Like most of today’s society, you’ve likely been introduced to hypnosis through movies and cartoons that portray hypnosis as being some sort of mind control. Although comical, this is a considerable exaggeration of what one could possibly expect from stage hypnosis. Stage hypnosis is a show with the intention of entertaining its audience, while hypnotherapy’s purpose, is to help minimize or cure patients of physical, mental or emotional ailments.

Stage Hypnosis: Putting on a show

If you have ever been to a stage hypnosis show, the hypnotist likely had the crowd try out a few exercises before inviting some key audience members onstage. These exercises serve as a testing ground to see who would be the best candidate for hypnosis in a public area. These people tends to be highly physically suggestible and do not suffer from stage fright. As such, they tend to want to be hypnotized and therefore follow hypnotic suggestions easily. They respond well to rapid inductions and truly believe what they are being told until the trance is broken.

Stage hypnotists often have the subjects on stage act like a chicken, forget their name or forget a number or alphabet letter. Because the audience then see this and the subject onstage doesn’t remember after it happens, this leads to exaggerations of hypnosis being a form of mind control. In reality, the subjects subconsciously wanted to do as the hypnotist was suggesting and therefore did it, without consciously thinking about it. In short, these people help the hypnotist put on a great show, leaving the rest of the audience members in awe and disbelief.

Understanding hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy on the other hand is a form of therapy through use of hypnosis. A good hypnotherapist will know if you are physically or emotionally suggestible and will use vocabulary best suited to your needs to help you go into trance.

During therapy, many uncomfortable topics may come up where the patient feels embarrassed, worthless or in danger. Hypnosis can therefore be used as a tool to revisit painful memories, either in a disassociated or calming manner, kickstarting the healing process.

Hypnotherapy generally requires several followup visits before the patient feels the problem is manageable or altogether gone. Hypnotherapy can be used for a wide range of problems and is gaining popularity North America due to its high success rate with zero side effects. Hypnosis is even gaining popularity in the medical field, being used by psychologists and psychoanalysts and even being used in hospital settings. If you are interested in hypnotherapy, be sure to book an appointment with a certified hypnotherapist.