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Hypnosis Isn’t Sleep
The word sleep is one of the biggest reason people tend to think hypnosis is sleep. The fact of the matter is Hypnosis isn’t sleep at all. When you enter Hypnosis you are actually more “awake” then you are now. You actually become more alert and aware, but because you’re in a very relaxed state it appears from a outside point of view that you are asleep.
A Mental Shortcut
The word “sleep” is nothing more then a shortcut for the client and the Hypnotist. When we say the word sleep its means to “close your eyes and relax as if you are going to sleep”. You see, since birth we have all been programmed to know what sleep means. Sleep is a basic function of our bodies and we don’t have to be trained to go to sleep. There isn’t a human alive who hasn’t slept or knows what the word sleep means. The truth is that we all pass through the stages of hypnosis right before we fall asleep and right before we wake up in the morning.
If we break it down to different brain waves then Hypnosis would be Theta, which is the state right before Delta, which is natural sleep. This is a normal process for us so it’s not unusual that the sub conscious mind understands the shortcut of the word sleep. Another thing to note is most people have seen a Hypnotist in person or on television say the word sleep and seen how the person responded to the suggestion. Please remember as well that the sub conscious protects you in a sense by not falling completely asleep. Just imagine the dangers that could be introduced to you if you were to fall asleep wherever you got hypnotized.
Relaxation Isn’t Sleep and It Isn’t Hypnosis
So combine all of these different elements and when your client hears the word sleep they close their eyes and appears to have fallen asleep. When in reality they are just in a really relaxed state. Now please don’t confuse relaxation as hypnosis because they are not the same. Relaxation isn’t even a part of hypnosis. The word sleep and the suggestions we give during and after the induction help to establish a great state of relaxation. Another reason we know the person isn’t asleep is because they hear and respond to our suggestions. Beside sleep other words can also be used to trigger the hypnotic state. As a matter of fact words aren’t even needed to establish Hypnosis.
Yet, overtime is has become sort of a standard in our profession to say the word sleep during the induction. As a little side note most of the time when you hear a hypnotist use the word sleep it’s usually related to stage Hypnotists, instant and rapid inductions. It has now become common for many Hypnotists to use these Instant and Rapid Inductions within their practices. Check out this article to know more about this issue.
Conclusion
So whenever you see a hypnotist or hear a hypnotist say the word sleep its nothing more then a shortcut for “Close your eyes and relax as if you are asleep”. I hope you found this article interesting and if you have any questions please feel free to ask.
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29. June 2008 at 8:09 AM
The word “sleep” is getting used less and less by hypnotherapists these days. I personally do not use it. I usually use suggestions of deep relaxation and narrowing the focus of attention. You are absolutely right when you say that a trance is not sleep. I suppose the word is used as a metaphor for a hypnotic trance. Good to see you are keeping this blog up to date Josh – it’s a really good resource. I see you have a quality award – if you want another, then check out this link
http://www.freehypnosistreatment.com/hypnosisaward.html
You may also be interested in this offer
http://www.hypnobusters.com/affiliateprogram/partnershiphome.html
Keep up the good work Josh, there is not nearly enough freely available information about hypnosis on the web!
30. June 2008 at 12:44 AM
Hey Jon
First off, thanks for the compliment it means a lot. I really want to help the general public understand the truth behind hypnosis and help new hypnotists in anyway possible. You know as I do that that hypnosis has so many myths based around it that it’s not funny.
Ah, that’s a great point you brought up about not having to use the word sleep. I didn’t get to touch on that subject. I too, don’t use the word sleep for every induction. I like to mix up the inductions I use as well. One of my favorite inductions in just having a person look a spot and focus with suggestions of relaxing even more completely. So for anyone reading this comment I may touch on this issue in a future post.
Jon thanks for the links and I was curious would you be interesting in being a guest blogger for this site. You would be free to promote any trainings or products or whatever as well. I’m looking for credible hypnotists to start helping me post credible and professional articles based around hypnosis and the field of hypnotism. If you are interesting send me a e-mail and let me know. Once again thanks Jon
Joshua Houghton
Certified Hypnotist
2. July 2008 at 5:23 PM
One reason that the word “sleep” is used so often in stage shows, in my personal opinion, is that the audience expects to hear it and reacts much more strongly to it, especially when used in the imperative form, as opposed to words like relax, etc,. which seem to have a certain implied passivity to them, at least in the opinions of many audience members I have asked regarding this very issue over the years.
Obviously, a stage situation is completely different than a therapeutic session, however, expectation is still a factor and no matter how well onc tries to educate a client, those old beliefs, held from childhood about being “knocked out” while in hypnosis can often still hold firm, even in the face of the most impressive “convincers” that a therapist can use.
So, at a guess, the word “sleep” will be with us for a long time. Perhaps we can mitigate how it’s viewed by using explanations like “you may feel like your body is sort of asleep, but your mind will be fully aware and you will be able to respond to me and ever talk, open your eyes, walk around and everything, at times. However, when you go into hypnosis, it may look like you are asleep to everybody else and it may even feel like your body is asleep, even though you will be able to hear everything going on around you…”
Lee Darrow, C.H.