This is a very common question we receive. Often, people experience anxiety about losing control or experiencing something scary. This fear is misplaced. Hypnosis, and particularly hypnotic regression, is a very pleasant, enjoyable, and meaningful experience, attested to by the frequent return of previous clients who wish to experience more.

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Classically, many people associate hypnosis with sleep, though you are not asleep per se, but in a state of very deep relaxation and heightened subconscious awareness. It is important to note a person experiencing hypnosis remains alert and able to talk or move. 

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One of the leading modern Hypnosis practitioners and educators holds, “All hypnosis is self-hypnosis.” This means that the client is in complete control of their experience, and the hypnotist is merely an expert facilitator of the experience for the client.

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The client comes to the hypnotist to experience hypnosis. The client chooses to be hypnotized. No person who wants to be hypnotized won’t experience hypnosis unless they prevent themselves (either purposely or not) from experiencing it.

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The brainwaves that are active during hypnosis are the same that occur naturally in every person’s experience every day, on the way from full consciousness to sleep and back again each day.

Each person’s experience of hypnosis is ultimately unique, though much is shared in common with others’ experiences. You can expect to feel very relaxed and peaceful.  

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Some people have a visual experience and see images, either static, like pictures, or dynamic and moving, like videos. Other people will not experience visualizations but will hear sounds, or taste flavor sensations, or feel physical sensations like a warm breeze or sunshine on their face, for example. Still others will intuitively “know” things they were not aware of before their hypnosis session. Memories may become far more vivid and experiential, with previously “forgotten” details now remembered or reclaimed. It has been said that we never actually forget anything, we just can’t recall how to remember; hypnosis remarkably enables us to recall and remember more than we ever imagined we had stored.

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A typical hypnosis session would proceed as follows: the client and hypnotist will first discuss the client’s intent for the session and what techniques or strategies may be used to accomplish the client’s goals for the session. Once the client is ready to be experience hypnosis, the hypnotist will facilitate a progressive relaxation process for the client. The hypnotist will progressively facilitate deeper hypnosis levels as needed for the client to realize their goals for the session. Once the goals of the session are complete, the hypnotist will facilitate the client’s gradually lessening hypnosis until the client is fully present and aware, as with the normal waking state. The time required for this process widely varies, based upon the client’s individual needs, goals, and depth of hypnosis required.

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Afterward, many clients are somewhat fatigued from the experience, and we encourage healthy self-care practices and rest following. A common experience of clients is a loss of tracking time, much like when you watch a movie and it doesn’t “feel” like it’s been over an hour or two, or you sleep and do not experience the regular passing of time. Hypnosis experiences can sometimes last upwards of four or more hours, while the client may experience what may feel to them to be a brief period of time, like fifteen minutes or so. This is a normal part of the phenomenon that is hypnosis. Your hypnotist can discuss many other common features and answer any questions or concerns you may have prior to your hypnosis session.