A hypnosis session usually lasts between 90 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the hypnotherapist and the individual’s needs.

This is what most people are afraid of. They are terrified that if they really submit to the relaxation of hypnosis and go fully into a trance like state that they will no longer be in control of themselves and can be easily controlled by the person that is hypnotising them.  But be assured that you are still fully in control of yourself when you are hypnotised. You are still conscious, but your conscious mind is extremely relaxed.  No one can take control of you and make you do stupid things while you’re hypnotised unless you allow it.

One of the most common frequently asked questions about hypnosis is “can I be hypnotised without my consent?”. It is an area of concern for a lot of people that don’t know a lot about hypnosis. But don’t worry, no one can hypnotise you without your consent. Hypnosis isn’t magic, it’s just a state of very deep relaxation.  If you don’t want to be hypnotized then you won’t be able to relax and you won’t enter a hypnotic state.  The process of entering a hypnotic state takes some time because it will take time for your body and mind to reach the deep relaxation that is necessary for hypnosis. You can stop the hypnosis session at any time during that process if you’re not comfortable or if you don’t want to be hypnotised. You’ve probably seen hypnosis done in films or on TV where the person doing the hypnotising snaps their fingers and the other person immediately falls into a trance and is incapable of doing anything but what they are told. That’s not how hypnosis works.

It’s physically impossible for that to happen, because you are not unconscious at any point during the hypnosis.  You will be in a deeply relaxed state but fully conscious and you can come out of that state at any time that you want to.  You can also come out of that state when given a verbal cue by the hypnotherapist. Sometimes when you get the verbal cue to come out of your hypnosis you may not want to because the relaxed state you are in feels so good.  When that happens it may take you a few minutes to return to your normal awareness but that is only because you want to stay in the relaxed state, not because you are being forced to stay in it or because you can’t come out of it on your own.  You are always in control, even when you are deep in a hypnotic state.

Lots of people are skeptical about hypnosis at first, but usually that’s because they don’t have a good understanding of how hypnosis is used for medical and psychological treatments.  Hypnosis is not some crazy New Age therapy. It’s a legitimate therapeutic technique that has been used with proven success to treat medical and psychological disorders in millions of people.  Anyone can be treated with hypnosis, and in most cases hypnosis is a very effective form of treatment for many different disorders.  Hypnosis has a long history of being used to treat illness; it’s not a new or untested therapy.

Another frequently asked question about hypnosis is “how many sessions will I need?” You most likely will need more than one session with a hypnotherapist to solve your problem, depending on what it is.  Most people see noticeable results after just one session so you might not need extensive hypnosis or months of treatment in order to eliminate your problem, but it will almost always take more than one session for you to see any kind of noticeable results for psychological problems.

Hypnosis is perfectly safe.  You are always in control of the situation and you are never unconscious.  Unlike drug therapies hypnosis has no possible side effects and in most people hypnosis always works unlike drugs which may work or may not work depending on your body’s chemistry and what the disorder is.  Hypnosis can safely treat the physical and mental aspects of common problems like addictions safely and can help you break your physical and emotional dependence on overeating, smoking, drinking, drama, anger, or any other destructive addition that you might have.

Yes you can hypnotise yourself, it could even be argued that all hypnosis is self hypnosis as you are in control of what you are doing.  You will need to learn the proper way to do it but once you’ve had some instruction it’s possible to hypnotise yourself.  Some people prefer self-hypnosis because they can relax easier on their own and in familiar surroundings. You can also hypnotise yourself between sessions with a hypnotherapist if you feel you need a little extra relaxation or a boost in your therapy.  When you’re using self-hypnosis though you aren’t getting the expertise and therapeutic help that you would be getting from a trained therapist so if you’re using hypnosis to help you deal with Anxiety, Depression, or psychological issues then you should probably see a professional therapist instead of relying on self- hypnosis.

There are no significant physical feelings that go along with the state of hypnosis. This is because hypnosis is a state of mind, not a state of body. People often describe pleasant feelings of extreme relaxation, heaviness or lightness in limbs, hand tingling, change in temperature, or floating feeling. Almost everyone will experience some sort of time distortion where an hour session feels much shorter.

While in the hypnotic state, you will be able to hear everything, talk freely and easily, and remember everything from your session.

Yes. As hypnosis is a natural state of your mind, you can enter it anywhere. In fact, it’s very easy to enter a hypnotic state in a familiar environment such as your home.

For virtual sessions, you will follow your hypnotist’s suggestions via Zoom, FaceTime or Skype. You will need a stable internet connection and will need to be in a quiet place where you can remain undisturbed for the duration of the session. Mind Matters Hypnosis Center has been in business since 2002 and we’ve been offering remote sessions since then.