What does it feel like to be hypnotised?
The answer to this is extremely important because it may determine whether or not you can benefit from hypnosis. Some people are disappointed in their first reactions, believing that they are not suitable subjects. The average person has the idea that they will go through something different, new and spectacular in the hypnotic state. Often they equate being hypnotised with being anaesthetised, or being asleep, or unconscious.
Well actually, there really is no such thing as a ‘hypnotised feeling’ – which is why afterwards, most people insist that they simply did not ‘go under’, and can’t have been hypnotised. Generally, people start to become more relaxed, and their conscious mind starts to drift off in a pleasant sort of way. After a few sessions, people start to become aware of how the hypnotic state feels to them. Some people may notice that they feel excessively heavy or light, whilst others may experience a pleasant floating, whirling and/or spinning sensation. Most people always suffer some sort of time distortion, usually feeling that the session was much shorter than it actually was.
• There is no particular feeling in hypnosis. It can feel relaxing. It probably feels the most like being in a day dream. It is a natural state for us to be in – as we all have day dreams! We are in and out of our “own little world” several times a day. In hypnosis we call that state a “light trance” but in actual fact it is the same as being in a day dream. Common examples of this are: if you are driving, or riding a bike, and you happen to be “miles away” or in a world of your own you don’t notice the traffic lights have changed from red to green (until somebody “beeps” you!) If you happen to be watching a film and are carried away with the characters, you almost feel that you are there with them. If you are reading a book and are absorbed in the story, imagining all the things you read really happening. If you are listening to some music and are so absorbed in that, perhaps you didn’t notice it got dark outside, or that time had passed by quite so quickly. If you have ever been in a
