Stage hypnosis for entertainment has been around for many years, I have just had a quick look on Wikipedia and it says that stage hypnotists were performing in the States in 1890’s. I haven’t experienced stage hypnosis for myself but I have spoken to someone who has, he said that he knew what he was doing, but you just went along with it because it all felt right and OK to do so, it didn’t feel silly, “my brain was convinced the situation was real.”
A common question for me as a hypnotherapist is “will I know what is happening?” and the simple answer is yes, however I have worked with clients that go so deep into relaxation/hypnosis that they do not remember. A very natural form of hypnosis is when we find ourselves at our destination but have no memory of the route, we were experiencing hypnosis whilst driving/sitting on the train or bus. This can worry some people, ‘what if something had happened?’ I can assure you that you would have reacted if something did happen, if a rabbit ran across the road, if the bus or train had stopped unexpectedly, you would have been able to react as necessary, your safety is a far greater force inside of you than the hypnotic like state you where in.
I believe that stage hypnosis performers are very talented at what they do, some people believe that it gives hypnotherapy a poor name. I hope that most people will see that stage hypnosis as entertainment and that hypnotherapy as therapy to help people. I also feel that if it wasn’t for the stage hypnosis then the hypnotherapy world may not be as well known, the ‘any publicity can be seen as good publicity’.
So I will never make you cluck like a chicken, eat an onion thinking its an apple ?
I do therapy to help people move forward in the way they wish, I take them from where they are to where they wish to be. This journey can be challenging and sometimes a little bumpy along the way, if you would like some help with your journey please get in touch.
