Frequently Asked Questions How old is hypnotism? Is the use of hypnosis approved by my religion? Is hypnosis supernatural or magical? Does a hypnotherapist have special powers? I don't believe in hypnosis.  Will it still work on me? What is hypnosis? What does the subconscious mind do? What is a suggestion? What is a post-hypnotic suggestion? Does "suggestibility" mean gullibility? What is a hypnotic induction? Can everybody be hypnotized? I don't think I can be hypnotized. Can I? Are women more hypnotizable than men? Can hypnotherapy be used effectively with children? Is hypnosis rare? Is hypnosis approved by the medical community? Is hypnotherapy a substitute for my doctor's care? Will I be asleep when I am hypnotized? Does hypnosis weaken the will making me a slave to the hypnotist? Do I lose control when I am under hypnosis? Can a hypnotized person be made to commit antisocial acts? Can hypnosis be used as a "truth serum"? Can people be hypnotized against their wills? Is being able to be hypnotized a sign of a weak mind? Are persons in a trance physically defenseless and dependent upon the hypnotist? Can a person get "stuck" in a state of hypnosis? Will I be groggy or drowsy after being hypnotized? What must I do to make my hypnosis treatment most effective? What if my mind occasionally wanders during hypnosis? Will this affect the results? How will I know when I'm hypnotized? Will I remember the hypnotic session? I want to overcome a bad habit, but I don't have any willpower. Will hypnosis work? What is clinical hypnosis? What does the hypnotherapist do? Why use hypnosis? Does hypnosis really work? How does hypnosis work? I know somebody who tried hypnosis unsuccessfully; how do I know it will work for me? Do the changes brought about through hypnotherapy last? What is your success rate? Why use hypnosis for habit control? How old is hypnotism? Since the beginning of recorded history, hypnotism has been used across all cultures, under a variety of names and guises, to affect healing and change. In the 19th century, hypnosis emerged as a science, becoming the first western form of mental therapy. Hypnotism was crucial to the work of Sigmund Freud, Ivan Pavlov and numerous other figures in the history of western psychology and medicine. Back to Top Is the use of hypnosis approved by my religion? Most mainstream religious communities approve of the use of hypnosis by their members, for therapy and self-help. Back to Top Is hypnosis supernatural or magical? Often the results obtained by hypnotherapy are little short of miraculous. While hypnosis often works like magic, it is not. It is a science with a well-documented history. Back to Top Does a hypnotherapist have special powers? The hypnotherapist does not hypnotize you. You hypnotize yourself through his or her direction. The hypnotist is the steering wheel to the client's motor. In hypnosis, all the power is within the client. Back to Top I don't believe in hypnosis.  Will it still work on me? Modern scientific hypnotism is a recognized and respected science. Hypnosis is an indisputable and self-evident fact of the human mind. The science of hypnotism is universally recognized throughout the civilized world. Much documentation and explaination of its use and success is widely available for you to explore. Back to Top What is hypnosis? Hypnosis is a natural state of mind with special identifying characteristics. They are: 1.) An extraordinary mental and physical relaxation. 2.) Heightened and selective attention. 3.) Temporary passivity of the analytical part of the mind. 4.) An intense and emotionalized desire to satisfy the suggested behavior. Back to Top What does the subconscious mind do? The subconscious is the largest and most dominant part of the mind-the level you are generally unaware. It is the seat of our memories, dreams, emotions, and habits; and it automatically regulates all of the functions of the body. Back to Top What is a suggestion? A suggestion is simply an idea that reaches the mind and can originate from within or outside the individual. A hypnotic suggestion is a suggestion offered by the hypnotist to the client's subconscious mind for acceptance. Back to Top What is a post-hypnotic suggestion?   It is a suggestion given during a hypnotic trance, designed to be carried out in the subsequent waking state. Back to Top Does "suggestibility" mean gullibility? Suggestibility is not gullibility. It is the measure of intensity with which the brain and nervous system accept and respond to incoming ideas. In hypnosis, both body and mind are more suggestible. Back to Top What is a hypnotic induction? Induction is the procedure the hypnotist uses to induce hypnosis. It is used to relax the client's body and clear his or her mind, preparing it for the hypnotic suggestions. Back to Top Can everybody be hypnotized? Any person of normal intelligence can be hypnotized. This mental state exists, and you can definitely learn to achieve it. Back to Top I don't think I can be hypnotized. Most people don't think they can be hypnotized, but once they try, they find it very easy. Any normal person willing to be hypnotized and wanting the results will be an ideal hypnotic subject. Back to Top Are women more hypnotizable than men? No. Men and women are equally hypnotizable. Back to Top Can hypnotherapy be used effectively with children? Yes. Once children have acquired the ability to use and understand spoken language, they can benefit from its use. Children generally make excellent hypnotic subjects. Hypnotherapy can be used safely and effectively with many childhood problems including- but not limited to - bedwetting, sleepwalking, fear, problems with school and/or studying, pain, and nervous habits. Back to Top Is hypnosis rare? No. Hypnosis is just as natural a state of mind as sleep or wakefulness. Most people go into and out of this natural state of mind several times a day without recognizing they are doing so or knowing how to harness and use it. Back to Top Is hypnosis approved by the medical community? Yes, in 1958, the American Medical Association approved the use of hypnosis. Physicians, dentists and psychologists have referred many of their patients to us for prescription hypnosis. Back to Top Is hypnotherapy a substitute for my doctor's care? No. While clinical hypnosis is intrinsically safe and often recommended as the approach of choice for many types of problems, it is not meant to substitute for standard health care, but to supplement it. Back to Top Will I be asleep? You wouldn't be able to hear your instructions if you were asleep. You are not asleep during hypnosis your body and mind are lulled into an extremely relaxed and passive state, allowing the power of your subconscious mind to take charge and to achieve the results you find difficult during ordinary states of consciousness. The feeling of hypnosis is very similar to the way you feel just prior to sleep. You will hear your hypnotist's voice, finding it very easy to do what his voice suggests. Back to Top Does hypnosis weaken the will making you a slave to the hypnotist? Just the opposite. The purpose of the hypnosis is to help you to have greater, rather than less, control. The idea that one can be made a slave to the hypnotist is a common myth popularized by late-show movies and novels. Back to Top Do you lose control when you go into hypnosis? No. In hypnosis, you can't be made to say or do anything against your wishes. However, if you have a sincere desire to change, your subconscious motivations can be activated and enhanced to support, rather than hinder, your goals. Back to Top Can a hypnotized person be made to commit anti-social acts? No. A person under hypnosis is not an automaton and will not violate any religious, ethical, moral, or political values. Back to Top Can hypnosis be used as a "truth serum"? People do not say things in hypnosis that they do not want to say. A part of the hypnotized person's mind is always in contact with reality. When confronted with an embarrassing or incriminating question the subject will either refrain from answering the question or awaken. Back to Top Can people be hypnotized against their wills? No. The hypnotist must have the cooperation of the client in order to induce a state of hypnosis. Back to Top Is being able to be hypnotized a sign of a weak mind? No. Most people who don't go into a state of hypnosis are those who have the mistaken notion that hypnosis will hurt them. Weak-mindedness and strong-mindedness have nothing to do with the ability to experience hypnosis. A weak-minded person who resists suggestions is an ineffective responder. A strong-minded person who cooperates is an effective responder. Back to Top Are persons in a trance physically defenseless and dependent upon the hypnotist? In hypnosis, there is no impairment of mental discrimination or the ability to detect threatening stimuli. The instinct of self-preservation does not leave the hypnotized person. If a fire broke out or some other threat developed while the person was in the hypnotic state, his or her reactions would be similar to those prior to the trance, and he or she would do the utmost to save himself or herself. Back to Top Can a person get "stuck" in hypnosis? It is impossible to get stuck in hypnosis. A person can come out of hypnosis anytime he or she wishes. Have you ever seen a credible news story or article where someone got "stuck" in hypnosis?  This is becuase it has never happened. Back to Top Will I be groggy or drowsy after being hypnotized? No. Hypnosis provides you with a period of rest and relaxation.  You will leave the hypnotist's office rested, refreshed, and fully alert and aware ready to do whatever comes next. Back to Top What must I do to be hypnotized and respond successfully? To become hypnotized there are only three things you need to do: Concentrate your mind, relax your body, and imagine what the hypnotist suggests to you is absolutely true. Hypnosis is primarily a learning experience: learning how to let go and let the suggestions take hold without any conscious effort to help or to hinder them. Back to Top What if my mind occasionally wanders during hypnosis? Will this affect the results? No. Even if your mind wanders occasionally during hypnosis, it is only your conscious mind that is wandering. You will continue subconciously to  hear, understand and accept the suggestions of the hypnotist. Back to Top How do I know if I'm hypnotized? The hypnotherapist can recognize whether you are hypnotized because he has been trained to recognize the signs a person gives off when hypnotized. Initially, be content to simply feel pleasantly relaxed. At first, you may not be aware conciously of the changes that take place when you go into hypnosis at first. Please do not be preoccupied about whether or not you are hypnotized. If you follow your hypnotherapist's simple instructions you'll achieve the desired results. That is really the only important thing to remember. Back to Top Will I remember the hypnotic session? Some of the time you may remember, the remaining time you may experience amnesia either spontaneously or in response to a suggestion to do so. Amnesia is a natural phenomenon of hypnosis and it is a sign of a deep hypnotic state. Be thankful if you experience it. No matter how little or how much you forget consciously, your results will be equally beneficial. Back to Top I want to overcome a bad habit but I don't have any willpower. Will it work? Hypnosis works even if you think you don't have any willpower. If you were able to use willpower, you wouldn't need the hypnosis. Most people consciously accept the need for change. However, their subconscious mind, the source of automatic habits, continues old ways despite their best conscious efforts to change them. Hypnosis is a way to reach the subconscious so it can be directed to work for, instead of against, your conscious objectives. As a result, the need for conscious willpower is greatly reduced or eliminated entirely. You change naturally and easily without struggling with the issue of willpower. Back to Top What is clinical hypnosis? Clinical hypnosis is hypnosis that is done for the purpose of resolving problems or for the purpose of helping achieve goals. Back to Top What does the hypnotherapist do? The hypnotherapist first consults with the client to determine the nature of the problem or goal. Next, he prepares the client to enter hypnosis and tests the client to determine the pattern and degree of the client's suggestibility. The therapist induces the hypnotic state, then utilizes it to alter behavior patterns or bodily sensations, or to increase motivation, depending upon the purpose of the therapy. The hypnotherapist may also train the client in self-hypnosis. Back to Top Why use hypnosis? We know from direct observation that all people function on at least two levels of awareness: the conscious and subconscious. These two levels of awareness are complimentary and operate simultaneously. The conscious mind is the analytical mind, the seat of our critical faculty that filters and analyzes incoming ideas to determine their truth content. The subconscious is the part of your mind you are generally unaware of. It automatically controls most of our activities, emotions, feelings, sensations, and habits. In comparison to the conscious level of mind, the subconscious has limited reasoning capabilities. It believes what it is told and proceeds to act upon it as if it were true.    When the analytic conscious mind is inactive and is not filtering incoming ideas, suggestions bypass the conscious mind and register in the subconscious as true. Believing the idea, the subconscious acts spontaneously and automatically through the brain and nervous system to fulfill the suggested idea in thought and action.          Hypnosis induces a temporary passivity of the critical faculty to allow suggestions, to bypass it and go directly to the subconscious. However, hypnosis is not the only way ideas can bypass the critical faculty to reach and influence the subconscious.          The critical faculty of the conscious mind goes into abeyance during moments of strong emotion, confusion, physical pain, trauma, and unconscious states. Childhood is another condition that allows ideas to reach the subconscious without being filtered through the critical faculty. Difficulties can arise from false, misleading, or harmful ideas subconsciously accepted as true. Whatever has been subconsciously accepted as truth becomes the critical faculty's basis for judging all other future incoming ideas. Information to the contrary is rejected or ignored, while data that supports preexisting subconsciously held beliefs is recognized and accepted.           This is why it is seldom possible to modify deeply-held subconscious beliefs by appeals to conscious reason and logic. Harmful, false ideas subconsciously accepted as truths result in problems that occur in life over and over affecting health, happiness, or level of accomplishment, often without the person consciously recognizing what is causing the problem. Hypnotherapy is a safe, rapid and highly effective way to locate and permanently remove the negative subconscious programming that has been causing suffering and artificial limitations. Back to Top Does it really work? Yes! Scientific research has solidly documented the effectiveness of clinical hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy works directly on the source of the difficulty to permanently resolve it. This is why hypnosis is highly effective with many problems that have stubbornly resisted all other helping approaches. Back to Top Why does hypnosis work? Hypnotherapists are clinicians interested in getting results. While many theories exist about how hypnosis functions, the clinical hypnotherapist has no need to know why hypnotism works, only how to use it for maximum effectiveness. Back to Top Because I know somebody who tried hypnosis unsuccessfully, I don't think it will work for me. It is true that hypnotherapy does not work for everyone, but it does work for most people. The people, the times, the places, the circumstances and the hypnotherapists are all different, so in all likelihood the outcome will also be different for each client and treatment. Back to Top Do the changes brought about through hypnotherapy last? Yes, because hypnotherapy involves retraining and reeducation. When new positive habits of thought and behavior are firmly established they tend to be self continuing and self reinforcing just as the unwanted patterns were. Back to Top What is your success rate? Although our success rate varies with different people depending upon their individual circumstances and motivation, our success rate with people completing their hypnotherapy program as recommended is approximately 85%. Back to Top Why use hypnosis for habit control? Once the conscious mind has mastered new learning, the subconscious comes into play, allowing us to perform particular tasks without conscious effort; freeing our conscious mind to attend to, and learn, other habits. Habits are, for the most part, useful to us. In doing many things automatically, we save a great deal of time and effort. However, occasionally we find ourselves with a habit pattern that we would like to modify of eliminate. We may try to change on a conscious level. However, our subconscious mind, the source that governs our automatic habit patterns, may cause the habit to persist, despite our best conscious efforts to change. Hypnosis is a way to reach the subconscious so it can be directed to work for, instead of against, your conscious objectives. Hypnosis works directly on the source of the problem, with little or no need for the use of conscious willpower. Back to Top Health Awareness Clinics  5773 Woodway Drive, Suite 410  Houston, TX  77057 Contact Us