Hypnosis doesn't work for me?

Yes and no. Hypnosis, depending on who you ask, is either some kind of mystical power (spoiler: I'm not in that camp) or a specific way of harnessing the power of your unconscious mind. There are many, many different approaches to doing that. The more well-known ones (basic structure: get you to relax, give you a ton of useful suggestions, "wake" you back up) work for many people, but not all of them. Some people find that kind of process difficult to follow along with, and end up inadvertently preventing it from working. Frustrating, of course, but nothing that can't be fixed by choosing a different approach.

Additionally, the types of suggestions being used matter. Just like when you want to convince people, the exact same words won't work the same for everyone, and that's the same with hypnosis: maybe the ideas the hypnotist is giving you simply aren't a good fit for you, or they're not explaining them in ways that make sense to your unconscious mind. There are a number of ways to deal with that: one is to use a more open-ended approach to suggestions -- basically the hypnotist throwing lots of positive things at your mind and just letting it use everything it likes --, or a session with a professional who has experience with people who have trouble responding to the popular, "mainstream" stuff. Not all professionals do, in fact it very much seems like quite a few of them have no idea that there even are different ways to approach hypnosis, nor that suggestions aren't magic and the same thing won't work the same way for everyone.

In that sense, if you keep looking you may still discover something life-altering eventually. Personally I've discovered, a number of times, ideas that totally changed the way I think and allowed me to feel more confident and more free to make my own choices and shake off old habits... and it wasn't even in a context of hypnosis. I never would have come across these ideas had I not kept looking even when nothing I tried seemed to make a difference.

So, there's definitely hope... always!

dinkydaveuk wrote:Over the years I've tried it for everything for stopping smoking, to confidence to giving up alcohol to name but a few, I listened every night for 30 days or so and I can honestly say nothing happened. At the time I was having panic attacks I went to see a qualified hypnotist, I had 4 sessions and it also did not work.

Does this not work for some people?

Self-hypnosis tapes and a systematic, non-individualistic approach can work for some people in some situations. Maybe even many. But, Erickson, the father of much of all of this, dismissed universal and generic approaches... in general and universally.

Suggestions can be hard to carve out, they work great for while you are hypnotized. But they have to survive the real world, and need proper artistry designed to your individual requirements to do so.

Hypnosis. How being told to imagine you are in a hot air balloon, throw your problems over the side, then your life is ok or being told to imagine traumatic experience, until you have a panic attack and then be told it's all gone away and you're ok is going to help you was beyond me.

fordpuma wrote:Hypnosis. How being told to imagine you are in a hot air balloon, throw your problems over the side, then your life is ok or being told to imagine traumatic experience, until you have a panic attack and then be told it's all gone away and you're ok is going to help you was beyond me.

I think it's crucial here to distinguish between hypnosis and conventional induction methods. Hypnosis is a mental process. It's not being told things. Part of helping you experience this process may involve getting you to imagine being in a hot air balloon, but that depends on the person and the hypnotherapist.

Hypnosis is something we experience on a daily basis. However, we usually experience it for different reasons, for different purposes, and in different situations. No one person is the same.

My experience of it was rubbish. Therapist told me to pull myself together and go on a club 18-30 holiday. Yes you are reading this right all because her daughters had been on one and thought they were great. Was charged the earth for this nonsense. It's just trying to get people to convince themselves they like themselves whilst relaxing imaging a nice scenario is about as convincing as the nonsense that these hypnosis shows are. People know exactly what they are doing they just do anything to get on a stage.. Hypnotherapy is rubbish and very expensive rubbish at that. It doesn't change anything out there in the real world or make you into someone you aren't. Avoid it and save your money.

It does not work if you are you not willing to be hypnotized, consciously or subconsciously. You must be in full will in order for hypnotism to work.

It's nonsense, I know people who have tried it for smoking, sleeping, exam nerves, no help at all. What good is imaging you are some one you aren't. It doesn't change anything. Save your money.

prololies wrote:It does not work if you are you not willing to be hypnotized, consciously or subconsciously. You must be in full will in order for hypnotism to work.

This is the key !!

If you want to change then you make these changes.

People also can't be hypnotized by someone else, it is only possible if you accept that you have to be in a hypno trance. It's a matter of fully surrendering. If you surrender to the hypnotist; completely with everything you experience inside you, on every level, then you will go into any trance state you like.

YOU HAVE TO BE THE ONE WHO WANTS TO BE HYPNOTIZED !

But .... it requires a good hypnotist, someone you can trust, someone who accomplishes you when you actually hypnotize yourself....

If you want to make the changes then you simply make them. I gave up smoking buy screwing up the packet 25 years ago and telling myself no more. Never touched one since, takes discipline and will power.
Who needs to pay someone to be told this nonsense. As you say if want to make the changes you do end of story. You don't need to pay one of these "Therapists" the kings ransom they charge. Great money maker is all I can say!
I'm not convinced and never will be.

fordpuma wrote:If you want to make the changes then you simply make them. I gave up smoking buy screwing up the packet 25 years ago and telling myself no more. Never touched one since, takes discipline and will power.
Who needs to pay someone to be told this nonsense. As you say if want to make the changes you do end of story. You don't need to pay one of these "Therapists" the kings ransom they charge. Great money maker is all I can say!
I'm not convinced and never will be.

Maybe the feeling of stupidity increases while you relax and watch the computer screen ....
breathe in and notice this experience inside of you ... the closer you get to the awareness of being dumb ... the more you realize you become focused at it ... unaware you repeat it every time move you body ......

What is this???? Totally lost!

fordpuma wrote:What is this???? Totally lost!

[joke mode]
Black OPS.

Necessary ....

[/joke mode]

Dont you have the idea you're criticizing hypnotists and therapists much to heavy? There are loads of people having a lot of advantage of hypnosis and the way you state it you're not doing them right.

I stand by what I say. It's rubbish. They make a very good living out of trying to get people to count back from 10 - 1 imagine you're a nice person or that you're rid of your problems and then charge the earth for it.......oh and yes of course...... Go on a club 18-30 holiday..charge £60 PER HOUR. You could.also pretend you're a chicken on stage if that does it for you. fool for anyone falling for it. Total trash and I'll never think any different and I tell everyone to avoid it. End of story.

@ fordpuma

what do you expect from hypnosis then?

Dont think its just a question out of the blue, I'm asking it very serious. You think a hypnotist delivers rubbish, but these people are really doing good work. Only in your perception it is worthless, well out of another - different - point of view for you : what do you expect from a hypnotist then?