9 Top Myths of Hypnotherapy

 Hypnotherapy is a wonderful modality for helping to creating lasting positive change.  But thanks to Hollywood movies and the perception of Stage Hypnosis - there are a lot of myths around it.  So whilst Hypnotherapy has fantastic success rates, there are even more people who could benefit from Hypnotherapy if they were no longer stuck in fear of what are really, just myths!  Let's explore some of the top myths!

1. The Hypnotist will be able to control My Mind
The truth is no-one can control your mind!  One of the prime directives of your unconscious mind is self preservation, so your own mind will not allow you to take on suggestions that are not of benefit to you.  When working with Mind Matters with Tammy Biton, all hypnotic suggestions are based on our first session where we get a detailed insight into where you are now and where you want to be.  What resources (eg confidence, relaxation etc) that you have and / or need to get the changes you are seeking and what interference might prevent you for achieving that goal.

2. I will be made to do silly things like cluck like a Chicken or bark like a Dog
Sure, if you go to see a stage hypnotist and you pass the suggestibility tests and the susceptibility test and you are an extroverted personality who wants to have a laugh with your friends, you may end up on stage clucking like a chicken.  But as mentioned above - only if you want to!  Those that are most suggestible (meaning easily hypnotised) may not be the same people on the night who are susceptible!  You have to have the right type of personality and motivation.  So yes, I am trained to be able to make people cluck like a chicken - but that's not what our goal is in Clinical Hypnotherapy.   

3.  Hypnotists have special powers
Well, not really!  The thought that hypnotists have “special powers” originates from a Hollywood fiction. The truth is that hypnotists do not have any special powers, not even the stage hypnotists you may have seen. We have special skills, a deep knowledge of psychology and the human psyche, experience of working with people, but no special powers. With sufficient effort and practice, most people could induce a formal state of hypnosis in someone else, but only with the person’s permission. Of course, the real skill is in the way we can use the hypnotic state to help people.

3.  Not everyone can be hypnotised
Well, not really!  Whilst it is true that some people are more suggestible to hypnosis, it very often comes down to the person’s motivation, willingness and ability to concentrate. Everyone is suggestible to a certain degree. If you are interested in something and it is something that you want, then you will be open to its effects. It is the same with self hypnosis — if you want it to work and you co-operate, then you will reap the rewards.  The truth is you go into a Hypnotic State at least twice a day!  That moment just as you are drifting off to sleep and just as you begin to wake - your brainwaves are actually in the hypnotic state.   When you get so engrossed in a book that you are visualising the characters or when you begin to cry when watching a movie or even when you drive on autopilot - these are all forms of hypnosis

 Hypnotherapy is a wonderful modality for helping to creating lasting positive change.  But thanks to Hollywood movies and the perception of Stage Hypnosis - there are a lot of myths around it.  So whilst Hypnotherapy has fantastic success rates, there are even more people who could benefit from Hypnotherapy if they were no longer stuck in fear of what are really, just myths!  Let's explore the top 10 myths!

Myth 1. The Hypnotist will be able to control My Mind
The truth is no-one can control your mind!  One of the prime directives of your unconscious mind is self preservation, so your own mind will not allow you to take on suggestions that are not of benefit to you.  When working with Mind Matters with Tammy Biton, all hypnotic suggestions are based on our first session where we get a detailed insight into where you are now and where you want to be.  What resources (eg confidence, relaxation etc) that you have and / or need to get the changes you are seeking and what interference might prevent you for achieving that goal.

Myth 2. I will be made to do silly things like cluck like a Chicken or bark like a Dog
Sure, if you go to see a stage hypnotist and you pass the suggestibility tests and the susceptibility test and you are an extroverted personality who wants to have a laugh with your friends, you may end up on stage clucking like a chicken.  But as mentioned above - only if you want to!  Those that are most suggestible (meaning easily hypnotised) may not be the same people on the night who are susceptible!  You have to have the right type of personality and motivation.  So yes, I am trained to be able to make people cluck like a chicken - but that's not what our goal is in Clinical Hypnotherapy.   

Myth 3.  Hypnotists have special powers
Well, not really!  The thought that hypnotists have “special powers” originates from a Hollywood fiction. The truth is that hypnotists do not have any special powers, not even the stage hypnotists you may have seen. We have special skills, a deep knowledge of psychology and the human psyche, experience of working with people, but no special powers. With sufficient effort and practice, most people could induce a formal state of hypnosis in someone else, but only with the person’s permission. Of course, the real skill is in the way we can use the hypnotic state to help people.

Myth 4.  But, it's only the weak minded or stupid that are suggestible
Well, again, no!  This is an archaic belief that has, in recent times, been proven untrue. It was thought, long ago, that only 50% of the population could be hypnotised. Over the last 40 years, hypnotherapists have developed methods to induce hypnosis in 100% of the population. During your first session, we utilise these methods to determine what type of suggestibility you have, and hence, how to hypnotise you.  And as for your intelligence, in fact, the higher your IQ, the more likely you are to be a great hypnotic subject!

Myth 5. You won't be conscious during hypnosis
It is true that we work with your subconscious mind during hypnosis, but you won't be unconscious!  You will have awareness of your surroundings and still be able to hear my voice (how else would we be able to give you suggestions?).   The level of consciousness that is required is completely dependent on the client, some can be in an extremely light state of trance and some can be very deep!  Just as when you sleep you cycle through different "waves", the same happens with hypnosis so you may even experience varying levels of consciousness within the one session.  The key to the success of the session is your active involvement in the process.  Most people find that no matter what level of consciousness they are at they will feel relaxed during the session.

Myth 6. Hypnosis is a magic wand or miracle cure
It is true that hypnosis is a brief therapy and creates rapid change when compared with other modalities!  But there is no magic wand or miracle cure!  A hypnotist will not be able to fix all issues in a single session.  It takes involvement from you so that we can work in a partnership to get you the positive changes you seek.  Some things like simple habits (nail biting etc may be resolved in 1-2 sessions and other things like Depression and Anxiety require more.  It should be noted that most things can be resolved within 6-12 sessions.  So, yes, it is brief when you compare 12 hours of Hypnotherapy vs 600 hours of traditional psychotherapy.

Myth 7. People will remember everything under Hypnosis
There are certain methodologies (such as hypnoanalysis) that may help a person recall things from their past, if that is going to be useful for them.   But unless it is useful for the outcome of the session, there isn't really a whole lot of reason to do this and remember, your unconscious mind's primary role is to ensure self preservation and safety.  So there are many ways that we can clear old emotion and get understandings and insights without the need to consciously remember traumatic events from our past.

Myth 8.  People get stuck in a trance state
Again, thank you Hollywood.  None of my clients have every been stuck in hypnosis, nor will they ever be.  It is a naturally occurring state that we go into ourselves each and every day.  In fact, if I could rename Hypnosis, I would call it functional awareness!   The absolute worst thing that can happen is that you drift off to sleep and either I wake you or you wake natural and we continue the session.


Myth 9. People forget everything that was said in a session
While some people do consciously forget much of what was said in a hypnosis session, you will likely also remember a lot of the suggestions.  Hypnosis is like daydreaming or night dreaming – often you remember the suggestions that were spoken to you at random times, when you find yourself responding differently to typical situations.  For example, you may have been using hypnosis to lose weight, and notice that you are not even tempted by the plate of cookies that’s been placed in front of you. At that point, you may have a memory of the hypnotist telling you that cookies are unappealing.


There are of course more myths around Hypnotherapy, but these are the top ones that I hear all the time.  If you have any questions around Hypnotherapy, I would be more than happy to answer them.  Feel free to contact me via email at: [email protected] or phoning me on 0425 209 677.

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