A lot of people who begin their research into hypnosis often ask the question “Is hypnosis real?” This is a very valid question, and is not one that should be dismissed.
The answer is of course that hypnosis is very real, but with hypnosis being an unregulated industry, there are a number of so called “gurus” and “hypnotists” who really don’t have a level of training that is consistent with more professional hypnotists.
This can of course lead people to believe, after one or two failed attempts with hypnosis, that hypnosis doesn’t work. The reason hypnosis fails is never because hypnosis doesn’t work on the person. Everyone can be hypnotized, despite what some hypnotists may say. It simply comes down to the skill of the hypnotist concerned.
Recent research into hypnosis has shown that people can be broken into two “suggestibility” types. These include physical and emotional suggestibility. One easy way to think of it is that emotional suggestibility is more common to people who are introvert, whilst physical suggestibility is more common to people who are introvert.
Hypnosis has come a long way within the past thirty years. What was once a field that was used merely as a way to treat psychological ailments and for entertainment, has now become a field that can be used to persuade people to do many, many things.
Traditionally, hypnosis was used very directly, and it is still used in this manner today by many hypnotists. The fact of the matter however, is that only physical suggestibles respond to direct suggestions. Emotional suggestibles respond to indirect suggestions, and it wasn’t until the time of Dr. Milton Erickson that a new discreet form of hypnosis began to emerge.
Erickson devised ways to use hypnosis in discreet settings, in a way that co-operated with a person, as opposed to a way that worked against them. Erickson allowed the apparent 50% of the population that “couldn’t be hypnotized” to be hypnotized. So when people ask “Is hypnosis real?” just remember that it may be due to a failed experience by a hypnotist who wasn’t aware of this new suggestibility typing.
In order for someone to be hypnotized, their suggestibility typing must first be identified. Once this is done, inducing someone into a state of hypnosis becomes a very easy process.
So as you can see, the answer to the question “Is hypnosis real?” is a definite “yes”, however it comes down to the skill of the hypnotist concerned as to whether or not hypnosis will be effective on you, now whether or not “is hypnosis real”.