Hypnotizability - The Basis for Hypnotherapy

Hypnosis is not hocus-pocus. It is a very old and effective therapeutic method – and a direct way of accessing the part of you that controls your thoughts, feelings and behavior. 

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Contents

What is hypnosis?

Hypnosis is a special, deep state of relaxation combined with mental focus – also known as a trance.¹ You may be familiar with this state: you’re reading a book and only realize hours later that time has passed. You’re driving along a well-known route and suddenly find yourself at your destination without having been aware of the journey. Hypnotic trance is therefore not something entirely out of the ordinary and often feels surprisingly familiar.

The difference between hypnosis and sleep or normal wakefulness can be measured using an EEG: in a hypnotized state, alpha and theta waves are particularly prominent – a pattern indicative of deep relaxation accompanied by internal activity.² At the same time, respiratory rate, heart rate and blood pressure decrease, stress hormones are reduced, and the body’s immune response is boosted.³ ⁴

During hypnosis, the wakeful mind, which often acts as an inhibitor, recedes into the background. The creative, emotional subconscious voice comes to the fore. You become more open to new perspectives and gain more direct access to feelings, memories and inner convictions – in other words, to the very material from which your reaction patterns are made. That is what makes hypnotherapy so effective: change takes place precisely where the obstacles that have been holding you back are at work. ⁵

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Are you hypnotizable?

Short Answer:  Most likely, yes.

Will hypnosis work for me at all? Many people ask themselves this question. Research provides a clear answer: the vast majority of people can enter a hypnotic state – provided the right conditions are in place. 

The fundamental difference lies in the context: anyone who chooses not to participate in a stage hypnosis show does so for a good reason – they don’t want to make a fool of themselves. That is not a sign of a lack of hypnotizability, but rather of a healthy sense of self-preservation. In a therapeutic setting, the starting point is entirely different: you have a specific goal. There is trust. And you get to decide how far you want to go.⁶

10–15 %

haben eine geringe Hypnotisierbarkeit

60–75 %

haben eine mittlere bis gute Hypnotisierbarkeit

10–15 %

haben eine sehr hohe Hypnotisierbarkeit⁷

You don’t have to believe that hypnosis works. 

You just have to be willing to try it. 

 

Your level of hypnotizability can change

Even for those who are less easily hypnotized: hypnotizability is not a fixed trait. It depends on motivation, trust, information – and practice. Studies show that 50-80% of those who are initially difficult to hypnotize were classified as highly hypnotizable following focused training.⁸

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Quick self-test to assess your hypnotizability

  • When you read an interesting book – how easily do you get lost in it?
  • Have you ever driven your car past your intended destination or traveled further than planned on the underground because you were deep in thought?

Can you answer yes to these questions? Congratulations – you’ve already experienced a state of trance. 

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FAQ - Myths and facts about hypnosis

Will I be under the therapist's control?

No – quite the opposite. Under hypnosis, you have access to resources in your subconscious that are otherwise harder to reach. You gain control; you don’t lose it. Everything that happens during a session is done with your inner consent.⁹

Both states share characteristics like deep relaxation and focused attention. The key difference: hypnosis is more goal-oriented and actively engages with the subconscious – through suggestion, mental pictures and guided processes. Meditation, on the other hand, is more of a state of open awareness without targeted intervention.¹⁰  

You don’t have to believe that hypnosis works. You have to be willing to try it. An open mind and motivation are essential – blind faith is not.¹⁰

The information available on this subject varies considerably. For most people, the situation is as follows: if a suggestion goes against your values or your will, you snap out of the trance. Only in very few cases can someone be made to act against their will. To prevent an abuse of power, it is important to work with a qualified and experienced therapist. 

No. A trance is a state that comes to a natural end – either through the therapist, over time, or through you yourself. During a session, a trance must be actively deepened; it is not able to sustain itself.¹¹

In a therapeutic context, work is usually carried out at a moderate level of trance. You are able to speak, perceive and remember. Deep trance – as is sometimes seen in entertainment hypnosis – is neither common nor the aim in a therapeutic setting.¹¹ 

Hypnosis is a powerful tool. In the hands of someone qualified and experienced, it is absolutely safe. Therefore, it is important to consult a certified therapist with proven credentials and a good reputation. In such cases, hypnosis is safe and an effective form of change work.¹¹ 

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My approach: structured and personalized

Treatment in my practice combines traditional, alternative and innovative healing methods. Hypnosis acts as an amplifier: the inhibiting conscious mind recedes into the background, the creative subconscious takes over – and all interventions make a deeper impact than they would in a typical waking state. We will follow a tried-and-tested, clearly structured program – which, at the same time leaves plenty of space for your own personal journey. Ultimately, you and your subconscious decide what happens and when.

Self-hypnosis

You will learn how to put yourself into a hypnotic state – for relaxation in everyday life and to be able to select and incorporate helpful beliefs into your mindset. 

Working with your inner child

My aim is to create a space where you can freely express and feel what you’re trying so hard to keep hidden beneath the surface. 

Strengthening Resources

Together with your subconscious mind, we will develop strategies that are right for you and address your specific concerns in a lasting and profound way. 

The work of Forgiveness

Not for others – for yourself. And only when the time is right. Forgiving means regaining your inner peace. We will work on letting go of troublesome relationship patterns. 

EFT Tapping

This technique works by gently tapping specific acupuncture points while simultaneously voicing your thoughts and feelings. It is a highly effective technique for letting go of limiting beliefs and emotional stress. 

Working in parts

Often, the innermost parts of ourselves can hold us back – without us even realizing it. We bring these parts to light, understand their intentions and free ourselves of their influence. 

Age regression

Together we will revisit formative experiences – not to relive them, but to make sense of troubling memories and unload the emotional burden they carry. 

Relapse prevention

At the end of a process, the most important thing is how to proceed without my support and how the results can be sustained – despite any future challenges. 

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Key areas of treatment

  • Anxiety & Panic
  • Trauma & PTSD
  • Depressive mood swings
  • Self-esteem & internal blockages
  • Sleep problems
  • Stress management & burnout prevention
  • Smoking / Habits
  • Children & Adolescents
  • Coaching (performance, focus, goals)
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Common side effects of hypnosis & therapy

Any form of psychotherapy can have unwanted side effects. This is not a sign that something is wrong – quite the opposite. It shows that something within you is changing. And change can be uncomfortable at times.

Hypnotherapy is an intensive process. It combines gentleness and speed, often linking the uncomfortable aspects directly to a subsequent release. But you’ll never have to go through this alone: it is precisely for these moments that telephone support is offered between sessions.  

Common side effects of psychotherapy

  • Confronting difficult memories or feelings can be overwhelming at times. For this reason, there is telephone support available between sessions – so that you don’t have to face it alone. 
  • Psychotherapy can bring about changes in relationships. New perspectives and behavioral patterns are sometimes not initially welcomed by those around you. 
  • Some symptoms become more noticeable at first – and may temporarily intensify. This is often a sign that they are “fighting” for their right to exist. What you now wish to let go of was once a solution that worked. 
  • New symptoms may temporarily arise – such as headaches or feeling low. This, too, is a sign that you are on the right track. 

Hypnosis-specific side effects 

  • You may experience more vivid dreams – because your conscious and subconscious minds are interacting more closely. This is not a warning sign, but often an indication that your mind is actively processing things.

CAN I SIMPLY HYPNOTIZE MY PROBLEMS AWAY?

Why purely suggestive hypnosis is not enough

At times, work is carried out exclusively using suggestive hypnosis. Through suggestion – that is, verbal and non-verbal prompts that are easily adopted – “new” impulses can be anchored in the subconscious and, for example, resources can be strengthened.¹² There is often a desire to simply hypnotize something away or into existence. The following illustration clearly shows why this alone is usually insufficient and does not provide a lasting solution, but may instead lead to a change in symptoms.

Imagine that your “unwanted issue” – for example, the desire to quit smoking – is an unwelcome plant. If you pour soil over it and plant new seeds (Suggestion: “You no longer have the desire to smoke and the very thought of it is revolting to you”), the result is unlikely to last. The older, stronger plant – smoking – will force its way through and soon reclaim the space and energy from the newly sown seedlings. The neatly laid-out flowerbed – that is, the desired result – will last only temporarily, if at all. 

You could try to cover everything up and build a new flowerbed with fresh soil on top of it. That would amount to a particularly strong form of suggestion. But if the unwanted plant is deeply rooted, it may sprout up elsewhere over time. In daily life, that could show up, for example, as overeating or uncontrolled emotional outbursts. So if you don’t want to simply plaster everything over, there’s only one thing that helps: taking a close look, sensing the plant along with its roots, and pulling it out of the soil. Only then is it possible for the change that you wish for to truly flourish.  

Although hypnosis is often associated with hocus-pocus, hypnotherapy is not about making something magically disappear. It’s a therapeutic and highly effective tool that, when administered professionally, can make a huge difference. That said, your involvement is just as important as mine. And it’s not uncommon for this process to feel a little like magic.  

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Quellen auf dieser Seite:

¹ vgl. Kossak 2000: 197
² vgl. Halsband & Herfort, 2007: 8 f.
³ vgl. Sachar et al. 1985, zit. nach Revenstorf 2015: 21
⁴ vgl. Bongartz 1993: 138-142
⁵ vgl. Kossak 2000: 197
⁶ vgl. Krause & Riegel 2015: 117
⁷ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11750619/
⁸ vgl. Lynn 2004: 117
⁹ https://www.hypnose-in-berlin.de/faqs
¹⁰ https://www.hypnose-in-berlin.de/faqs/was-ist-der-unterschied-zwischen-hypnose-und-meditation
¹¹ https://www.hypnose-in-berlin.de/faqs/ist-hypnose-manipulation
¹² vgl. Meiss 2015: 102