Home About the Center Endorsements Frequently Asked Questions CD Collection Course Outline Uses of Clinical Hypnosis Published Articles & Links Schedule an Appointment Frequently Asked Questions About Hypnosis What is hypnosis anyway? Hypnosis is a powerful state of receptivity to suggestion. In hypnosis, you have an extraordinary ability to take in and accept new ideas that you want for yourself. In hypnosis, we speak to your unconscious mind. The positive suggestions that we give calmly strengthen you while your amazing unconscious mind automatically remembers everything that is important so it can utilize it later on. The old triggers — like the thought of smoking, or overeating become the very triggers that continue the new healthier and desired behaviors. A useful analogy to consider in explaining hypnosis is to think about what happens when a child asks his mother for a candy at the store and his mother explains that the candy is not Kosher. The child no longer desires the candy because he understands that he can not have it. Unlike the child in this case, many times in life our minds are not in sync with our bodies (subconscious.) We tell ourselves that smoking or overeating is unhealthy and yet, at the same time that our mind is telling us not to smoke/overeat, our body is telling us to smoke/overeat in the way of strong cravings. Hypnosis is a way of communicating with the body what the mind already knows. The same way the child in the store no longer craves the candy because his mind and body understand they are not good for him, through hypnosis one can teach his body what his mind knows, which means that he no longer has to fight the strong cravings that cause him to overeat/smoke in the first place. Isn’t hypnosis just a form of mind control? Hypnosis is nothing of the sort. A hypnotized person is simply more open to suggestion. If the suggestion is in conflict with his morals and values he will not accept the suggestion. Only when the suggestions fit in with his beliefs and interests will he accept them. Therefore hypnosis is a way of getting your body and mind in sync so your body does not fight you in your attempt to lose weight or quit smoking. Further, nobody can be hypnotized against his or her will (except in the movies). All hypnosis is actually self-hypnosis because unless the person is cooperating and allowing the process to develop won’t go into hypnosis. This is why the American Medical Association approved hypnosis as a therapeutic modality as far back as 1958. Are people sleeping when they go into hypnosis? No. People are not sleeping when they’re in hypnosis; their minds are quite alert. People are so relaxed in hypnosis that they may look like they are asleep. A person is conscious and aware of what is going on. Will I lose control of myself in hypnosis? You do not lose control of yourself at anytime, in hypnosis and will certainly not carry out a suggestion unless it is acceptable to you; nor would you reveal any secrets. What about all those hypnosis shows where people do crazy things? Possibly the toughest thing that clinical hypnotists have to contend with are hypnosis shows. What must be understood about hypnosis shows is that the people on stage are not being controlled; they are merely accepting the suggestions of the hypnotist. Stage hypnotists are experts at searching the audience for people who will be willing to perform on stage. Just like by all hypnotism, if the hypnotist asked someone on stage to do something that was against their morals and beliefs, the person would refuse. The hypnotist simply picks people who he has determined would not mind acting out on a stage in front of people. Is there any danger of not waking up from hypnosis? Absolutely not. Remember, most people go into hypnosis in their day to day lives. If you’ve ever been so engrossed in a book that you do not hear someone calling you, you have been under hypnosis. The same way that any time you wanted to you could have closed the book and walked away (as much as you may not have wanted to) so to with any other hypnosis, you can come out of hypnosis at any time you chose to. Is everybody hypnotizable? Just about everybody – Research indicates that there are a very small percentage of people who aren’t hypnotizable if they are willing to be hypnotized. No one can be hypnotized against their will. I know people who could not be hypnotized? Most everyone who is willing to be hypnotized can be. But the key word is "willing". Some people are a little nervous before they try new things, which could cause resistance. They need the hypnotist to give them some information to dispel their fears and he’ll be doing this at a seminar or private session. Another misconception is that the hypnotist has magical power over them or that if they go into hypnosis it means they are weak-minded. This is just not true! Most good hypnotic subjects are very intelligent and imaginative. I went to the hypnotist and sat there but I don’t think I was hypnotized. People experience hypnosis in many different ways. While there are people who can not be hypnotized, there are far more people who go into hypnosis without recognizing a change. This is a combined result of some people having specific expectations for hypnosis based on shows or things they saw in the movies, and the fact that a people react to hypnosis in many different fashions. There have been stories of people who went to a hypnotist and left upset because they felt that nothing had happened, only to notice later that the symptoms they had come to get treated for had vanished. For many people, especially those who have never been hypnotized before, the biggest proof that they were in hypnosis is the results that they see. I understand that hypnosis can help me get rid of phobias and unwanted habits. Where did these habits come from in the first place? Habits and phobias form in the minds subconscious. The subconscious mind works to protect the body. Because of this, it instills different feelings in a person. When the subconscious mind perceives danger, it attempts to protect the person by causing the person to be afraid of what it believes can cause the body harm. If the person is afraid, the subconscious hopes that the person will distance himself from the object of his fears, thereby avoiding the danger that the subconscious perceives. While this mechanism is an important one (it’s what keeps us from being overly careless with our lives as well as with objects and people that are important to us,) there are times when the subconscious may sense danger where there is no real danger. This could happen if the person sees someone else who has a phobia react to being around the thing that he fears. It could be from seeing a movie that portrays a specific animal, situation or anything else as particularly dangerous. When a phobia is so severe that it interferes with the ability to function on an everyday basis, help is warranted. Hypnosis works to eliminate the fear by helping the subconscious realize that the fear they have discerned is not a reality and therefore does not deserve the strong emotional response. Hypnosis and Judaism There are numerous Teshuvos Gedolim on the subject of hypnosis: 2.5.1 Reb Moshe Feinstein ZT’L discusses hypnosis in 3 separate Teshuvos. Igros Moshe (Yoreh Deah Vol. 2 No. 29) Igros Moshe (Yoreh Deah Vol. 2 No. 57) Igros Moshe (Yoreh Deah Vol. 3 No. 44) 2.5.2 Reb Yaakov Ettlinger-Binyan Tzion (1868) 2.5.3 Rabbi Yitzchak Sternhill-Kokhavey Yitzchak (Vol. 3, No. 35)