CAN YOU GET STUCK IN HYPNOSIS?

As a hypnotist at Hypnotic Shift one of the questions I get a lot is "Can you get stuck in hypnosis?"

The short answer is no. You cannot get stuck in hypnosis, no more than you could get stuck in a daydream or meditation.

Hollywood sure has a lot to answer for. It's a fairly common misconception, and I'm willing to bet that's where it comes from. Tinseltown never did let the truth get in the way of a good story.

You can read my other blog posts on What Is Hypnosis and
Is Hypnosis Safe for a more scientific look at what's going on. In the meantime, let's use the daydreaming analogy.

Daydreaming And Meditation

Scientific explanations aside, daydreaming isn't a bad concept to explain what's known as the hypnotic state. Maybe you remember doing it at school. The teacher is droning on and you were in your own little world for a few moments. Perhaps you were dreaming about the upcoming prom or your last vacation. Whatever it was, you were temporarily zoned out.

Now, imagine (some of you may not have to) the teacher yelling at you to pay attention. Or asking you to come up to the board to answer the question. What if the fire alarm had gone off? Nobody is going to stay in that daydreaming state when something important is going on.

Deep Sleep

Even if you were in the deepest sleep cycle, called REM, you wouldn't be oblivious to someone yelling at you, a fire alarm, or an emergency. The state people think of in hypnosis as trance is one you pass through when you're nodding off to sleep. (The medical term is hypnagogia) That's where the Theta brain waves are starting to drown out the Alpha and Beta waves.

Even if your hypnotist were to drop dead in the middle of a session, you'd wake up. It would be no different than the teacher at school dropping dead. You would figure out something was wrong pretty quickly.

It's Collaborative

You have to remember that hypnosis is a collaborative state between the hypnotist and the client. You're in a focused but relaxed state and can hear every word (otherwise, what would be the point?) You are never a passive participant. Your mind is aware the entire time.

So no, rest assured (no pun intended) you cannot get stuck in hypnosis.

It is a safe, controlled process that empowers you to make positive changes. You're fully engaged and aware the entire time.