It is easy to hypnotize a person who wants to be hypnotized, because any attempt at hypnosis is ultimately self-hypnosis. Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis is not mind control or mystical power. The hypnotist does nothing but help the other person to relax and reach a state of trance, or sleep-wakefulness. The progressive relaxation method described here is one of the simplest to learn and perform.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Preparing a Person for Hypnosis
Step 1. Find a person who wants to be hypnotized
It is very difficult to hypnotize those who do not want it or those who do not believe that this technique can work, especially if you are a beginner. For best results, find a willing person who wants to be hypnotized, but more importantly who is willing to be patient and relaxed.
Do not hypnotize those with a history of mental disorders or psychosis, as this can lead to unwanted and dangerous consequences
Step 2. Choose a quiet and comfortable room
It is best for the person to be hypnotized to feel safe and for the environment to be free of distractions. The room should be clean and softly lit. Have the person sit in a comfortable chair and eliminate all potential distractions, such as television or other people.
- Turn off all cell phones and music.
- Close the windows if there is noise outside.
- Let other people you live with know that they shouldn't bother you until you go out.
Step 3. Tell the person what to expect from hypnosis
Almost everyone has ideas about hypnosis that are far removed from reality, due to movies and TV shows. It is actually a relaxation technique that helps people understand problems in their subconscious more clearly. In fact, we all go into states of hypnosis all the time - when we daydream, when we are enraptured by music, a movie or when we get away from the world for a moment. With true hypnosis:
- You do not fall asleep and you never lose consciousness;
- You are not under the spell or control of another person;
- You won't do anything you don't want to do.
Step 4. Ask the person what they hope to achieve from hypnosis
Hypnosis has been shown to relieve anxiety and can even boost the immune system. It is a great tool for improving concentration, especially before an exam or an important event and can be used as a deep relaxation in times of stress. Knowing the goal of hypnosis will help you get the subject into a trance state.
Step 5. Ask the subject if they have already been hypnotized and what experience they have had
If the answer is yes, ask him what he was told to do and how he reacted. This will give you an idea of how responsive the subject will be to your suggestions and what you should avoid.
People who have already been hypnotized more easily succumb to hypnosis a second time
Part 2 of 4: Inducing a Trance State
Step 1. Speak in a low, slow, soothing voice
Speak slowly, in a calm and peaceful tone of voice. Drag sentences longer than usual. Imagine trying to calm a worried or frightened person with your voice. Keep the same tone throughout the interaction. Here are some words to start with:
- "Let my words be like waves on you, and take my suggestions as you like."
- "Everything here is safe, calm and peaceful. Sit back in the chair and relax deeply."
- "You may feel heavy in your eyes and want to close them. Let your body naturally sink down and relax your muscles. Listen to my body and my voice as you begin to feel calm."
- "You are in complete control of this time. You will only accept suggestions that will benefit you, and that you will want to accept."
Step 2. Ask the subject to focus on deep, regular breaths
Ask him to inhale and exhale deeply, steadily. Help him develop regular breathing by asking him to align it with yours. You should be specific: "Inhale deeply now, filling the chest and lungs" as you inhale as well, then exhale and say the words "let the air out of the chest slowly, completely emptying the lungs".
Breathing associated with concentration brings more oxygen to the brain and takes the person's attention away from hypnosis, stress and the environment
Step 3. Ask the person to fix a specific point
It can be your forehead if you are standing in front of her, or a dim object in the room. Tell her to choose any object and lay her eyes on it. The stereotype of the pendulum derives from this aspect of hypnosis, because it is an object suitable for observation. If the person feels relaxed enough to close their eyes, allow them to do so.
- Pay attention to the subject's eyes from time to time. If they seem to be darting around, lead the person. "I want you to pay attention to that poster on the wall", or "try to focus on the space between my eyebrows". Tell the subject "Let the eyes and eyelids relax and get heavy."
- If you want the subject to focus on you, you will have to remain quite still.
Step 4. Relax the subject's body part by part
When the person is relatively calm, is breathing regularly and is in tune with your voice, ask them to relax their feet and toes. Ask her to focus on relaxing these muscles, then move on to the calves. Ask her to relax her lower legs, then her thighs and so on, up to the muscles of her face. From here you can go back to the back, shoulders, arms and fingers.
- Don't be in a hurry and speak in a slow, calm voice. If she seems nervous or tense, slow down and repeat the process in reverse.
- "Relax your feet and ankles. Feel the muscles lighten and melt in your feet, as if they have no weight.".
Step 5. Encourage the subject to feel more relaxed
Guide his attention with suggestions. Let him know that he is feeling calm and relaxed. You can say many things, but your goal is to encourage the person to go deeper and deeper into themselves, focusing on relaxation with each breath.
- "Feel the eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Let them move and fall."
- "You are letting yourself fall deeper and deeper into a calm and peaceful trance state."
- "Now you are feeling relaxed. You can feel an intense feeling of relaxation enveloping you. As I continue to speak, this feeling of relaxation is getting stronger and stronger, until it brings you to a peaceful and deep state of relaxation."
Step 6. Use breathing and body language as a guide to the subject's mental state
Repeat the suggestions a couple of times, as if repeating the lines and chorus of a song, until the subject seems completely relaxed. Look for signs of tension in his eyes (do they move nervously?), Fingers and toes (tap or move), breathing (is it shallow and irregular?) And continue to work with relaxation techniques until a state is induced. of complete calm and relaxation.
- "Every word I say brings you closer and closer, faster and deeper, into a deep, peaceful state of hypnosis."
- "You are sinking and shutting down. Sinking and shutting down. Sinking and shutting down, you are shutting down completely."
- "The deeper you go, the deeper you can go. The deeper you go, the deeper you want to go and the more the experience fascinates you."
Step 7. Get the subject down the "hypnotic ladder"
This technique is shared by hypnotherapists and those who practice self-hypnosis to induce a deep state of trance. Ask the subject to picture themselves at the top of a long staircase in a quiet, warm room. Tell him that as he descends, he feels himself sinking deeper and deeper into relaxation. Each step takes him deeper into one's mind. As the person walks, tell him there are ten steps and guide him on each of them.
- "You go down the first step and you feel yourself sinking deeper into relaxation. Each step is a step further into your subconscious. You go down the second step and you feel more and more calm. As you reach the third, your body gives you the sensation of floating away blissfully … "and so on.
- It may be useful to ask the subject to imagine a door at the end of the stairs that would allow him to enter a state of pure relaxation.
Part 3 of 4: Using Hypnosis to Help a Person
Step 1. Consider that telling a person what to do under hypnosis is often unsuccessful and a breach of trust
Also, many people remember what they did under hypnosis, so even if you can make the subject think it's a chicken, he won't be happy. Hypnosis, however, offers many therapeutic benefits if you don't consider it a poor show. Help the person relax, leave problems and worries behind, instead of trying to get a laugh.
Even bona fide suggestions can produce negative results if you don't use them correctly. For this reason, licensed hypnotherapists help patients find the right path to follow by themselves, instead of imparting it with a suggestion
Step 2. Use basic hypnosis to reduce anxiety
Hypnosis relieves anxiety, whatever the suggestions are induced, so don't think you have to "fix" a person. Putting a person into a trance state is already a fantastic way to reduce stress and anxiety levels. The state of deep relaxation, even if it does not directly solve anything, is so rare in daily life that it can give the subject a different perspective on their problems.
Step 3. Ask the subject to view solutions to possible problems
Instead of telling a person how to correct a problem, ask them to imagine that they have already succeeded. What image does it give to success and what feeling do you think it arouses? How can it get there?
What is the person's favorite future? What has changed to get her to that point?
Step 4. Remember that hypnosis can be used for many mental problems
While you should consult a professional psychiatrist, hypnotherapy has been used in the treatment of addictions, phobias, self-esteem issues, pain management, and more. You should never try to "correct" a person, however hypnosis can be an excellent tool to help an individual heal on their own.
- Help the person imagine the world beyond their problems - ask them to imagine a day without smoking or to visualize a time when they feel proud of their self-worth.
- Healing with hypnosis is always easier if the person is willing to work on the problem before entering the trance state.
Step 5. Remember that hypnosis is only a small part of any mental health solution
The most important benefits of hypnosis are relaxation and time to safely meditate on a problem. It is, at the same time, a state of deep relaxation and attention focused on a problem. It is not, however, a miracle cure or something that solves problems quickly - it is simply a method of helping people get deeper into their minds. This type of self-reflection is critical to strong mental health, but serious or chronic problems should always be treated by a trained and licensed practitioner.
Part 4 of 4: Closing the Session
Step 1. Slowly bring the subject out of his trance state
Don't suddenly stop her relaxation. Let him know that he is becoming more aware of his surroundings. Tell him he will return to a state of full awareness, alert and awake, after counting to five. If it seems to you that the subject is in a state of deep trance, ask him to go up the "ladder" with you, increasing his awareness with each step.
You can start by saying, "I will count to five and by my five you will feel fully awake, alert and rested."
Step 2. Discuss hypnosis with the subject to improve the technique
Ask him which parts he enjoyed, at what times he risked getting out of hypnosis, and how he felt. These questions will help you to better hypnotize another person in the future, but they will also help the person understand which parts of the process they enjoyed the most.
Don't push a person to speak right away. Simply start the conversation and wait to chat later if she seems relaxed and wants to spend some time in silence
Step 3. In the future, prepare yourself for the frequently asked questions
It is a good idea to know how to answer certain questions, because trust and conviction are very important for the success of your induction. Here is a list of the most common questions:
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What will you do?
- I will ask you to visualize some pleasant scenes, while I will explain to you how to use your mental faculties more effectively. You can always refuse to do something you don't want to do and you can always free yourself from the state of hypnosis in an emergency.
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What does it feel like in a state of hypnosis?
- Many of us experience altered states of conscious awareness several times a day without even realizing it. Whenever you leave room for imagination and get lost listening to music or reading a poem, when you immerse yourself in a program or film to the point that you feel part of the action and no longer part of the audience, you are experiencing a form of trance. Hypnosis is just a way to help you focus and bring about these changes of consciousness, to be able to use your mental faculties more effectively.
- Is hypnosis safe? ' - Hypnosis is not an altered state of consciousness (like sleep, for example), but a experience of altered consciousness. You will never do something you don't want to do and you will never be forced to thoughts against your will,
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If it's just imagination, what are the benefits?
- Don't get confused by the use of the word "imaginary" as the opposite of "real", you don't even have to connect it to the word "image". The imagination is a real group of mental faculties, whose potential is almost entirely unexplored and is capable of more than producing mental images!
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Can you get me to do something I don't want to do?
- When you are in a state of hypnosis, you keep your personality and you are still yourself - so you won't do or say anything you wouldn't do without hypnosis, you can easily reject suggestions you don't want to accept.
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What can I do to better respond to hypnosis?
- Hypnosis is a process very similar to letting go when you observe a sunset or the flames of a fire, when you immerse yourself in a piece of music or a poem, when you immerse yourself in a movie or a TV show. It all depends on your ability and willingness to follow the instructions and suggestions given to you.
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What would happen if you enjoyed the state of hypnosis to the point of never wanting to go back?
- Hypnotic suggestions are an exercise for the mind and imagination, like a movie script. At the end of the session you will return to your normal state, just as you will return to reality at the end of a movie. It is possible that the hypnotist will need some attempts to bring you back to reality. Being completely relaxed is nice, but you can't do much hypnotized.
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If it does not work?
- Have you ever been so absorbed in your games as a child that you did not hear your mother's voice calling you to the table? Or are you one of many people who can wake up at a certain time each morning, just deciding the night before that you will? We all have the ability to use the mind in unconventional ways, and some of us have developed this ability more than others. If you allow your thoughts to move freely and naturally in response to your guide's words and images, you can go wherever your mind can take you.
Advice
- Remember that relaxation is key. If you can help a person relax, you will be able to hypnotize them.
- Don't be persuaded by the sensationalism and misinformation of the media, or by the false reproductions of hypnosis, which make you believe that with hypnosis you can completely control other people.
- Before you begin, make the subject feel calm, perhaps in his or her favorite spot, at a spa, at the beach, or at the park. To promote relaxation, let him listen to the sound of the waves, the wind, or any sound of nature that is soothing.
Warnings
- Do not use hypnosis to treat mental or physical conditions (including pain) unless you are a licensed and qualified practitioner in the treatment of these problems. Hypnosis should never be used as a substitute for therapy or psychoanalysis, nor as a means of repairing a relationship in crisis.
- Don't try to regress people to their childhood. If you think it's helpful, tell them to "act like they're ten". Some people have repressed memories that you shouldn't re-emerge (abuse, bullying, etc.). They blocked these memories as a natural defense.
- Although it is a technique that many have tried, post-hypnotic amnesia is often unreliable as a protection for the hypnotist trying to cover up his misdeeds. If you try to use hypnosis to induce people to do actions against their will, you will often break the state of hypnosis.
