Common Misconceptions

It’s completely natural to have questions, especially with the many myths from Hollywood and misconceptions from “stage show hypnosis” floating around. Let’s take a moment to set the record straight.

First and foremost: Hypnosis is natural and safe.
Hypnosis is a innate ability we all have, it’s safe and natural It’s a voluntary state of heightened, focused awareness. You move in and out of self-hypnosis states daily -when you’re daydreaming, engrossed in a creative activity, or driving on autopilot. We call this “environmental hypnosis”.

All hypnosis is self-hypnosis, because hypnosis is a collaborative process. Unlike what you may have seen in movies, you’re always in control. You cannot get “stuck”, fall into a coma, or lose control. You simply cannot be coerced or made to do anything that is against your values or will because all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. You can in fact open your eyes, speak and move around if you want, because hypnosis isn’t done to you. It’s simply a state of awareness, created in a collaborative process, teamwork built on trust, active participation, and your own motivation for change. Nothing happens unless you want it to.

Hypnosis is not sleep.
In fact, in the hypnotic state your mind is in a heightened state of awareness -but in a distinct, more attentive way. Your brain shifts into a calm and relaxed, receptive state, allowing your subconscious mind to engage with new insights, positive suggestions, ideas and restorative imagery. Sometimes, if someone isn’t rested before a session, they’ll relax so deeply that they doze off. A wonderful respite, but your hypnotherapist will wake you, feeling deeply relaxed.

What does it feel like? Some clients describe the hypnotic state as wonderfully peaceful -calm, some say, tingly -kind of dreamy, others have said, very aware -but really relaxed. The hypnotic experience is as individual as people are, and results may vary.

Meditation vs hypnosis. Simplified: While meditation and hypnosis both focuses on breathe, meditation focuses on quieting the mind and letting thoughts pass. In hypnosis there is awareness and goal focus upon working with specific subconscious thoughts and beliefs, habits, or emotional blocks that the client makes a decision to change, and the shifts happen incrementally.

Talk therapy vs Hypnotherapy Simplified: Both are therapeutic approaches, but methods and center of attention differ. Traditional therapy -psychotherapy, is important work and necessary for some. It relies on exploring conscious thoughts and feelings through active listening and conversations, analyzing experiences and patterns to create insight and change (CBT). It requires greater investment, more sessions over a longer period, often years. Hypnotherapy focuses on subconscious patterns, beliefs and behaviors. Using guided relaxation into the hypnotic state of heightened focus and awareness. Hypnotherapy helps to regain calm, gain clarity and address underlying issues the collaborative strategizing process focuses on, and modify on the subconscious level with positive-proactive suggestions, achieving results in conscious everyday life more quickly. In fact, I work with many clients as an adjunct to talk therapy, and it can help accelerate change and healing for many clients.

Limiting Beliefs A limiting belief can be a restrictive or negative belief or thought we have about ourself, others or the world, that block our personal growth and keeps us from evolving and going after our dreams and goals. In Hypnosis we can replace them with constructive, positive, proactive strategies that make a difference.

As a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, my role is to support, facilitate and guide—not control. I help create a safe, respectful relaxed space for deep inner work.