Some preliminary considerations

We begin this topic with a discussion of consciousness and altered states of consciousness. What is important to pick up from this discussion is the possibility of many selves. The reason for this is that in self- hypnosis you become two persons: the person being hypnotised and the person doing the hypnosis. For the individual interested only in learning how to carry out self-hypnosis, this is all that needs to be understood.

Much attention in heterohypnosis is paid to rapport. Good rapport between the hypnotist and the client leads to a quick induction and good hypnotic depth. But in self-hypnosis there is only you. Does this mean that you cannot contemplate rapport? This is not the case. This is why it is important to realise that you have many selves. The difficulty is establishing rapport between the various parts of yourself. We discuss this on the web page referred to as 'Rapport'.

How do you know whether you will be a good hypnotic subject? We have discussed this elsewhere under 'Hypnotizability'. We have also discussed the type of bodily responses you can expect when you achieve self-hypnosis. In heterohypnosis, a hypnotist will spend some time allaying fears and confusions of the client. This is important, especially to eliminate mis-conceptions about hypnosis. This too is covered elsewhere on the web site, under the title 'Fallacies'. All these topics are important for the self-hypnotist.

Preparation for self-hypnosis

On a first consultation, and after dealing with the misconceptions a client may have about hypnosis, the next stage is to discuss with the client the appropriate state of mind to adopt when engaging in hypnosis. To some extent this is a continuation of rapport that is being established between the hypnotist and client. The hypnotist will reiterate that they will not go unconscious and will hear everything going on around them, but most especially will be focussing on the suggestions of the hypnotist. In this respect they will not feel much different from normal. What is different is that they will be opening themselves up to the suggestions of the hypnotist. They should not try to do anything nor try not to do anything. The client is encouraged to attempt a total indifference to the whole procedure. In other words, the client is asked simply to listen to the suggestions of the hypnotist and simply let things happen. This is not what the client may expect, so it is important to emphasize that they are not to try to make things happen or to prevent things from happening. Nor should the client try to anticipate the hypnotist.

Of course, with self-hypnosis, you know what you know about hypnosis. What is more important is that you have a similar state of mind to that being discussed in the previous paragraph. The most important state of mind is one of indifference. You must be totally unconcerned about whether you enter or do not enter hypnosis; and you must be totally unconcerned about whether you do or do not follow a particular suggestion. You neither try nor do you not try. You take a purely passive stance. This may at first be a little difficult to do, but you will get better at it. On those occasions where you respond well to your autosuggestions, you will note that it is when your state of mind is just as described. You will therefore come to recognise the state of mind, and this will aid you in achieving it on future occasions. Furthermore, when engaging in self-hypnosis, you do not have to tell yourself these things. You simple adopt such an attitude the moment you decide to enter self-hypnosis.

The Trance State

The trance state involves induction, deepening and termination - along with other suggestions you will want to give yourself. It would be easy to simply say, "Induction, deepening and termination are exactly the same as in heterohypnosis". For this reason many works on hypnosis do not discuss self-hypnosis. But there are some particular considerations to keep in mind when engaging in self-hypnosis. Induction is considered first. Here we provide a discussion of the process and what you might expect and how you might feel during the induction. We provide in detail just one induction script, probably the most famous one of progressive relaxation. All other induction scripts can be adapted in a similar fashion.

Deepening the trance state is the next step in the trance state process. Here we provide a number of deepening techniques: some straight forward and others involving imagination. What is important for the self-hypnotist is to try a whole variety of deepening techniques and find those that you respond to the best. You can then concentrate on these.

Step three in the trance state is giving yourself suggestions for change that you wish to carry out. We shall deal with this later. Here we note the final stage in the trance state process is termination of the trance state. This is much easier than people imagine it to be.

Using the hypnotic state

In some respects, learning self-hypnosis is the easy part. What you do with it is more difficult. What you do with the trance state takes place after deepening and before you terminate the state of hypnosis. But because you are in a very relaxed state, and thinking is a great effort, you need to know what you wish to accomplish with the trance state before you enter it. What you do with self-hypnosis falls into two broad categories:

1. Dealing with problems
2. Engaging in self-development

Although the two are not wholly separate, they do often involve different techniques. Too often hypnotherapy is seen as a therapy (a method of dealing with a problem). But it is also a copying strategy, and as such is a means of dealing with self improvement. You will find a brief list of uses on the web page Uses of Hypnosis. This web site emphasises the second use more than the first. There are many books on hypnotherapy on the market which deal with the first topic. Once you know how to hypnotise yourself, you can consult these works and deal with your particular problem, whether it be smoking, dieting, lack of sleep, pain, tinnitus, etc. Amazon on the links page directs you to these. Another good source is the Anglo American Books, also found on the links page.

Self-hypnosis should be seen as a tool. You become proficient at using the tool the more you use it. It is a learning experience. Reading about how to use it is purely an intellectual exercise, and largely affects only your left brain. Using self-hypnosis is a subjective experience, and utilizes your right brain. Experiment with the use of self-hypnosis, and most of all have fun.