r/hypnosis Sep 16 '23

Official Mod Post Read this before posting

25 Upvotes

If you've read the previous sticky threads, you can skip this one. There's nothing new here, I'm just consolidating information so that it can all be visible.


If you believe yourself to be a victim of abuse, reach out to trusted friends and family, to mental health professionals, and to the police. Most of us on this subreddit are not qualified to help you, and vetting those who are qualified to help is outside the scope of Reddit moderation.

I'm not trying to prohibit all discussion of non-consensual hypnosis. I do think it's a good thing that the subject comes up from time to time, because it inspires discussion about hypnotic and non-hypnotic psychological abuse, the importance of informed consent, what people can do to protect themselves from manipulators, and what hypnotists can do to protect themselves from accusations.

All of that being said, this isn't the place to get help if you believe that you have been hypnotized against your will. Most of the people here, myself included, cannot reliably tell the difference between a genuine victim of abuse, and someone who is experiencing delusions. So whichever category a person falls in, a lot of people here are going to make the wrong assumption and say things that make it worse (accusing an actual abuse victim of making it up, or reinforcing frightening delusions of someone who is not an actual victim).

If someone wants to make a thread like "Is it possible to hypnotize someone against their will?" or "Someone I care about may be a victim", I'm not going to remove those threads, because I trust that most of the people who reply to them are going to give good advice about safety and consent. But if somebody wants to post or comment something like "I have been hypnotized against my will", that's against the rules here and will be removed, because I am unable to guarantee that you will receive safe and healthy advice here.


Where should I post?

Is the post about being hypnotized without your knowledge or against your will?

I'm sorry, but many people who post this sort of thing are suffering from a psychotic disorder. Not everyone is, but we can't tell what sort of advice to give you without diagnosing you, and it's unethical to diagnose someone you haven't examined in person. As a result, these sorts of posts and comments are prohibited. Please consult with a psychiatrist.

Is the post about difficulties being hypnotized?

You're welcome to post here, but there's also a subreddit dedicated to this subject: /r/hypnotizable

Is the post about sharing a recorded file or hypnosis app?

Is the post advertising, promoting, or soliciting subjects or hypnotists?

Is the post about recreational hypnosis?

Is the post sexual?

  • I would like to talk about the process of hypnotherapy for sexual dysfunction - /r/hypnosis

  • I am seeking a hypnotherapist to work with me for sexual dysfunction - /r/hypnotherapy

  • I am advertising my services as a hypnotherapist who works with sexual dysfunction - /r/hypnotherapy

  • I had an unpleasant interaction with a hypnotherapist which involved sexual elements that I did not consent to - /r/hypnosis, /r/hypnotherapy

  • I had an unpleasant interaction with a stage or street hypnotist which involved sexual elements that I did not consent to - /r/hypnosis

  • I had an unpleasant interaction with a recreational or erotic hypnotist which involved sexual elements that I did not consent to - /r/erotichypnosis

  • I am having trouble undoing the effects of erotic hypnosis - /r/erotichypnosis

  • I am seeking a partner for erotic hypnosis - /r/hypnohookup

  • Anything else erotic - /r/erotichypnosis


Flairs

You may notice that some users have flairs after their names, like "Recreational Hypnotist" or "Verified Hypnotherapist". If you would like a flair like that, this is the place to get it.

To get a new user flair, all you have to do is comment on this thread with

u/hypnoresearchbot flair [X] [Y]

[X] is what kind of flair you want: "hypnotherapist", "performer", "recreational", "mental", "other". Performer encompasses stage and street hypnosis. Recreational encompasses (but is not limited to) erotic hypnosis. Mental means that you have (or are pursuing) a degree in mental health (psychiatry, psychology, neurology). Other is to encompass other kinds of hypnotists, like hypno-anesthesiologists, or forensic hypnotists.

[Y] can be either "training", "verified", or left out completely. Verified will only flair you automatically if mods have seen your credentials in the past. Otherwise, I'll ask you to send them to me.

So, valid inputs include (but are not limited to):

u/hypnoresearchbot flair hypnotherapist verified

(Will get you flaired as a verified hypnotherapist, assuming that mods have already seen your credentials. Otherwise it will flair you as a regular hypnotherapist, and I'll ask you to send me your credentials to complete the process.)

u/hypnoresearchbot flair recreational training

(Will flair you as a recreational hypnotist in training)

u/hypnoresearchbot flair performer

(Will flair you as a performer.)

u/hypnoresearchbot flair other

(Will flair you as "other hypnotist".)

u/hypnoresearchbot flair mental training

(Will flair you as a mental health professional in training.)

If your comment contains these key words in any order, and no matter how many other words are in the comment, it should flair you, so be careful you don't change your flair by mistake.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask them here.


r/hypnosis 3h ago

Hypnotherapy Does hypnosis work for chronic severe sleep maintenance insomnia?

3 Upvotes

Have already ruled out any physical issues, I’ve tried to basically everything in the past that nothing has worked, and considering doing this, but it’s so expensive. I don’t want to spend the money if I don’t know if it will work or not… Has anybody had success with this? I feel like hypnotherapy is good for getting somebody to fall asleep but not necessarily to stay asleep.


r/hypnosis 1h ago

Hypnosis to help with visualization?

Upvotes

I have low spectrum phantasia, which is just one step above aphantasia. I can't really visualize things most of the time, and, when I do, it's extremely faded/dull, and only lasts about a second at most. And I can never be sure if I actually did "see" something or not. So, when I have to visualize things, I usually rely on other senses. Which can help with maintaining visuals. But, not by much.

I would really like to train my brain into being better at visualization. I know it's possible for me to visualize deeply, since I have very vivid dreams. And I want to have that in waking life as well. But, I'm not sure where to start. I couldn't find any files that specifically help with visualization. Just files that use visualization for inductions. But they all seemed a little too advanced for me.

Has anyone used hypnosis to help learn visualization? Or know of any files that can help with this?


r/hypnosis 23h ago

What was your omfg hypnosis is real moment

22 Upvotes

This could either be a time you did it to someone or someone was doing it to you but I wanna know if anyone else had a moment like myself where you went from wanting to belive it was real to seeing it and knowing it was.

Mine for example was the night I first successfully hypnotized someone. My girlfriend at the time mentioned how she had always wanted to try it and I had some experience in researching it. I had tried on some people in the years prior but was never successful. She agreed and I did the hands being magnetized together induction. I remember thinking it was actually working and going for the sleep trigger. Funnily enough as I did that I heard her begin to say something which I later learned was her trying to say I don’t think this is working.

I remember after the trigger she was slumped over in front of me and I was almost waiting for her to sit up and tell me it didn’t work. To my shock however it didn’t and upon further inspection I realized I had done it. Just wanna know if anyone else shares an experience similar to this and if so what yours was


r/hypnosis 1d ago

Suggestions??

2 Upvotes

Do you know some methods to shut off your analytic mind during hypnosis?


r/hypnosis 1d ago

I HAVE QUESTIONS

1 Upvotes

I find being hipnotized very difficult (maybe is because im italian and the files are in english) i tried many times but all of them didnt work so i wonder if someone could help me answering a question

-is it normal that i dont get influenced by any suggestions

Or just have to do manually what the ipnotist said?

P.s do you have any channel you reccomend for hypnosis?


r/hypnosis 1d ago

qhht experience question

0 Upvotes

so i just had my first qhht session. the first 2-3 hrs or so were spent talking about my life and things of that nature. the past life regression part of it seemed like it was going as it should. i think i have partial aphantasia so it took a little effort to answer the practioner’s questions abt what i saw, but i think i had a pretty good picture about what i was seeing. i saw myself as a blue person, in a village (everyone else was blue as well). i’m assuming water and trees/nature were pretty important in this life. the planet (it definitely wasn’t earth) had a blue ground, and darkish blue trees??, and a long stream of water going down through the trees. when she asked me to move to some important moments one of them was a war with humans? i couldn’t tell what their appearance was bc they were in armor, but i got the vibe that they weren’t supposed to be on that planet. at the end of that scene, i end up in a room and there’s a pedestal with this diamond-like crystal. it didn’t have a definitive color (it was changing colors??) so im not sure what it was but it seemed important for something in my village.

the rest of the regression portion went as it should have. but the part i’m kinda confused abt is the subconscious portion of it. when she asked permission to speak to my higher self, i gave her permission and i felt this pressure on my body. it was like i was being pushed back into my body energetically. it felt like what i would assume to be the ‘shift’ from my conscious to subconscious mind talking. but when she starts asking the questions i had i literally couldn’t answer them. it felt like my normal self was answering the questions. i was aware of what i was saying the entire time, but i was speaking in third person. now idk if that’s bc i’ve researched qhht experiences and saw that the subconscious normally answers in third person so i just started doing it or if it actually was my subconscious speaking. so now im questioning if it was ME (‘pretending’ to be my subconscious) answering or my (actual) subconscious.

i got up like midway thru answering the questions and told her “i feel like im the one answering the questions, not my subconscious” she said it was fine and asked if i wanted to close the hypnosis so i ended up doing that bc i felt like i was just bullshitting answers. so after we finished the hypnosis i told her abt the energetic push/ ‘shift’ i felt, and she said that was a good sign. and that it WAS my subconscious answering but it literally felt like stuff i would say normally. i will say that im pretty self-aware in general, and most of the questions she got to im pretty sure i already knew the answers to, but i just wanted to have confirmation.

for some background information; i’m open to/into past lives, class consciousness, spirituality, manifestation, and stuff like that so i don’t think it was one of those cases where i wasn’t ready to receive the information.

so now im questioning if it even completely worked 😭


r/hypnosis 2d ago

Stage or Street Hypnosis Can hypnosis override a person's morals and ethics?

11 Upvotes

I've been reading different opinions on this, and I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Traditional hypnotists often claim that hypnosis can never make someone act against their morals or ethical values. However, some modern hypnotists argue that morals and ethics are more like a "surface layer" and that if the critical factor is bypassed, those limits can also be bypassed under certain circumstances.

For example, imagine someone would never intentionally harm their own mother or father. But what if, under hypnosis, they genuinely perceive that person as something else—such as being told, "That's not your mother; it's a dangerous monster that's about to attack you. Stop it before it hurts you." If the person were to react based on that altered perception, would that really count as overriding their morals and ethics, or would it simply be them acting according to what they believe is true in that moment?

Are there any scientific studies or well-documented cases that address this question?

Do you think hypnosis can ever override a person's moral or ethical boundaries? If not, why not? I'm interested in hearing different perspectives, especially if you can support your opinion with research or evidence.

You might want to watch Deception with Keith Barry. In the documentary, there are demonstrations that appear to go far beyond what many hypnotists describe as normal ethical limits. For example, the subject is given the identity of a professional assassin, is led to believe they are carrying out an assassination mission, and in another demonstration is instructed to withdraw their own money from a bank, throw it away, and later has no memory of doing so.

In addition, I'm planning to conduct my own small experiments using only completely harmless suggestions, with the full knowledge and consent of the participants. I have no intention of misusing hypnosis or encouraging unethical behavior. My goal is simply to explore this question in a safe and ethical way, and then make another post discussing what I found.


r/hypnosis 2d ago

Other Is it supposed to put me to sleep...?

2 Upvotes

Hello guysss

I, F18, literally tried some files for the first time yesterday, and it's the first time I approached hypnosis, so forgive me if mine is a stupid question.

Anyway, I tried them and honestly I still don't know if they worked or not because maybe I was overthinking what was about to happen to me. But I tried some more again today, and that's where the problem arises.

After less than two minutes of listening to the first one, I fell asleep, which I don't think I should have, because it wasn't specifically requested in the file. When I wake up, I start it again. And I fall asleep right again.

So I changed file. Same result. So I restart it and try to concentrate.

Spoiler, I fell asleep again.

I change the file for the umpteenth time and for the umpteenth time I fall asleep again immediately after, and exasperated I close everything and go back to doing my things.

What did I do wrong? Why can't I concentrate on those?😭

(I also posted this in another subreddit, but the comments didn't solve much of my doubts)


r/hypnosis 2d ago

Slumber party hypnosis

10 Upvotes

Hey, idk anything about hypnosis. Just FYI.

But this happened twenty years ago and it’s always bothered me.

It was a cheerleader slumber party and we got the idea to hypnotise one of us. One girl Alex apparently had “experience” doing it.

She got another girl named Molly to lie down, count backwards from five, and got her into a “hypnotic” state (I guess idk). Alex then started asking Molly questions about where she was, who was with her, etc. Molly said something about being in her old house and her sister was there.

Now, none of us believed Molly was actually under hypnosis. There was a lot of giggling and farting. We all assumed Molly was faking it and that she’d break any second.

But she didn’t. She just kept talking with a completely dead look on her face.

And then suddenly she screamed. And wouldn’t stop.

Alex slapped the sht out of her to wake her up. Molly then crawled into the corner of the room and chewed on the end of her thumb while rocking back and forth. She stared off into space, tears streaming down her face, and wouldn’t speak to anyone for twenty minutes.

We didn’t know wtf to do. But we did know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Molly was not faking it. Things got DARK real fast.

Molly eventually shook herself out of it and told us she just wanted to go to bed. So that’s what we did.

And then the slumber party ended the next morning and we all left and never spoke of it again.

And now twenty years later I still think about it. Even with all the life experience I have now, I can’t explain it as anything other than “btch got hypnotised.”

So, any insight here anyone?

As I mentioned before, idk anything about hypnosis. But I’m convinced something happened with Molly. I just don’t know what it was or how to explain it.


r/hypnosis 2d ago

Trance and "channels" of awareness

2 Upvotes

I've been thinking about how to understand trance. I've heard we enter trance regularly throughout the day, but in my experience, it might be better said that we're always in trance, but if that's true, that's essentially like saying we're never in trance.

After some brainstorming and paying attention to how I fall asleep, though, I get the sense that there are different "channels" of awareness, and that trance is one of these channels. Right now, I am aware of about four separate channels:

* Experience: This is our senses detecting the outside world. Our sight, hearing, etc. We don't have direct control over this, it's all the environment acting on us.

* Imagination: This is conscious, directed creation of sensations internally. Thinking of a lemon, and all that. It does not result in experiences, as we remain aware that it is internally generated.

* Limbic: This is emotions, how we feel about things. Experiences can lead to emotional ties to things, which leads to imagination that might not be conscious and directed. This is how things we particularly enjoy or worry about can keep cropping up, even if it's not experienced and not directly imagined. This is the first of the more subconscious forms of awareness.

* Trance: This is internal, not conscious, not directed, and not tied to emotion. Maybe it's related to the inherent imperfections in the senses, like visual snow. But it's like how you're in bed, trying to fall asleep, and your mind drift to interact with things and people that aren't there. This is where your dreams come from in sleep, and although it's often completely ignored during wakefulness, it's all still there. Once again, though, these don't appear like experiences. It would only be hallucination if you're having trouble identifying which channel is which.

From what I've read and experienced, hypnosis involves finding a way to blur the boundary between experience and imagination, perhaps through blurring that with trance. Is this what the experience is like for you? Perhaps it sounds like I've been going into too much detail and splitting hairs, but many inductions seem to involve blurring imagination and experience, even though they're distinct.

(I'm approaching this from being interested in learning more about hypnosis, but having no idea what's being attempted, because I've had no success in being a subject.)


r/hypnosis 3d ago

For the french here

5 Upvotes

Is there a french equivalent of this sub or french hypnosis websites ??


r/hypnosis 4d ago

Stage or Street Hypnosis What if a hypnotist makes you forget being hypnotized and doesn't reverse it?

19 Upvotes

I've seen this trick on videos and at the end the hypnotist makes them remember again, but what if they didn't? Would my subconscious protect me and instantly make me remember if the hypnotist just left without reversing it? Because my consent to the suggestion in the first place would be under the assumption that the hypnotist will reverse it before we part ways.


r/hypnosis 3d ago

Other Seeking an online hypnosis guide I used to reference

1 Upvotes

I first learned hypnosis from a great online guide hosted on a website. I thought I found it through this subreddit, but I couldn’t find it in the wiki.

I remember it had multiple chapters on several subjects—it was aimed for beginners. There were five sample inductions, I think. It started with progressive relaxation, then pyramid-ing (whatever it’s called), then post-hypnotic suggestion…and I think finished with some kind of active induction. I think the author also had a fairly active blog on Tumblr.

Is this familiar to anyone? Can you post it for me? Thanks.


r/hypnosis 4d ago

Hypnotherapy Self-hypnosis for anxiety, where do I start?

3 Upvotes

I've been lurking here for a while and finally decided to post.

I want to use self-hypnosis to work on worry and anxiety.

I don't see it as some miracle cure, I've already tried other things to deal with the anxiety, but even though I have no experience with hypnosis I get the feeling it's worth a lot more than most people think, and I believe it could help in my case.

What I'm after is stuff I can work through on my own:

YouTube videos, some method, guide or book to get started with, and honestly, something that helps me improve the problem sooner rather than later.

I've seen people here say it works better if you have a minimum grounding in hypnosis first.

If that's true, what basic book or content would you recommend to build that base?

User level, not professional, just someone who wants to work on himself.

Thanks! :)


r/hypnosis 4d ago

Stage or Street Hypnosis Can't Bypass My Subject's Critical Factor

6 Upvotes

I've been studying hypnosis for about a week, and I started doing actual performances two days ago. I've been practicing magic and illusion for five years, so my analysis and presentation skills are pretty solid. Because of that, I was able to achieve some advanced phenomena during my very first hypnosis performances, including hallucinations, invisibility, and several other high-level effects.

The next day, I was hanging out with four friends. One of them told me he didn't believe in hypnosis at all, but said, "I'll try to believe and I won't resist you." I spent about 10 minutes trying different inductions to bypass his critical factor, but nothing worked.

He said he felt relaxed during the induction, but I couldn't even get basic catalepsy. He even struggled with simple set pieces like the light/heavy hands exercise. I tried the handshake induction, confusion techniques, and several other approaches, but I still couldn't produce even basic catalepsy with him.

How can I bypass or lower someone's critical factor in a case like this? What should you do when you encounter a subject like this?


r/hypnosis 5d ago

Stage or Street Hypnosis Hypnosis Without Trance

7 Upvotes

Hello I'm trying to get better in hypnosis and am currently reading "Hypnosis Without Trance" by James Tripp. In the book, he opposes the old-style hypnosis—which is classic and traditional—and teaches a different method. What is being said makes a lot of sense, but I'm quite confused right now.

The method in the book doesn't mention inductions at all, yet it seems to explain the fundamentals of induction.

What is explained here makes more sense to me than what I had learned previously. What other books like this would you recommend I read?

I haven't finished the book yet. I hope I find answers to the questions in my mind once I do.


r/hypnosis 5d ago

Other How to decrease/remove resistance?

1 Upvotes

I've watched a few dozen videos and haven't felt anything from them, none of the videos have effected me whatsoever


r/hypnosis 6d ago

The efficacy of "Self Hypnosis"

8 Upvotes

I've never tried being subject to Hypnosis, I've always wanted too because I smoke heavily, I have done for over 15 years and I'd love to stop smoking tobacco but I am well and truly addicted to it. But sessions are so expensive I've never had the money to do it. I've purchased a book recently though which is about self hypnosis, how to do it and it's applications. I was just wondering if any of you guys have any experience with this, whether it works, and how effective it is compared to having it done by someone else. Thanks for your input guys, and if you have any anecdotes about your experience self hypnotising Id love for you to share


r/hypnosis 6d ago

Recreational Tried first time, made a fun of myself kind of disappointed please help

5 Upvotes

Hi, new guy here read from a day and saw videos and researched a little ... Asked my friend to leme try it he was more than enthusiastic and fully compliant but i tried the rapid hand induction didnt work (he said tf nothing 😂 you just made me lick my hand 😂😅) then i tried other way the palm magnet one ... And yea that also didn't do anything.......

Kind of loosing hope ik it's first time but still .....

Can someone help the new guy a little ....

(I have come to conclude it's real but might even lose it somebody send help)

Thanks for reading and reaching out.


r/hypnosis 6d ago

Hypno Question

6 Upvotes

Hello all, I am learning hypnosis to benefit my husband and his sleep and we’re having a hard time with his awareness when going into trance. he starts relaxing and follows my words perfectly but every time we get to the part where he starts to fall into trance, his brain snaps out of it and focuses too much on small details. I am unsure if theres a specific type of induction I should be doing. he is unable to visualize anything and even with commands it’s difficult to get him relaxed. he really struggles with sleep and staying asleep so I was hoping hypnosis would help him with REM sleep.

Let me know if theres any specific inductions or ways I should be going about this.


r/hypnosis 6d ago

Remembering dreams, past life’s, & suppressed memories - self hypnosis

0 Upvotes

Does anyone have any guides, tips, tricks, audio, PDF, etc. on how to remember your dreams, suppressed memories, and past life’s you may have lived or willing to do a few sessions with me for practice (if needed). I am genuinely interested in self hypnosis as well as others.

Does anyone have any success with subliminals, binaural beats, sounds/frequencies that they could share with me also?

I feel as though my dreams are being blocked or taken from me and I would like to know why that is.

Any help/guidance is appreciated and please feel free to PM me. I’m interested in making friends in the community.

I truly appreciate your time and guidance. I look forward to seeing what techniques others have been successful with.


r/hypnosis 6d ago

Looking for resources on memory-related hypnosis.

8 Upvotes

Hi, all!
I am completely inexperienced when it comes to hypnotism, but I'm currently working on a screenplay for a short film that's set in the 20th century, and includes a hypnosis session where the hypnotist "removes" a memory of the patient. I'm pretty sure that a procedure like this doesn't exist in real life, but I heard that there were some practitioners in the 1900s who actually thought that this was possible.

I'd like the hypnosis session itself to feel as authentic as possible, so I was hoping to learn how real sessions that achieved similar goals were typically conducted and what they sounded like. Are there any books/papers/recordings, or other resources you'd recommend that would help me get a good feel for it?

Thanks in advance!


r/hypnosis 7d ago

What is your understanding of the mind brain etc? And do you have an interesting hypnosis framework?

5 Upvotes

I’m interested in people’s approach and how they interpret hypnosis and its effects on a deeper level while doing hypnosis


r/hypnosis 7d ago

"Golden Nugget" Theory

0 Upvotes

Hello,
Having lunch with a colleague they shared of a 'Golden Nugget" Theory. May this be reviewed for guidance to direction of the origional author. Thank you for finding the origional recorded piece of the presenter.

Story as told: A theory of a psychologists is asked to explain their Golden Nugget theory- as they explain the backstory, the conclusion is that Golden Nuggets are notified as markers of moving in the "right direction" of life, which can appear as physical wholesome interactions in daily
life or intuitive feelings. The theory suggest of free will with an understanding of optional belief systems.

Looling for the article, or as the collegue said- a recorded video of them specifically sharing this theory.

Thank you.