People are often curious about how hypnosis works, what hypnosis actually is, and why it can be effective for helping people change habits, overcome anxiety and deal with fears and phobias.
While hypnosis is sometimes misunderstood, the actual process of hypnosis is quite simple, natural and straightforward. It involves guiding your mind into a relaxed and focused state where it becomes easier to adopt new ways of thinking, feeling and responding.
If you are new to hypnosis, you may find it helpful to read more about hypnosis and how it is commonly used.
A Simple Explanation of How Hypnosis Works
Hypnosis works by guiding you into a relaxed and focused state where your mind becomes quieter and more receptive.
In this state:
- Your attention is more focused
- Your body is relaxed
- Your thoughts are calmer
This makes it easier to positively influence patterns of behavior, thinking and feeling, in a positive and beneficial way.
This process combines focused attention and physical and mental relaxation with carefully constructed suggestions to support change. When your attention is directed like this, it is easier to engage with the positive ideas and hypnotic suggestions that help you change in the way you want to.
This is certainly not about losing control or being under the power of someone else, instead, it is about being more focused and receptive to new ways of thinking and reacting, while still remaining aware and in control. You can read more about this in my article on is hypnosis safe.
The Role of Relaxation and Focus in Hypnosis
Physical and mental relaxation are a key part of hypnosis.
As your body relaxes:
- Your breathing slows and becomes easier and more gentle
- Muscles become softer and looser
- Your mind becomes calmer
- Thoughts become more settled and quieter.
This combination of relaxation and focus helps to create a trance state (what is a hypnotic trance) where your mind is more open to new ideas and perspectives. You can read more in my article on what hypnosis feels like.
The Subconscious Mind
Much of our behavior is influenced by habit patterns and automatic reactions and responses that operate below conscious awareness. Hypnosis works by helping you access this level of your mind, called the subconscious.
In this state, it becomes easier to:
- Change habitds
- Change emotional patterns
- Reduce anxiety responses
The Role of Suggestions
During hypnosis, carefully constructed Hypnotic suggestions are used to guide your thoughts in a more helpful and beneficial direction.
These suggestions are designed to:
- Support your goals
- Influence your subconscious mind
- Align with what you want to change
Because in hypnosis your mind is more focused and relaxed, the positive suggestions can feel more natural and easier to accept as you hear them. Find out more in my article on what are hypnotic suggestions.
The Conscious Critical Faculty
Even when you are in hypnosis your mind is still evaluating what you are hearing.
This is called the conscious critical faculty, it is the part of your mind that filters information, ensuring that suggestions are suitable, appropriate and acceptable to you.
This is why it is impossible for hypnosis to make you do anything against your will. If you are curious about this, see what is the conscious critical faculty.
Repetition and Practice
Using a hypnosis download or CD is more effective with repetition. Listening to it regularly helps you reinforce those positive messages, change reactions or patterns, and makes it easier for you to achieve your goals.
Your experience of hypnosis may vary depending on how you feel on a particular day. Even though the audio is the same, it may feel different in some way each time. This is perfectly normal, the positive suggestions are still working on your subconscious mind. You can also read more about how to get the best results in my article on how to get the most out of hypnosis.
Why Hypnosis Can Be So Effective
Hypnosis can be very effective for a wide range of problems, challenges and goals. Combining relaxation, mental focus and positive hypnotic suggestions makes it easier for you to change.
It is commonly used to help with:
Final Thoughts
Hypnosis works by guiding you into a calm, relaxed focused state. In this state, your mind becomes quiet and calm and more receptive to positive suggestions. Hypnosis is a natural and enjoyable cooperative process where you remain in control.
Regularly practicing using a hypnosis recording is a really simple and easy way to support your wellbeing, your personal development and self improvement.
Perhaps you would like to try hypnosis for yourself? You are welcome to try my free hypnosis audio and experience how this relaxed, focused state feels in practice.
Many people find that understanding hypnosis becomes much easier once they experience it for themselves.
FAQs
Common Questions About How Hypnosis Works
Why does hypnosis help with habits?
Hypnosis can make it easier for people to change habits because it works with the subconscious, the part of the mind responsible for automatic patterns and behaviors. Using hypnosis makes it easier to influence these habit patterns and replace them with more helpful and beneficial responses.
How does hypnosis work in the brain?
Hypnosis guides your mind into a calm, focused and relaxed state. Your attention is directed inward and your thoughts become quieter and more settled. In this state of hypnosis, it is easier to engage with positive suggestions and ideas that support your desired changes in habits, thoughts and behaviors.
Do you have to believe in hypnosis for it to work?
Although you do not have to believe in hypnosis for it to work, having an open mind helps. You need to be willing to engage with the process in order for it to help you. Hypnosis is a cooperative process and the more you follow the guidance and let yourself relax and go with it, the more effective it is likely to be for you. Find out more in my article – Can Anyone be Hypnotized?
How many sessions of hypnosis does it take to work?
This varies depending on the individual and on the issue that is being addressed. While some people notice positive change quite quickly, others may find they need to repeat the session a few times. Regular practice with a hypnosis recording helps reinforce the process through repetition of the hypnotic suggestions. Repetition is often key to achieving significant and lasting results, especially when you are working on changing established patterns or habits.
If you have more questions about hypnosis you can explore the full list in my hypnosis FAQ page
Rachael Eccles is an Advanced Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist with over 20 years of experience. She is fully licensed and registered with the GHR GHSC and CNHC.
She specializes in helping people overcome anxiety, lose weight, break habits and build confidence using proven hypnotherapy and mindfulness techniques.
Rachael has created one of the world's largest collections of hypnosis downloads and meditation audios (700+), and has been featured as an expert on BBC radio, Hello magazine and Thrillist.
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