How to learn hypnosis yourself at home.

The offer to attend several sessions of hypnosis no longer surprises patients who come for an appointment at the hospital, but for many, the procedure for inducing trance still causes a feeling of mistrust and fear. Hypnosis is one of the most popular treatment methods used by psychotherapists to rid the patient of internal fears, destructive attitudes, harmful addictions, and to solve long-standing psycho-emotional problems. It will be useful for those wishing to undergo this procedure to know how to put a person into hypnosis, and whether it is possible to master such techniques on their own.

What is hypnosis

Today, hypnosis is officially recognized by the medical community, but there was a time when this treatment technique was considered quackery. Most people are afraid of hypnotherapy because they do not fully understand what hypnosis is and how it affects the mind.

We experience the world and navigate it with the help of our senses. When the patient is put into a trance, they stop working and the subconscious is influenced. He cannot analyze the information incoming at the moment, therefore, while in a hypnotic sleep, a person easily perceives and follows all the orders of the hypnotist. The received attitudes are stored in the subconscious and act even after awakening.

Modern medicine has redefined hypnosis. This is a state of trance, very close to sleep, but differs from it in that at this time the subconscious continues to carry out enormous internal work.

Why is hypnosis needed?

Using various techniques, a psychotherapist can achieve in the patient:

• healing ailments;
• blocking pain;
• restoration of various body functions;
• unleashing creative potential;
• solutions to psychological problems.

The deeper the trance the patient is in, the stronger the influence of the hypnotist on the individual’s consciousness.

Types of hypnosis

Experts distinguish several types of hypnosis.

1. Academic (classical). Helps the patient cope with psychological problems, recover from alcohol, tobacco and drug addictions. Classical hypnosis helps a person look into his subconscious and find there the answer to an exciting question, remember an event, find the reason and secret motive for certain actions. Submitting to the will of the hypnotist, the patient carries out all his verbal orders. Not all people are susceptible to this type of hypnosis, but only 20–25% of patients.
2. Ericksonian (hidden hypnosis). During the session, suppressed emotions, experiences and memories are addressed. This type focuses on the individual characteristics of the individual and his problems. Very often, elements of Ericksonian hypnosis are used to massively influence people’s subconscious (in the media, political science, marketing).
3. Regressive. Refers to a person's past. During a session of such hypnosis, the psychotherapist works with forgotten or hidden in deep childhood memories of family conflicts and violence, paying special attention to complexes and destructive attitudes.
4. Criminal. This type of hypnosis is used by scammers for profit. Falling into a state of trance, attackers deceive citizens, subordinating them to their will. There is even a separate concept of “gypsy hypnosis.” This method of influence is used by gypsies in crowded places to cash in on their trust.

Methods of inducing trance

During trance, the patient's consciousness is open to the influence of the psychotherapist. The doctor addresses childhood fears, deep feelings, old grievances and experiences.

Psychotherapists use three methods of putting a person into a trance.

1. Classic hypnosis. Such influence helps to completely subjugate the patient. Work with an individual is carried out using strict verbal commands. If the doctor does not have the necessary qualifications and experience, this type of trance can be harmful to the patient. Classical hypnosis is used to treat addicted people because it addresses their hidden fears. There are many classical techniques, but only in 25% of patients the subconscious is receptive to this type of hypnotic influence.
2. Ericksonian hypnosis. This type of work with the subconscious is named after the famous physician who practiced in the twentieth century, Milton Erickson. During a session, the psychotherapist turns to the hidden reserves of a person’s psyche, and does not subjugate him to himself. Having gained access to consciousness, the hypnotist turns to accumulated experience, hidden experiences, painful attitudes and secret desires. The basics of this type of hypnosis are widely used not only in psychiatry, but also in the media, marketing, politics and pedagogy.
3. Regressive hypnosis. While working with a patient, the hypnotist turns to the past. Most of the complexes that cause people to suffer in adulthood were instilled in early childhood. Psycho-emotional traumas, family conflicts, lack of love and understanding of parents, sexual violence that a person once experienced torment him throughout his life and give him no peace.

The psychotherapist selects the method of work individually, focusing on the needs of the patient.

Hypnosis with an object

To fix consciousness, the psychotherapist uses things such as a metal ball, pen, or key during the session. The main rule: they must be placed at least 25-30 cm from the patient’s eyes. After the person has fully concentrated on the subject, the hypnotist makes various suggestions. For example: “We are carefully watching my palm! Up and down! Up and down! You get a feeling of pleasant relaxation and bliss! You want to sleep more and more! Your eyes are closing!”

The patient experiences a feeling of pleasant relaxation, heaviness of the body, drowsiness, and light drowsiness. He falls into a hypnotic sleep. The verbal messages spoken by the doctor help the patient to more clearly feel the changes occurring in the body and mind. Often, a doctor will use a countdown to help a person relax. Suggestions can be made without the help of objects. To do this, the individual must take a relaxed position and lie comfortably on the sofa.

Three yeses

Inside each person lives a strict censor who does not allow outside interference. Attitudes and moral principles govern everyone's life. Focusing on his internal dogmas, a person either shares the views of other people or adheres to his own opinion. By using a psychological technique called three “yes”, you can ensure that your interlocutor completely relaxes and opens his subconscious.

Research has established that if a person voluntarily agrees to various questions more than three times, then the information that comes next will be perceived by his brain as his own conclusion.

To achieve three positive responses, the hypnotist asks: “Is it summer outside now?”, “Do you like to walk in nature?”, “Do you like sunny weather?”, “Are you comfortable and warm?” The patient gives positive answers to all these questions. Finally, the main question is asked: “Does your body relax, your eyelids close, do you begin to fall asleep?” In this case, the patient will also be forced to agree, perceiving the doctor’s verbal suggestion as his own desire.

However, it should be noted that this method of hypnosis will only work if the psychotherapist has previously met with the patient and gained his trust and respect. If during a session a person constantly thinks about other things (he is thirsty, does not like the atmosphere of the office, the light from the window is disturbing), then there will be no success.

Three “yes” - a method of inducing trance, used by a hypnologist only after achieving confidential contact with the patient

Five steps

Before starting such a psychoanalysis session, it is necessary that the individual agrees to follow all your orders and advice. The method is very simple but effective. Once contact with the patient has been established, the following manipulations must be carried out:

• approach a person sitting on a chair and extend your right palm;
• ask the patient to raise their hand and touch you;
• within a few minutes you should feel the contact, applying pressure with your palms: all joint movements must be carried out very slowly;
• Next, you need to address the patient with a verbal order: “Take a deep breath! Close your eyes!";
• after the patient has done what you told him, sharply remove your hand and confidently pronounce the instruction: “Sleep!”

Shaking hands

Immersion in a trance is carried out by shaking hands, which is confirmed each time by certain verbal instructions. It is important that a person feels all the physiological changes that the psychotherapist programs him for.

The first squeeze should be accompanied by the following words: “You are safe! You feel warm and good!” Second, touching the patient’s hand: “You are completely relaxed! Your eyelids become heavy and your eyes close!” The final handshake should be accompanied by the phrase: “You are slowly falling asleep!”

Fractional method

This method of hypnosis is based on the teachings of two practicing psychotherapists: Ernst Kretschmer and John Fogg. This method of immersion in a trance helps people who do not believe in such methods of treatment and are afraid of other people's interference in their psyche.

First, the psychotherapist puts the person into a state of light drowsiness, and then pronounces the necessary suggestion: “I count to three! After that, you will wake up, and I will send you back to sleep, which will last much longer! Upon completion of the first part of hypnosis, the patient is asked to analyze his feelings and determine what experiences and emotions bothered him during the session. Having made the appropriate conclusions, the doctor conducts a repeat session.

Confusion

This method is used with skeptical patients who do not believe in the power of hypnosis. During the session, the doctor gives the person several contradictory instructions, thereby completely confusing the patient.

When he is completely disoriented, the command is given to relax, close his eyes and fall asleep.

Triple helix

The patient's attention is diverted to the conversation with the psychotherapist. The doctor begins to tell one story, then, stopping in the middle, starts a new story, and again without finishing, remembers the third story, which he completely ends.

As a result, the person remembers the details of only the first two stories, and completely forgets about the third, although the psychotherapist included special verbal suggestions there.

Fakir's way

This type of hypnosis was invented back in 1813 by Abbot Faria, who put people into a trance using a gaze. During sessions, the psychotherapist does not use any additional objects. This technique is used to treat alcohol and drug addicts.

Establishing close visual contact with the patient, the doctor gives him a verbal instruction: “You look into my eyes! Your body relaxes, your arms become sluggish and your legs become heavy! Your eyes gradually close and you fall asleep! You're falling asleep! You're falling asleep! You sleep until I wake you up!” All this time, the doctor looks into the eyes of his patient, without blinking or looking away.

These are just some of the hypnosis techniques that psychotherapists use in their practice. Leading specialists with extensive experience develop their own effective techniques that help them work with the psyche of patients and achieve positive results.

Requirements to become a hypnotist

Many people want to know how to learn the basics of hypnosis at home. This is due to the fact that this method of working with the subconscious allows a person to calm down and get rid of fears and phobias. It is possible to acquire knowledge that would help to apply hypnosis in practice without special medical education. Many books have been written on this topic and dozens of video lessons have been filmed. Such intervention must have a good purpose. You cannot hypnotize unnoticed, without the consent of the individual, since such an intrusion can cause irreparable harm to his health.

Character

When getting started with the basics of hypnosis, it should be taken into account that only a person with a strong and strong-willed character, who does not have hidden complexes and family problems, can successfully master the influence on the subconscious of other people. A person practicing hypnosis must be mentally healthy, be able to win over others, and evoke in them a feeling of trust and sympathy.

The hypnologist must be able to gain the patient's trust

Sight

One of the main components of a successful session is the concentrated and intent gaze of the hypnotist. To develop such a view, you need to train, and the following exercises will help you with this:

• during a conversation, try to hold the gaze of your interlocutors without blinking;
• learn to focus on drawn objects of various sizes; for convenience, hang them on the walls of the room;
• develop peripheral vision, trying to cover more space with your gaze (for this exercise you need to go to a stadium, square, crowded park).

Voice

The hypnotist's voice plays a huge role. It must have special attractiveness and strength. Having heard it, a person should unconsciously want to obey and do as he is told. The voice cannot be trembling and endlessly interrupted, or be too quiet. A confident, calm and pleasant timbre is the main requirement. It is important that the speech is correct and does not hurt the ears of other people.

Basics of Psychology

To put a person into hypnosis, you need to know psychology. This is a therapeutic session designed to help the individual, solve his problems, cope with complexes, fears and addictions. If you simply pick up any shiny object and start waving it in other people's faces to tell them to sleep, it will not give any positive result.

Any practicing hypnotist, guided by knowledge of psychology, develops his own technique to help put a person into a trance.

General recommendations

It will take time to learn hypnosis techniques, so it is best to be patient. Self-confidence, willpower, knowledge of the basics of psychoanalysis, the ability to listen and hear other people are very important skills for a hypnotist. If he has even the slightest doubt, he will not only not conduct the session, but can also greatly harm the health of another person.

The room in which the session will be held should be isolated and comfortable, and no extraneous sounds should penetrate into it.

Requirements for a psychotherapist

To successfully put a person into a trance, a psychotherapist must have experience in such work. He must be a mentally healthy person, without internal fears and phobias, or harmful addictions. You cannot use the basics of hypnosis to harm other people. Psychology books and video tutorials can be used as aids for learning hypnosis methods.

Voice

An important tool with which a person is immersed in a trance is the voice of a psychotherapist. To influence a person and make him obey, it must be a pleasant timbre with correct pronunciation and without an accent. The hypnotist’s manner of speech is not loud and shouty, but confident and calm. The voice should evoke only one desire in the patient - complete submission.

Conversation

Before using hypnosis, the doctor does a lot of preliminary work with his patient. Such communication makes it possible to get to know a person, instill trust in him, understand what kind of help he needs, and which method of hypnosis is best to use.

You need to establish contact with the person. To do this, during a conversation, you should completely copy his posture, facial expressions, and manner of speech, thereby arousing sympathy and affection. After he has relaxed, you can move on to the hypnosis process.

Before the session, the hypnologist must talk with the patient

Exercise

If you want to master the secrets of hypnosis, you should learn to concentrate your attention on the same subject for a long time. To do this, draw a black circle (2–4 cm in diameter) on a landscape sheet. Hang it at eye level. Having moved away to a distance of 2.5 m, concentrate your attention on the drawing. Look closely at it for 15 minutes. Next, complicate the task: walk around the room and look at the circle from different sides.

How to induce hypnosis

Get the consent of the person you will practice on. Please note that if he does not believe in the effects of hypnosis, is skeptical about this method of treatment, or is afraid that the session will be unsuccessful, nothing will work out. For trial meetings, choose a person who will listen to you and carry out all your orders. Hypnosis cannot be used on mentally unstable people who have nervous disorders and pathologies of brain activity.

Preliminary conversation

Most people have little idea what hypnosis is and what effect it has on the body, so the preparatory conversation must necessarily include explanations on this topic. This is done so that your interlocutor has an idea of ​​what will happen to him and is not afraid. It is equally important to understand why a hypnotherapy session was needed and what problems he wants to solve in this way. Very often, hypnotic sleep is resorted to to relax, relieve the effects of stress, increase the body's defenses, increase concentration and enhance mental activity.

You should find out whether the person has attended similar sessions before. Scientists have found that people who have been hypnotized fall into trance more easily in subsequent sessions. If a person is turning to hypnosis for the first time, keep in mind that it will be much more difficult for you to work with him.

Situation

Find a secluded room where no one will disturb you. It is important that your interlocutor is calm and relaxed. He should feel comfortable around you. Invite the person to take a comfortable position in a chair or on the sofa. Turn on quiet music that will accompany all your actions. Remove distracting objects, turn off the TV and phone - no one or nothing should interrupt you.

The hypnologist needs to create a calming environment so that the patient can relax

Procedure

The session should begin with the following phrases: “You are safe! You are calm and peaceful! Your eyelids are gradually getting heavier! The body relaxes, you feel comfortable and good! Peace envelops you! You listen carefully to what I tell you and follow all my instructions!”

It is necessary to regulate the breathing of the person you are putting into trance. To do this, he needs to take not very deep and frequent breaths and slow exhalations. You can breathe at the same time as your interlocutor, then it will be easier for him to adjust to the desired rhythm. The main thing is to control his actions: “Take a deep breath and fill your lungs with air!” As you exhale, say the following phrase: “Exhale slowly, there should be no air left in your lungs!” Spend as much time as needed on this step. As a result, your partner should completely relax and trust you.

Once your breathing is synchronized, let your feet relax, then your knees, hips, torso and arms, gradually reaching your face. Give the person confidence that everything is going well and he is doing a great job with all your commands.

After complete relaxation, the partner should immerse himself. Concentrate his attention on the inner sensations: “You are safe and completely relaxed! Your body is covered in bliss and warmth! Peace and tranquility accompany your every action! A feeling of heaviness in the muscles covers the whole body, and you gradually fall asleep! Look at your partner's body language to gauge how they are feeling. To achieve a hypnotic effect, this phrase can be repeated several times in a row.

Pros and cons of hypnosis

This treatment method can have both positive and negative effects on a person. Its main advantage is that, working with the subconscious, the doctor does without physical impact on the patient’s body. Medical induction into trance gives excellent results, effectively curing various diseases, fears and phobias.

The disadvantage of this treatment is that not all patients can be hypnotized. Many people are afraid of such interference in their subconscious, speaking out against such therapy. Hypnotic trance is one of the components of complex treatment, which is aimed at helping a person solve an existing psychological problem.

Alternative methods

There are three more ways to help put a person into a state of hypnotic sleep: a hypnotic staircase, close tactile contact, a shiny object.

Hypnotic staircase

This technique helps you fall into a state of deep sleep. Invite your interlocutor to mentally see himself standing at the top of a huge staircase. As he gradually descends the steps, he should feel a calmness sweep over him, and each step brings more and more relaxation, allowing him to clear his mind and plunge into a trance. Then start counting the number of steps: “Not far in front of you you see a door that will take you to a world of tranquility. As you take the first step, feel how close you are to opening your subconscious. The second step pacifies you even more. Having stepped on the third step, you dissolve in space and the warmth that envelops you.” The count must be kept until the person falls into hypnotic sleep.

Close tactile contact

To do this, you need to sit the person comfortably in a chair so that your faces are at the same level. With one hand, grab his right hand by the wrist where the pulse is felt. Place the other on your left shoulder. Hold his gaze. Ask the person to relax and follow your instructions carefully. He should then direct his gaze to the bridge of your nose. Say these words: “The feeling of fatigue covers your whole body! Your eyes become heavy and close, and your body gradually relaxes! Don't resist the urge to sleep! Now you will fall asleep! Your sleep will be sound and healthy!” At the end of the session, run your hand over his face and confidently say: “Sleep!” If you were determined to succeed, then the person will definitely fall into a trance.

Shiny item

A metronome, balls, pen, and mirror are suitable for hypnosis. To put a person into a hypnotic trance, you need to bring the selected object to the bridge of his nose. Without noticing it, he will concentrate his attention on one point and fall asleep. This method is considered one of the easiest and is designed for beginners.

You can put the patient into a trance using a metronome

It is recommended to create a relaxing environment in the room during the session, turn on quiet, pleasant music, and make sure that no extraneous sounds enter the room. It is not enough to simply put a person into a trance.

Rules

If you decide to study and practice hypnosis on your own, there are certain rules that must be strictly followed.

1. You cannot use a hypnotic trance without the knowledge and permission of the person. Such an impact on consciousness should only carry a positive charge.
2. Do not overuse hypnosis sessions. There is no need to hold more meetings than are required for the patient to cope with his problem. Each hypnosis session is strictly regulated, otherwise the patient may feel unwell afterwards.
3. It is necessary to correctly remove the person from the state of hypnotic sleep. It is important that the individual slowly comes to his senses and regains his strength.

What to do during a trance

During the session, you need to pay attention to the issues that concern the person. This could be childhood trauma, sexual abuse, phobias, or health problems. Without the appropriate medical knowledge, you are unlikely to be able to help a person with severe psycho-emotional problems, therefore, if you have independently studied how to enter a state of hypnosis, it is better to use your knowledge to help people simply relax, calm down, relieve increased nervousness and stress, and overcome insomnia.

Indications and contraindications

You should contact a psychologist-hypnologist in the following cases:

• pathological fatigue that does not go away even after a long rest or sleep;
• communication problems;
• nervous breakdowns;
• severe headaches;
• communication problems, etc.

A psychotherapist will prescribe hypnosis as a treatment if:

• any mental abnormalities have been established;
• there are phobias;
• for obsessive-compulsive disorder;
• for neuroses;
• in the initial stages of addiction or after substitution therapy;
• a person has complexes and low self-esteem, which reduces the quality of life, etc.

The use of therapeutic hypnosis is prohibited for:

• those suffering from schizophrenia;
• epileptics;
• people with addictions taking medications during substitution therapy;
• individuals with obvious personality degradation;
• pregnant women;
• patients with a serious psychiatric diagnosis;
• individuals who are intoxicated.

How to end a session

It is important to end your hypnotherapy session correctly. It is forbidden to abruptly remove a person immersed in a trance or to interrupt the moment of relaxation. Many hypnotists use a count from 10 to 1 for this. You need to give the instruction: “Now I will count to one, and you will begin to wake up!” You will feel invigorated and energetic!”

After your session, be sure to talk to your partner about how they felt. This will give you the opportunity to understand your weak points in order to improve your hypnosis technique in the future.