“What does hypnosis feel like? I’m not sure that I can go under, I don’t think I was under last time.” I recently had a woman tell me this as we sat and discussed her previous experience and her goals. I had taken the time to patiently explain to her during our first visit that hypnosis doesn’t “feel” like anything. Still, she wanted that “feely” experience. We have several sessions mapped out as she has a sleeping disorder that spans 50+ years. She is not happy with the sleeping pills she was prescribed, but even more fearful of not having them. So, after a friend of hers suggested she try hypnosis with me, she decided to give it a go. She is highly motivated, willing to do the work I give her after our sessions. It was just that she was unsure she was going under.
I asked her what she had felt in the first session, she replied, “Very relaxed, is all.” When she got home and listened to the audios I had given her, she said she felt very relaxed again. I asked her what she thought she should be experiencing. She didn’t know, she just felt like this wasn’t it. After all, it was a familiar feeling. She could hear me during the trance portion of the session and felt as if she could open her eyes at any time.
What does hypnosis feel like?
I explained that trance is a familiar state. We experience it as daydreaming when we are young children, giving ourselves the ability to adapt and create. Whenever we are so involved in a movie we lose track of time, we are in a form of trance. When we drive somewhere familiar and upon arriving wonder if we stopped at all the stop lights, we have been through trance. Still, so many people expect to feel something out of the ordinary. Often, this causes the client to try and make something happen instead of just going with the flow.
We discussed her week since our first visit. She had listened to the audios and relaxed more each time. She had noticed she was falling asleep easier, but also waking as usual during the night. There had been some other changes and challenges. She began to realize that maybe she had been in trance. When it was time for the trance portion she felt more comfortable with me and with the process. She went deep! This time she knew she had been in trance. I explained once again that every trance experience was different, some deep where one loses track of what I am saying and others not as deep. Circumstances of the day and the conditions surrounding the subject can have an effect as well as the comfort level one has with the hypnotherapist.
I was reminded of a gentleman who worked with me on his smoking several years ago. He insisted he didn’t go into trance. He had heard everything I said, so he couldn’t have been in trance. He didn’t want a cigarette, but he knew he hadn’t been in trance. I told him to call me after the weekend and we could revisit the session. Monday morning my phone rang. It was his granddaughter. He had been to a picnic with friends and family, many of whom smoked. He never wanted a cigarette. His son and several co-workers also called and set up appointments. Many years later, he still doesn’t smoke. He insists he never went under, but talking to me stopped his habit. I just smile and say, “Whatever works.”
My sleep client is continuing to work on getting better sleep at night. She has begun to enjoy the process of hypnosis more and more and is even beginning to put herself into trance on her own at home. Now that gives me good “feels”!
