HYPNOSIS is a "sleeplike" state used to experience forgotten or suppressed memories, create hallucinations & heightens a persons suggestibility. People consider it a sleeplike condition, but it is NOT a sleeping person, not a sleep state and does NOT mean"sleep". (Except in Greek!)

Word Origins

"HYPNOS" means "Sleep" in Greek.

Hypnos is also the Greek mythological God of Sleep.

If Hypnosis is not a sleep state, what is it?

To be hypnotized means a person is placed in a state resembling sleep - most similar to the state one is in when sleepwalking. The state one is in when sleepwalking is called "SOMNAMBULISM."

"somni-" or "somn-" as a preface is Latin for sleep."

These states are all stages of hypnosis or hypnotic sleep, the induced state of hypnosis.
Hypnosis resembles normal sleep, but is different from normal sleep due to an increase in the person's pulse rate and respiration. Hypnosis resembles anesthesia.

A person in a hypnotic state is open to all forms of suggestibility including an openness to authority, advice, testing, criticism and judgment.

A person in a hypnotic state is open to suggestions affecting conscious choices and decisions. The subconscious mind can control blood vessels and the flow of blood, raise blisters, induce or eliminate severe pain, cause and control lactation, salivation, other sensations and body functions.

Normally a person awakened from a hypnotic trance remembers what happened while hypnotized, although the memory may be suppressed by post hypnotic suggestions, suggestions while hypnotized that can eliminate the memory.

"Post Hypnotic Suggestions"
are instructions made to a hypnotized person, to be acted on after they are awakened.

Hypnosis can be induced by repeated stimulation of reflexes. Examples include blinking lights, the broken line on a highway, the use of music and the 225 lines that scan back and forth on a TV that make up the image (before digital TV).

A hypnotic trance can also be induced by suggestions, ordinarily performed upon a willing patient. Examples include the repeated suggestion to relax, suggesting one imagines a serene place and the use of counting to deepen the trance.

Self-suggestion is capable of producing self-hypnosis or auto-hypnotism. When we (close out eyes and) tell ourselves a story, out loud or in our own minds, we induce a stage of hypnosis on ourselves. I'll explain why these are hypnotic states in one moment.

There are degrees of hypnosis which have been characterized as lethargic, cataleptic and somnambulistic hypnosis or, in other words, light and heavy hypnotic sleep, with corresponding variations in suggestibility.

When people are in any stage of hypnosis, or REM sleep then the sub-conscious mind is actually awake and functioning, while the conscious mind is not truly awake. The subconscious mind can operate perfectly without your conscious mind interfering. For example, when you are telling a story with your eyes closed and you are completely engrossed in the story you are telling, you are delving into your memory and you are not being critical or analytical of what you are saying. So, Your subconsious mind is very active, but your conscious mind is not participating in the thought process. This is a trance state, and yes, this is a light stage of hypnosis.

Your conscious mind is the critical mind and your analytical mind. It analyzes things and gives you a "consciousness" of your environment.

Your subconscious mind is like a filing cabinet. It stores all the information you have learned or experienced.

stands for
Rapid Eye
Movement.

When we dream and other times when our subconscious mind is active while our eyes are closed and our conscious mind is not alert and active, our eyes balls move under our eyelids very fast.

If one is hypnotized, the subconscious (filing cabinet) mind is kept awake and the conscious (critical and analytical) mind is put to asleep. When this happens, the subconscious mind still functions and operates without worrying about analyzing and criticizing the information requested.

Examples of the most common hypnotic trances we all experience all the time are night time dreams and day dreams. Dreaming occurs when the subconscious mind is awake and running but the conscious mind is not interfering or participating in the thought process.

Can a hypnotist access everything?

No. Our subconscious will not allow a hypnotist to access any information you want "locked" out of the hypnotist's access. So, a person that is hypnotised still can make choices as to what they want the hypnotist to free from the subconscious mind.

Can a Hypnotist make me do things against my will?

One of the more common questions I answer after a show is
"How do you know if they are faking?"

I reply, "I can't always. BUT, I am doing a show, so if the person is entertaining and not distracting, I don't care if they are faking sometimes. However, if I see REM going on, I'm usually pretty sure they are not faking!

If you have specific questions, Alan Sands is happy to explain answers to you. However, Alan is an entertainer and is not a doctor and anything he shares with you is to be only used as guidance. If you have medical or psychological reasons for using hypnosis, consulting a professional may be his only advice. More often Alan will recommend books where you can find out more or direct you to people who may be able to answer your specific questions thoroughly.