Say ‘hypnosis’ and most people will think of a melodramatic villain with piercing eyes or a full stage of revellers who all think they’re Elvis. Yet it’s most popular use they days is in hypnotherapy – a way of solving problems through the power of the patient’s own mind.

Hypnosis involves entering an altered state of consciousness in which all concentration is focused on a single objective or image, with all other stimuli blocked out. Many people think that hypnosis is something that a hypnotist imposes on his or her subject, or they confuse it with a sleeplike state. Others think they cannot be hypnotised. Anyone who can lose him or herself totally in an engrossing book or movie or become so absorbed in a task that they are oblivious to their surroundings is actually practicing a form of self-hypnosis. Once a person learns self-hypnosis, he or she can use it to relieve tension and feelings of stress or anxiety.

What Could Go Wrong?

Hypnosis can’t make you do something you’d consider totally wrong or dangerous.

Unlike a stage hypnotist, a properly trained hypnotherapist can make sure you’re fully back to everyday consciousness before you leave.

Any form or psychotherapy, with or without, hypnosis may bring up a lot of distress. So don’t start unless you can afford as many sessions as it takes to sort out your problems.