Long:

Hypnotic look (like snake Ka from Mowgli in the Jungle Book):

Movies and television… Not everything you see on TV corresponds to reality. This is also the case with Mowgli’s snake Ka from The Jungle Book. I personally have never seen anyone or anything with spinning eyes like the snake Ka. If you have ever seen something or someone like this (not on TV, but in real life), please let me know. Hypnosis does not work without your consent or without you allowing it.

Hypnosis requires a pendulum or a pocket watch:

No, you don’t necessarily need a pendulum or a pocket watch for hypnosis. Most hypnotists these days no longer use a pendulum or a pocket watch for induction. Apart from the fact that hardly anyone owns a pocket watch these days (in the modern age of cell phones / smartphones and smartwatches), there are now much better inductions than with a pendulum or a pocket watch.

Yes, sometimes you can still see someone performing an induction with a pendulum in a video. This is usually done simply for show.

If you come to me for coaching, I will not guide you into hypnosis with a pendulum (or a pocket watch, which I do not own) unless you expressly request it. (This is only possible on site and not online, e.g. via video).

Telling secrets:

Would you tell me the secret like this (i.e. without hypnosis)? If no, you won’t do this during hypnosis either. You can even lie or deliberately conceal something during hypnosis. Hypnosis gives you even more control over yourself or your subconscious, which you don’t have without hypnosis.

We all have a gatekeeper (known as the critical factor, or CF for short), which first scrutinizes everything that happens (with or without hypnosis) and then decides whether it is good or not and what to do with it (e.g. with a suggestion). A suggestion is a positive sentence that is reinforced by hypnosis. So if this suggestion does not suit you or your values, it will be rejected.

Being without will:

Even if it may appear from the outside that the hypnotist has “power” over the other person, in reality they (the hypnotist) do not.

The easiest way to compare hypnosis is with learning to drive a car. If the driving instructor tells the learner driver to sit next to him in the driver’s seat, but the learner driver sits in the back seat because he thinks he can learn to drive from there, then the driving instructor can try to persuade the learner driver to sit in the front seat with his words, but if the learner driver refuses, the driving instructor has no chance. Even if the driving instructor says that the learner driver should turn left, but the learner driver turns right, there is nothing the driving instructor can do except react and make the best of the situation.

The learner driver is in control. The client, who in this example is comparable to the learner driver, is also always in control of himself and the vehicle. In hypnosis, the vehicle is comparable to the brain and the body. The driving instructor can only give instructions on what the learner driver should do, but it is up to the learner driver to follow the instructions.

If the learner driver follows the instructor’s instructions, their chances of getting their license are quite good. However, if they decide not to follow the instructions, they are unlikely to get their license. It’s exactly the same with hypnosis. If the client follows the hypnotist’s instructions / suggested actions, hypnosis works. However, if the client decides to disregard the instructions/suggested actions or not to follow them, hypnosis will not work either.

You remain in control at all times and during hypnosis you gain even more control. This is the case because we have no (or only limited) access to our subconscious in a “waking state”. Through hypnosis we also gain control over our subconscious (and also superconscious, which is used in the Simpson Protocol).

Manipulation:

Again, I’m sorry to disappoint you if you thought that hypnosis is manipulation. If you want to experience manipulation, you can do so at a physiotherapy session 😉 or at a magic show. Nothing is manipulated in hypnosis. From the outside, it sometimes looks as if the hypnotist is manipulating you, but since you are in control at all times, you are manipulating yourself. In principle, we are manipulated every day (e.g. by the media that we consume or do not consume). The media is only the carrier of information. It is up to us whether we believe it or not. Everyone is allowed to find their own truth. What is clearly manipulation for one person may not be manipulation for another.

Be gone:

Even if it sometimes looks like it, you are not out of it, unconscious, asleep or anything like that. However, hypnosis feels different for everyone.

Yes, the word sleep is often used during a rapid induction, for example. But this has nothing to do with sleeping, which we do at night, for example. The word sleep is merely a signal to the brain to behave as sleep-like as possible, in this case to go into hypnosis. You could also say, for example, Timbuktu or any other word during a rapid induction and it would work in the same way.

No memory of what happened:

Yes, in show hypnosis there is the suggestion that the person forgets what happened. However, this suggestion is limited in time and the person allows this to happen. It is possible (even if the suggestion has been given) to remember what has just happened. (This suggestion is also just a thought that works. This means that if you stop constantly giving yourself the suggestion that you cannot remember, you will normally be able to remember again).

Getting stuck:

In the entire history of hypnosis, there has never been anyone who has gotten stuck. This myth comes from the time when a show hypnotist had a participant go into the Esdaile State (named after the British doctor James Esdaile) on stage. This is a very deep hypnosis.

(Normally one works in so-called somnambulism, which is also the depth of work on stage and usually also in coaching).

At the end of the show, the show hypnotist let the participants emerge from hypnosis, only one of the participants did not come back. He had no idea about the Esdaile State at the time, which is why the police and an ambulance came. The police questioned the show hypnotist in detail as to why this man had not emerged from the hypnosis, or had emerged, etc., but he knew nothing about it. As the hypnotist knew nothing about this, he did not know how to bring the participant out of hypnosis. The participant emerged from hypnosis after some time. He was very surprised at all the commotion, as he thought that he had come back immediately after the show hypnotist had ended the hypnosis for everyone. The show hypnotist was detained by the police until the participant emerged from the hypnosis.

At this point, everyone understandably thought that the participant was stuck in hypnosis, which of course is not the case. The delayed emergence from hypnosis is due to the fact that the perception of time is (generally) different in hypnosis. You also feel so comfortable in Esdaile because you can forget everything around you. This is why some clients (once they are in Esdaile) do not want to return to the here and now so quickly and easily.

Don’t worry, nowadays we as hypnotists (if we have learned this in training) know how to handle the situation when someone really goes into the Esdaile state. It is definitely not common for someone to go into the Esdaile state just like that and without the guidance of the hypnotist.

PS: In my training I learned how to deal with the Esdaile state, what to pay attention to, how to bring someone safely into Esdaile and also bring them out of Esdaile again, etc.

Hypnosis is magic or supernatural:

No, it is not. It is neither magic nor supernatural. It has been scientifically examined and proven several times that it can help. To find out more about it, have a look here ->  hypnosis works

Occultism:

Hypnosis also has nothing to do with occultism. This assumption comes from the portrayal of hypnosis in films and television. As a rule, however, this does not correspond to reality. In films, hypnosis is always portrayed as something mystical, dangerous and/or occult. This is the case because it sells better that way. (Compare advertising with reality. If everything was presented in advertising as it really is in reality, the products would probably sell less well. It’s the same with hypnosis. If hypnosis were portrayed as it actually is, the films would hardly sell any more).

Under hypnosis:

You are not UNDER hypnosis, you are IN hypnosis. Under = NO control (you have even more control with hypnosis than without, as hypnosis gives you access to your subconscious etc.) and in = in a state of relaxation (you don’t say I’m under a state of relaxation).

Hypnosis is dangerous:

How dangerous is communication? Hypnosis is just as “dangerous” as communication… (You can do a lot of good with words, but also a lot of bad. It’s always up to you what you make of it. I can hurt someone with a knife, save their life (e.g. through a vital operation) or cook a dish with it…) However, if you have no idea what you are doing, then hypnosis can be “dangerous” -> “Dangers” and contraindications.

Evoking false memories:

Yes, it can, but this is only the case if you are poorly trained and don’t know what to look for when asking questions. (Right: Ask open questions, wrong closed questions. Example: Open question: Where are you? Closed question: Is it raining or is the sun shining? -> Cloudy, snow, etc. are not possible answers).

Only weak / easily influenced people can be hypnotised:

No, this is not the case. In principle, anyone who wants to can be hypnotised. However, there are also contraindications that speak against hypnosis.

Hypnosis is only for psychological problems:

No, it can also help with physical problems, as most of them are related to the psyche. (Psychosomatics) However, there are of course exceptions. For example, if you have just been hit by a circular saw, you definitely need medical help. However, hypnosis can help to reduce the swelling, pain, bleeding etc. a little. (This belongs in professional hands. Consult a doctor for this!)

PS: Incidentally, I learned in my training courses what questions you can ask and how etc.