How Can Hypnosis Work if I Can Hear and Remember Everything?

Hypnosis is about relaxing – not sleeping

As a hypnotherapist and psychological practitioner, one of the most interesting things I have ever heard from clients or people that I have hypnotized is, “It must not have worked because I could hear everything, and I can remember everything that you said!”

Really? So let me see if I get this straight then…”How else will hypnosis work since your eyes are closed and I am doing the talking and you the ‘listening’ if you can’t hear me?”

And then if you remember everything I was saying, well that definitely must be a bad thing because it means… well what does it mean?

Too many people get caught up in this mindset that if they can hear or remember the hypnosis session then it must not have been a good one. When you ask them why they believe this, they assert that they must not have been in a trance state – completely under.

They really believe that to be hypnotized is to go into another dimension or world which separates them from this one. Believing this, they buy into the notion that they were truly hypnotized and “it must have worked!” You see, most people who think this way believe that hypnosis is some sort of magical or mystical state.

This could not be further from the truth!

There is nothing magical about hypnosis. In fact when you define what hypnosis is to some people, you burst their bubble in terms of what their perception of hypnosis is. This reaction is frequent at the beginning of Erika’s stop smoking hypnosis programs or her weight loss service, when she explains to a client she doesn’t have a magic wand and they’ll actively participate in the process, and in most cases remember everything she says to them during the hypnosis part of the session.

When you inform them hypnosis is nothing more that heightened awareness or tunnel vision, and that anyone can achieve this state (and many do when they are engaging in their everyday lives), they are disappointed because they wanted so much for there to be something more. Furthermore, they’re believing that they shouldn’t be able to hear or remember what was said during the session.

If they can hear it, then it must mean that the experience for them is too mundane and not magical enough.

There are some hypnotherapists who do regression therapy with their clients to dig into past experiences or memories which are causing clients to have dysfunctional and/or neurotic lives. Talking with traditional therapists sometimes is not enough to get at the root of the core issues which are causing the mental health problems.

Difficult and traumatic past experiences which were overwhelming and too difficult to deal with may get repressed, pushed down deep in the unconscious. Even though they are repressed, they still may cause discomfort as they bubble below the surface and need to be resolved.

Hypnosis is a great way to get these traumatic experiences out, resolved and then deleted from the memory bank. In a case as such, it is very appropriate and may be agreed upon between the hypnotherapist and the client that what is revealed and comes out is to be forgotten once the session if over to prevent greater or future trauma from recurring.

So in this case, it is often highly desirable not to remember whereas when you are trying to learn new and improved habits, it is definitely worth remembering!

If you want to discuss working directly with us on your particular issue to see if we can help and advise you on a next step, then check out our Hypnosis Services or you can contact us here.

Alternatively, if you prefer a self-hypnosis product to discover more about hypnosis and how it can help you then check out this resource here >>>

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR CAN HYPNOSIS WORK:

Why is it So Darn Hard to Quit Smoking and Ways to Make it Easier >>>

The Eight Habits of Highly Confident People >>>

Why is it So Darn Hard to Cope with Stress? Ways to Reduce It >>>

Why is it So Darn Hard to Lose Weight? And Keep It Off! >>>

Why is it So Darn Hard to Overcome Sugar Addiction? >>>

What is Hypnosis and How Does Hypnosis Work? >>>

Library of Self-Hypnosis Downloads Products >>>

 
Peter Andrew Sacco Ph.D.
Staff Writer
Free At Last Hypnosis