may wonder where does relaxation come in? Well, relaxation is typically a by-product and can be used by a Hypnotherapist to create a focussed state with say progressive relaxation. One does however not need relaxation in order to elicit a hypnotic trance state.

Hypnosis is typically a very pleasant experience and if combined with a form of psychotherapy there is a lot of deep learning taking place, as well as new neural pathways being created and old past trauma being moved to long term memory so it no longer effects a person today.

A typical example of other areas in our lives where we may experience a similar state would be just before you wake up, that state where you can hear things but you are not quite aware yet. Another example would be, have you ever driven somewhere to get to your destination and you think to yourself “Am I here already?” or “Oh my, I do not remember stopping at a traffic light, going through a roundabout or even turning off?” Sound familiar? These are just a few examples of naturally occurring hypnosis states we enter on a daily bases. Even reading a book, daydreaming, or watching a movie could have a similar effect.

lady with cup of tea smiling
Daydreaming is like a natural hypnosis-like state

Some people may even emerge from hypnosis and wonder if it was hypnosis because they remembered all or most of what the hypnotherapist said. The thing is, there is no level of trance that would depict the size of transformation a client makes, it is also not measured by how much you remember or not. Some of my clients remember quite a bit, others 1 or 2 words, and others quite often remember absolutely nothing yet they have all either stopped smoking, overcome past trauma, stopped a compulsive behavior or in a few weeks they have noticed considerable changes in their thoughts, the way they feel about things and/or their perception about something in their life has shifted. The nice thing is I give my clients a recording of their Hypnosis session so they can listen to it at home as well!

Most explain that whilst they were hypnotized they were following and sometimes drifting off but as soon as they emerged from it suddenly it is like their memory had been deleted. Have you ever experienced waking up from a dream and for a split second you remember the dream and then in a blink it is just gone and especially if it was a good dream you are like “Oh no, come back I want to still continue this dream” well hypnosis can be very similar.

lava lamp

Just imagine being inside a lava lamp like the one pictured on the left. I get this one quite often from my clients, it is just the colours that vary.

Now imagine being distended from your body and at the same time also sunken into the chair. Some describe the hypnotic trance as a psychedelic experience, quite a few different clients have asked me this “Did you get up at a certain point and shined a light in my eyes”, surprised I would say “No” and they look at me in disbelief. Some explain they see a side of light and another side of darkness and some explain they feel they get sucked in. Quite a number of clients reported their arms and/or legs feeling really numb or heavy. This is an unusual numbness though as it feels as if they cannot move their arms but know they can but like on a deeper level they have decided not to.

Some explain they see light on one side and darkness on another side, and some explain they feel they get sucked in. Quite a number of clients report their arms and/or legs feeling really numb or heavy. This is an unusual numbness though as it feels as if you cannot move your arms but know you can although it is like on a deeper level you have decided not to.

Of course, I had a number of clients saying they were very relieved when they emerged and found that they were not on their all fours somewhere on the other side of the room or clucking like a chicken running around the building (lol)!

Most of my clients say they feel as if they slept for 6 hours or that their brain got a break. Others are relieved that they did not have the racing thoughts like they usually have and have more clarity and less clutter after.

When clients come in for hypnotherapy for say anxiety or any stress-related challenge there is typically a fear of what will happen, and what will it feel like, so I find it very useful going through the different explanations I get directly from my clients like these listed in this blog.

I hope you enjoyed this blog, for more visit https://ecomindz.com.au/hypnotherapy-blog/.

Genine Raats

Founder and Clinical Hypnotherapist at Ecomindz

Genine, a passionate Clinical Hypnotherapist, specialising in anxiety and stress therapy. Her personal journey overcoming anxiety, combined with her corporate and leadership background, drives her to use techniques like NLP and Coaching to empower others in their mental health journey. With a highly effective anxiety program, Genine offers a supportive space for individuals seeking help.

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