Q. How does hypnosis work? I am not a very imaginative person. Can I still be hypnotized?

A. Probably. Studies have found that there is no correlation between having an active imagination and being easy to hypnotize. Scientists have also found that there is no single personality type that is best suited to hypnosis. How does hypnosis work then? The neurological mechanisms are still unknown although the phenomenon is well documented.

Q. How does hypnosis work? Are some people easier to hypnotize than others?

A. Absolutely. Studies have proven that there are people who are more or less susceptible to hypnosis. The Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales measure people from 0 (cannot be hypnotized) to 12 (respond to all hypnotic suggestions). How does hypnosis work? Most of us fall in the middle range between five and seven. Only five percent of the population scores a 0. Interestingly, this rating doesn’t change over time. It is as consistent as your IQ score.

Q. How does hypnosis work? Will I be put to sleep?

A. Contrary to the depiction of hypnosis in Hollywood movies, being hypnotized doesn’t induce sleep. Instead, you enter into a hyper-attentive and hyper-responsive state. How does hypnosis work? The key is to enter into a state of “flow”, where you feel mentally relaxed and absorbed. You should feel as if it takes no effort to make a decision or act in any way. It’s interesting to note that your body doesn’t have to be physically relaxed in order for hypnosis to work. Hypnosis can be attained just as easily when vigorously riding a bicycle, for example, as long as one is in flow.

Q. How does hypnosis work? What happens to my mind when I’m hypnotized?

A. Despite a wealth of research, scientists still don’t know what neurological mechanisms bring about a state of hypnosis. We need to further develop our understanding of the unconscious mind in order to arrive at any conclusions. But what we do know is that there are genuine neurological changes during hypnosis; the state is different from normal consciousness. How does hypnosis work? It seems to change your perception of sensory experiences. For example, it modifies the way your brain interprets and processes information. It may also modulate activity in the anterior cingulated cortex—the part of the brain that regulates what to pay attention to, what to ignore and how much emotional significance to assign to sensations among other variables. This could be why hypnosis is so effective for pain management.

Q. How does hypnosis work? Will I give up control?

A. No. You will still hold the power to resist or control what happens while under hypnosis. How does hypnosis work? Hypnosis calms our conscious mind and brings our subconscious to the fore, at a time when it is open to suggestion. This openness, however, doesn’t imply a loss of free will or moral judgment. Instead, scientists have found that people frequently become highly effective problem solvers while under hypnosis.

Many people wonder if susceptibility to hypnosis is something you grow out of as you get older. They can accept that children, with their playful habits and naive approach to life, could be easily hypnotized but doubt that adult hypnosis really works. After all, they are better educated, more practical and, yes, skeptical.

Well, even the most analytical of skeptics should be reassured by the myriad scientific studies that prove children are no more susceptible to hypnosis than adults. And, significantly, personality traits like imagination don’t have anything to do with the effectiveness of adult hypnosis. But the critics are right in one regard. Not everyone can be hypnotized.

The Stanford Hypnotic Standardization Scales measure susceptibility to hypnosis from 0 (does not respond to hypnosis at all) to 12 (responds to all hypnotic suggestions). Most of us fall between five and seven. Only five percent of the population registers a 0.

What is really interesting about the Stanford Scales is the discovery that your ranking is as stable as your IQ. It reflects your susceptibility to hypnosis regardless of age. Once a five, always a five no matter how much education or world experience you gain.

Scientists are unable to explain the neurological mechanisms underlying hypnosis. We do not yet have the knowledge we need to decode the subconscious and get to a comprehensive explanation. However, studies have proven that hypnosis is a different state from normal consciousness. In both childhood and adult hypnosis, we enter a highly attentive and highly receptive state. Under hypnosis, our conscious mind stops chattering and our subconscious is more open to suggestion than usual.

What Are Some of the Uses of Adult Hypnosis?

* When you are trying to lose weight hypnosis can be beneficial by increasing your self-esteem, altering ones subconscious views and attitudes on food and promoting new healthier habits. It should be used along with a proper diet as well as increased physical activity and exercise.

* Hypnotherapy is also a great tool in quitting smoking. As an example, neuro-linguistic re-programming can be utilized to remove the association many have with coffee and cigarettes. This way you will be able to stop the urge to have a smoke with your coffee. Also it is highly effective in alleviating the anxiety associated with nicotine withdrawals.

* Hypnosis is now being seen as a very effective tool for pain control in people of all ages. When used for controlling ones pain hypnosis can lower the for pain drugs, lessening the dangers from dangerous drug side-effects and interactions.

* The reduction of pre-operative stress and anxiety has been shown to play a vital part in the success of major and minor surgerical procedures and hypnotherapists have had much success here. Hypnosis is now often being utilized to allay the patients fears and anxieties in the time leading up to the day of the procedure and also just before the operation hypnosis is used to put the patient in a more relaxed state.

* Today, many pregnant women are turning to hypnotism to help in controlling their morning sickness as well as to help to the fears and anxiousness they may be feeling about labour and delivery. A form of self-hypnosis can also be used to help in relaxing between contractions.

Psychologists, medical doctors, midwives and scientists among others are embracing adult hypnosis for a wide range of physical and psychological concerns. If the only thing stopping you is a fear that it won’t work, the best thing you could do is test it out. You won’t know until you try it.