Blog - Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a state of altered awareness during which our subconscious mind is more open and receptive to suggestions that are given. We drift in and out of different levels of awareness many times a day, for example we can often drive a journey and feel we have ‘lost’ miles or become so absorbed in reading we feel we are actually ‘in’ the book. I will work with your imagination to help you to achieve your goals.

Q. How does it feel to be hypnotized?
Every person is unique and different. Some people say that their body feels like a lead weight, others say they feel as though they're floating away. Most people will agree that it's a lovely feeling because they are more relaxed that they have ever been before.

Q. When I am 'under' will I be asleep?
You will be aware of everything that is happening and being said the whole time, however you will be so deeply relaxed that you may find yourself drifting into different levels of awareness, often feeling that you have been asleep. Remember, your subconscious mind is active throughout and it is this that I am working with.

Q. Will I remember everything afterwards?
That depends how deep in hypnosis you are, but generally most people do remember either everything or certain parts of the experience. You will find that suggestions which have been given to you in hypnosis will resurface in your conscious, thinking mind after your hypnosis session and these will be the thoughts that produce changes in your behaviour or way of thinking and feeling.

Q. Do I have to remember things from my past in order to recover from my problem?
Not necessarily; if your problem is a repressed memory (one that you are unable to remember consciously), then bringing it back into conscious awareness can help you to view the problem from a different perspective and so feel differently about it. If you find the idea of revisiting old memories painful then I can help you to dissociate from them so that you can remember the experience without experiencing the emotions associated to them.

Q. Will I give away any secrets whilst I am hypnotized?
No, you won't say or do anything at all that you don't want to. If you were given suggestions that you didn't morally agree with you would come out of hypnosis or disregard the suggestions.

Q. How do I know I will wake up from hypnosis?
No-one has ever remained in hypnosis indefinitely. Even if something were to happen to the me halfway through the session, you would still 'come out' of the trance state once rapport had been broken.

Q. Are there any side effects from hypnosis?
The only side effects are the beneficial ones of feeling more relaxed afterwards and feeling more positive about whatever it was you sought hypnotherapy for. Hypnosis is a perfectly natural state.

Q. Can I be hypnotized against my will?
Anyone can resist hypnosis during a session and it won't work, however the question remains as to why someone would seek hypnotherapy if they didn't want it to help them. 
If you are not prepared to accept that hypnosis could benefit you then your best option would be to seek alternative treatment - (however - in my own experience - sceptics are very often the best subjects).
Because they are using covert hypnosis, they are extremely unlikely to be advertising their services as a qualified Hypnotherapist.

Q. How can I check if a Hypnotherapist is qualified?
Hypnotherapists must belong to a professional association (e.g. The Complementary Therapists Association – CTHA) in order to be eligible for Professional Indemnity Insurance.

Q. I went to a hypnotherapist once before and it didn't work. Does this mean I'm not able to be hypnotized?
The most common reason for failure to induce trance is lack of rapport. During your initial consultation you will have a chance to talk in depth with me, ask any question you might have and decide if the therapy, and I, are a good fit for you.

Bluebird Hypnotherapy is based Nr Maidstone (Kent) & Harley Street (London)