Then you are in good company. Maybe you imagine a shady magician who is holding a pendulum in front of your eyes? Or some sort of graphic circle that moves and makes you dizzy? And that you loose control and then you "wake up" and don't know what on earth happened?
The truth is, it is much less spectacular than that. We are actually in a light trance state several times per day. When we day-dream, listen to music, watch a captivating movie. Or simply when we do what we love and lose track of time - when we are in a so called "flow-state".
By so called EEG it is possible to measure the electric activity in the brain. There are four different stages reflecting the wave patterns that the activity shows:
Beta (14-50 cycles per second) - Normal awake
Alfa (8-12 cycles per second) - Hypnosis - meditation
Theta (4-7 cycles per second) - Deeper hypnosis, deeper meditation
Delta (less than 3.5 cycles per second) - Deep sleep
People in a trance (hypnosis) often have a variation between alfa and theta.
During a hypnotherapy session, you remain completely conscious. In fact, you become more conscious than usual, which allows you to concentrate and mentally focus and at the same time be more relaxed than usual. So it's a very pleasant state to be in. Nobody can make you do things you don't want to do. It's all happening on a consensual basis.
Further, we have a conscious mind and an uncounscious or sub-conscious mind. Our conscious mind can only be aware of a million part of all the information we take in through our senses. This is why it is more efficient to access the unconscious mind in order to achieve change.
The functions of the conscious mind are:
Analytical thinking
Rational thinking
Will power
The functions of the unconscious mind are:
Feelings
Habits
Protecting
So the unconscious mind often sticks to the "same old ways" as it has always done.
The majority of our actions, thoughts and feelings are being steered by unconscious processes. The conscious mind is however keen on "having the honour" and finding rational explanations behind our actions.
By going into a trance state, and by using particular techniques, it is possible to influence the unconscious mind. This is why hypnotherapy is so powerful.
As a hypnotherapist, I see people very few times. One or two sessions are often enough to achieve the change the clients wants.
Finally, did you know that hypnotherapy is recommended by the English healthcare as the Number One way of quitting smoking?