If you’ve watched some of the shows demonstrating the power of hypnosis, you’d think that it takes years and years of practice, right? Yes and no.
Professionally (like in the medical field) it does take years to master hypnosis and the ways it can be used to help others. Still, for less serious situations, all you need is the right mindset and a bit of training to learn the art yourself!
Putting someone in a trance may sound magical and difficult, but it is a lot more straightforward than you think.
A trance in hypnosis is simply a state where the participant is much more responsive to your suggestions.
Most, if not all of us, go through several forms of self-hypnosis nearly every day.
When you’re watching a movie, reading, daydreaming, driving, or carrying out certain tasks, you can “lose yourself” in the activities and tune out the rest of the world.
On the other hand, you are conscious of the stimuli around you, but you are so focused on the activity at hand enough to fully engage your emotions.
When you get lost in a book or a movie, it is common to feel joy, sadness, fear, or surprise.
That in itself is a trance state where what’s imaginary can feel real.
However, conventional hypnosis focuses on creating a deeper trance brought on by intense relaxation.
Can You Hypnotize Your Friends?
There’s a lot of research regarding hypnosis and how effective it can be.
Obviously, professional hypnotists have more experience on the topic and can get more results than new hypnotists.
However, with lots of confidence, you can be a good hypnotist yourself!
Think of hypnosis as a tool that helps you bypass the conscious mind and access the subconscious.
We are normally aware of the conscious thoughts, the things that are right in front of us, but the subconscious is always behind the scenes, running ideas and thoughts through the conscious mind.
The little things that you do automatically and naturally, without little thought, are often led by the subconscious.
While the conscious mind evaluates, the subconscious mind is the brains behind it all. When you’re asleep, the conscious mind is at rest, leaving the subconscious to roam free.
This is why psychiatrists use hypnosis; to put the mind at rest, subdue the conscious mind, and interact with the subconscious.
If you can learn how to put your friends in a trance effectively, then there’s a high chance you can access the subconscious and hypnotize them.
Keep in mind that the subconscious has a conscience; therefore, you cannot force anyone to do anything against their will. Also, there are a few studies to keep in mind:
- Many, but not all people, are responsive to hypnosis
- Individuals who easily fall into fantasies and imaginative worlds are more receptive to hypnosis than those who aren’t
- Children are more inclined to hypnosis than adults
- An open mind from the participant tends to give better results
How To Hypnotize Your Friend
There are varying ways to go about hypnotizing an individual, and the progressive type of hypnosis is considered one of the best ways to go about it. It’s relaxing and soothing and mostly used by psychiatrists.
There are a couple of steps and notes to keep in mind for your hypnotic session to work:
1. Consent
As I pointed out earlier, your friend has to want to be hypnotized.
If your friend is uncomfortable with the thought of hypnosis, there’s a little chance of your session producing any results!
Also, he or she has to believe that you can hypnotize them – if they are very interested in the procedure, then there’s a high likelihood you can get the subconscious to be open to your suggestions.
2. Comfort
This starts with the location and inducing a relaxed state from the start.
Make sure you are at a safe place that’s free from disturbances from the outside world – put your phones on silent too. It helps relax the conscious mind and make your friend a lot more open to the session.
3. Induction
Since you already know each other, you can skip the introductory part that’s common when hypnotists are dealing with new participants.
That can involve friendly talk about themselves, what they think of hypnosis, any experience they may have, and what they expect from the session.
Here, you can go directly to the second part of the induction. When your friend is comfortably seated, tell him or her to put the arms to the side and settle down.
Tell them to focus on one spot (you can place an object in front of them) and relax while at it. Once you notice they are breathing evenly and they aren’t distracted, tell them to close their eyes.
Combining confidence and a calm and polite tone is vital.
Once you tell them to close the eyes, don’t ask them to complete your suggestions – tell them gently and confidently like an expert. When you are certain you have their attention, it is time to move on to the next step; inducing the trance.
Making sure your voice is low and soothing; take your time when talking to your friend. You want to make the conscious mind take a seat in the back to make way for the subconscious.
With the subconscious leading, your participant won’t over-think your suggestions and will be more open to hypnosis. Make use of metaphors like “slipping into,” “sinking into,”“washing over you,”“falling into deep rest,” or “releasing stress and tension.”
You don’t need an entire list of statements to tell them, focus on confidence and working your subject into complete relaxation. A common way to do it is relaxing one body part after the other; starting from the feet going up – some hypnotists use numbers and staircases to lead their subjects into a deeper trance.
Deep and even breaths will show you that your friend is in a trance and ready for further suggestions (if the breaths are quick and sharp, work on calming them down or slowly getting them out of the trance!).
Keep your suggestions light and fun; you can tell them to remember some good memories, taste a vanilla latte, clap or move their hands.
However, avoid bringing up unpleasant memories or planting false ones.
Waking
The same way you wouldn’t want someone startling you out of your sleep; it is never a good idea to jerk someone out of a trance. Suggest that it is time to wake up.
You could say something like, “In a few moments, I will count from 1 to 5, and you will wake up slowly, feeling peaceful and refreshed.”
A familiar way to do so is using the number or staircase technique where they can come back up the stairs, or you can count them up.
f you notice discomfort when you’re trying to wake them up, slip them back into the trance and try again gently.
Common Myths in Hypnosis
1. Involuntary Hypnosis
Some shows and stories suggest that hypnotists can get you hypnotized against your will.
That is untrue; if any suggestions made by the hypnotist are unwanted by the participant, the hypnosis cannot work. The participant’s consent is required for the results to occur.
Also, from an external point of view, it may seem like the participant may be performing whatever actions the hypnotist suggests without their consent.
Luckily, no hypnotist can control your actions against your wishes. The hypnotists merely suggest actions that your subconscious is comfortable doing.
2. Loss/Amnesia
There’s a belief that people lose any memory of the activities that happened while they were in a trance.
However, participants do remember everything that happened while under; though the subconscious mind takes the lead during hypnosis, the conscious mind can still note what is going on.
There are cases where participants forget a few things, but memory loss is generally temporary.
3. Major Memory Enhancement
Many movies and shows may show the participants recalling past events in vivid and accurate details. These effects are often exaggerated since hypnosis can only enhance memory in a limited manner.
Sometimes hypnosis can lead to false or vague memories.
Strength and Performance
There is a common myth that hypnosis can make you a lot more talented or stronger than usual – which isn’t true.
Hypnosis cannot make you physically stronger or agile than you already are.
Final Word
These are some of the simple steps you can use to hypnotize your friends if you are certain you can handle them. As fun and easy as it may sound, it is always wise to remember not to go too far with hypnosis.
Respect your participant’s mind, don’t make unpleasant suggestions, and don’t pretend to be a trained hypnotherapist! If you want to learn more about hypnosis, you can take this Conversational Hypnosis course and get some training.