Hypnosis Myth #2 - Hypnosis Will Make Me Act Like a Zombie!

 

People have been lead to believe that experiencing hypnosis is like the feeling of being under a general anesthetic while in surgery.  They give you an injection or put a mask over your face and tell you to count backwards from 100.  At number 98 or even sooner you zonk out and are unaware of what is going on.  You wake up much later having no recollection of what happened to you.  The true picture of hypnosis is nothing like this.  There are many levels of hypnosis.  In order to achieve the deeper states of hypnosis where it is possible to achieve loss of awareness or forgetfulness, first you must be taken down through the lighter levels of hypnosis.  Unless you have complete trust in the hypnotist during the lighter stages, it will be very difficult to get you into the deep hypnotic depths where these phenomena occur.  While transitioning from the waking state into hypnosis you are completely aware of what is going on around you.  You are not knocked out.  You can hear everything that is happening around you.  As long as you are comfortable with what is happening and nothing goes against your morals or ethics, deeper levels are achievable to nearly the same level as sleep.  Though hypnosis can achieve these levels, there is one big difference to being under a general anesthetic.  The difference is that with hypnosis you have a choice; it is up to you to allow the deeper states to happen.  With a general anesthetic you don't have a choice.