The Weird Reality: What Getting Hypnotized Actually Feels Like

Nearly everyone can experience hypnosis.

About five to ten percent of people are particularly susceptible to hypnotic suggestion.

But what does it mean to actually go into a hypnotic trance? A lot of people assume that getting hypnotized means surrendering control of your body and mind to someone else.

However, hypnosis itself has been used as a powerful healing modality for centuries. While many hypnotists use hypnosis to entertain large audiences, hypnotherapists use it to cure afflictions of all kinds.

Understanding hypnosis can be difficult if you haven’t yet experienced a trance. In this post, we’ll discuss what getting hypnotized feels like!

What is Hypnosis?

Hypnosis is the practice of inducing someone into an altered state of consciousness. This state is often referred to as a “hypnotic trance.”

Generally, a licensed hypnotherapist or hypnotist will guide an individual into this trance. They do so through a variety of techniques, particularly those designed to help the person relax and tap into their subconscious mind.

In many ways, hypnotists act much like meditation guides, encouraging people to clear their mind in order to enter a trance-like state.

Once in this state, people experience heightened imagination and relaxation. They also demonstrate high suggestibility, which means that they are not likely to resist the hypnotist’s guidance.

This state often excludes other thoughts, enabling an individual to focus solely on what the hypnotist is saying or guiding them towards.

Hypnosis can be used as a form of entertainment. Some hypnotists hold shows in which they hypnotize audience members. This is often why hypnosis has the stigma of manipulating people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do.

Hypnosis can be also used to treat afflictions and mental disorders. Hypnotherapists use hypnosis in therapy sessions. With hypnosis, people may be able to recover past memories, explore behavioral patterns, and cope with pain.

How Does It Feel to Be Hypnotized?

Everyone will experience hypnotic trances differently. Your ability to sink into a trance largely depends on your willingness to go there. In many ways, this means your ability to “let go.”

The state of hypnosis will also vary depending on its purpose.

If you see a hypnotherapist in order to use hypnosis to manage certain afflictions, your sensation of getting hypnotized is likely to be very unique. The same goes for an audience member at a hypnosis show.

Nonetheless, getting hypnotized does have some universal qualities.

For one thing, the hypnotic trance often brings a person deep feelings of relaxation. It’s important to relax the mind and body in order to enter the hypnotic, suggestive state.

In many cases, hypnotists and hypnotherapist will use deep breathing and visualization in order to encourage relaxation. Some people experience sensations of peace and tranquility, particularly those who approach hypnosis much as they would a meditation.

When you’re hypnotized, you will also likely feel incredibly alert with regard to one aspect, issue, or situation. Your hypnotist may guide you to focus on one specific thing, such as a memory or a belief.

Some people experience sensations of heightened imagination and creativity, much like a pair of glasses helps clarify and hone blurry vision.

In a hypnotic trance, it is much easier to truly focus on something, blocking out the “noise” of other thoughts and your environment. For this reason, a lot of people mention that being hypnotized means detaching from their bodies and felt sense of being in the world.

Some people in trances may therefore not notice when they lift a leg or move an arm. This “detachment” is often evident in hypnosis shows, when a hypnotist guides a person to move or do things unconsciously.

Getting hypnotized never feels like you’re surrendering your will to someone else. In fact, in order to submit to a trance, you have to be willing to do so.

If you’re interested in experiencing something similar to a hypnotic trance, we suggest trying out meditation.

Meditative states have been known to activate parts of the brain that detach from the analytical mind. These states can also generate brainwaves that help an individual tap deeply into states of imagination and well-being.

Uses of Hypnosis

Hypnosis can be used for far more than mere entertainment. Hypnotherapists use this tool to encourage their clients to tap into the deepest parts of their minds and hearts.

Most importantly, hypnotic trances leave individuals in a state of high suggestibility. In these states, people are more likely to give up an addictive behavior, make profound realizations, and safely explore memories and desires.

A hypnotherapist may use hypnosis, for example, to help someone quit smoking, heal from an eating disorder, or manage their OCD. Hypnosis has also been used as a healing modality for victims of trauma or difficult life events.

Hypnosis does not just treat psychological conditions, either. Hypnotherapy can also be used to help people cope with chronic physical pain, recover from chemotherapy, and navigate pregnancy.

Hypnosis works with the belief that the body is closely linked to the mind.

Hypnosis is rarely used as a stand-alone treatment. It frequently plays a role in partnership with other alternative medicine practices.

These include EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing), which helps the brain successfully integrate traumatic memories and other things. Acutonics (sound healing), general talk therapy, and even medication can supplement hypnotherapy sessions.

We recommend consulting your practitioner or therapist before you sign up for a hypnosis session. Or, if you’re curious to experience hypnosis yourself as a healing mechanism, see more here.

Final Thoughts: Getting Hypnotized

Hypnosis is the practice of inducing an individual into a trance-like state. In this state, hypnotized people can explore painful issues, experience ease, and disassociate from their thinking brains.

Getting hypnotized feels much like stepping into a deep meditation. Many individuals experience clarity of mind or a sensation of “letting go.” Such trances can be valuable for victims of trauma.

Hypnosis has frequently been used to help people tap into the power of their own imagination and subconscious.

At Weirdomatic.com, we celebrate the weird in everything, not just hypnotic states. Check out the most popular weirdness here!

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