These are the questions that come up again and again. Each answer is short, with pointers to the longer articles in this series.
The basics
1. What is hypnosis?
A state of focused attention and reduced awareness of your surroundings, in which you respond more readily to suggestion. It is not sleep.
2. What does it feel like?
Relaxed and absorbed, a little like being lost in a book or a film. You hear everything. Many people are surprised by how ordinary it feels and wonder whether it worked.
3. Is it real or just acting?
Real. Brain imaging shows changes in highly hypnotizable people that match what they report. Expectation plays a large part, but that does not make the effects fake.
4. Can everyone be hypnotized?
Nearly everyone to some degree. Around 10 to 15 per cent respond very strongly, a similar number hardly at all, and most people fall in between. It is a stable trait.
5. Does it mean I am gullible or weak-willed?
No. Hypnotizability is not linked to gullibility, intelligence or strength of will. It is related to the ability to become absorbed.
Control and safety
6. Will I lose control?
No. You remain aware and can open your eyes, speak or stop at any time.
7. Can I be made to do something against my will?
No. People reject suggestions they find objectionable. Stage volunteers do silly things because they chose to take part.
8. Can I get stuck in hypnosis?
No. Nobody ever has. If a session were interrupted, you would open your eyes or drift into normal sleep.
9. Will I remember what happened?
Almost always. Forgetting is unusual unless it is specifically suggested, and even then it is temporary.
10. Is it safe?
For most people, with a properly trained practitioner, yes. Side effects are mild and uncommon. People with psychosis, dissociative conditions, severe depression or a trauma history should only have hypnosis as part of specialist care.
Does it work?
11. What is the evidence strongest for?
Chronic and procedural pain, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety around medical and dental procedures, and menopausal hot flushes.
12. Where is the evidence weaker?
Smoking cessation, weight loss, tinnitus and alcohol problems. It may help as an addition to proven methods, but it is not established as a treatment by itself.
13. Can it recover lost memories?
No. It increases how much people report and how confident they feel, without making them more accurate. It can create false memories. Avoid anyone offering memory recovery or past-life regression as therapy.
14. Can it cure disease?
No. Hypnosis changes how symptoms are experienced: pain, nausea, anxiety, sleep. It does not cure cancer, infections or other physical diseases, and should never replace medical treatment.
15. Is it just a placebo?
Expectation is a large part of how it works, and one leading researcher has called it a “nondeceptive placebo.” But responses are specific to the suggestion given, and depend on a stable personal trait, which a simple placebo does not explain.
Practicalities
16. How many sessions will I need?
It varies. Three to six is common for a specific problem, and gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS usually runs to between six and twelve. Be wary of long prepaid packages.
17. How do I choose a hypnotherapist?
In the UK the title is not legally protected. Look for a healthcare or psychology background as well as hypnosis training, membership of a professional body with a complaints process, such as a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, and no promises of a cure.
18. Does it work online or from a recording?
Yes, though perhaps slightly less well than in person. Recordings are fine for relaxation, sleep and mild stress. See a professional for anything complex.
19. Can I hypnotize myself?
Yes. Self-hypnosis is a skill anyone can learn, and practice between sessions is where much of the benefit comes from. Ten minutes a day is enough.
20. Is hypnosis the same as meditation?
No. They share focus and relaxation. Meditation aims to observe your experience as it is. Hypnosis aims to change it in a particular direction.
Three more that people forget to ask
Should I tell my doctor?
Yes, particularly if you have a medical or mental health condition or take medication. Get any new symptom diagnosed before using hypnosis for it.
Can children be hypnotized?
Yes, and often more easily than adults. It is used for procedures, tummy pain, anxiety and sleep, in a playful, imaginative style.
What should I do before my first session?
Arrive unhurried, skip the caffeine, say what worries you, and do not try to analyse whether it is working. Just follow along.
The bottom line
Hypnosis is a real and useful tool with a clear set of limits. It works best for pain, gut symptoms and anxiety, as part of proper care, in the hands of someone well trained, and with your own practice between sessions.
Next in the series: Hypnosis for Children Before Surgery
This article is for general information and is not medical advice.