Caroline from Jackson, Mississippi sent me a question… Can you hypnotize yourself?

My Answer

Most humans who have been through some sort of hypnosis training will tell you that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. But I have never been one to conform to the norm.

First, let me answer Caroline’s question… Yes, you can hypnotize yourself.

With that said, I believe the test that lets you know when hypnosis is self-hypnosis is this question…

• Is there another person in the room or on video or on audio helping you through the process?

  • If your answer is “no”, then it is self-hypnosis.

  • If your answer is “yes”, then it is not self-hypnosis.

It’s like tandem skydiving. Tandem skydiving is where a student skydiver is connected to an instructor by a harness. The instructor guides the student through the whole jump from exit through freefall, piloting the canopy, and landing.

You’re not skydiving solo (self-skydiving, so to speak) if you have another human attached to you guiding you through the process.

Similar to skydiving, hypnosis is a learned skill. The more you do it, the better you get at it; and after you learn it, you can use hypnosis whenever you want… even by yourself.

I have always been very skeptical in nature. I’m the type of person that when someone tells me something, I want to know how they obtained their information so I can do my own research.

I started studying hypnosis over 3 decades ago. The first several times I was hypnotized by someone, it felt like I was just sitting there while they spoke to me until they told me to open my eyes at the end. To be honest, I wasn’t buying into it; but I knew a few humans who were my mentors who couldn’t say enough about the positive aspects of hypnosis… so, I stuck with it.

One afternoon, a hypnotist that I respected asked me to sit down in a lounge chair, take my watch off and place it on my thigh, look at the time, and then close my eyes and relax. He proceeded to talk to me for a little while, and then I remember him saying, “And now open your eyes.”

When I opened my eyes, he immediately asked, “How long do you think you’ve been sitting in that chair?” I answered, “about 7 minutes”. He said, “Look at your watch.”

Over an hour had passed. He had recorded the audio of the hour he spent with me, and we listened to it together. Not only was the entire session on the recording, but I answered his questions throughout. This is the moment that solidified my belief that hypnosis is real. And since then, I have been able to put myself into a self-hypnotic state very quickly whenever I want to.

Because of my early hypnosis experience, I am able to relate to clients who have never formally used hypnosis, help them over any hesitation, and speed up their learning curve.

My belief is that a great hypnotist is one who not only helps you with your challenge but also teaches you how to use self-hypnosis so you don’t have to continue to pay others to hypnotize you. It’s always best when you know how to run your own mind.

Let’s Blow Your Mind

Every time you communicate with another human, you change their emotional state. For example, you say something funny and they laugh. That’s a change of state. Perhaps they tell you about a death in their family and you become sad. That’s a change of state.

The process that your mind goes through when changing emotional states is hypnosis.

I know… Mind Blown!

During the process of changing emotional states, your conversation partner becomes suggestible. This means that you are able to influence them to adopt new ideas, take action, go on a date with you, get that birthday present you always wanted, and much more.

This is hypnosis… and your conversation partner is NOT changing emotional states in a vacuum… you are facilitating the change that creates the process of hypnosis. This is why it is my belief that all hypnosis is NOT self-hypnosis.

Let's Learn a Quick and Simple Method for Self-Hypnosis

Let me teach you a step-by-step method to hypnotize yourself. I suggest writing down these steps or taking a screenshot of the complete instructions.

1. Find a safe place where you can sit or lie down without being disturbed.

2. Decide how long you want to practice self-hypnosis. I think 10 minutes is great to start with. With practice, your unconscious will allow you to open your eyes when your time is up. If you are concerned with missing an appointment if you happen to fall asleep, set an alarm for 5 minutes after your target self-hypnosis time. (Some of my clients use self-hypnosis for 60 minutes or more every day!)

3. Write down what you would like to work on while using self-hypnosis. (For example… I will eat foods that are healthier for me OR I will stay calm in stressful situations OR I will speak confidently in front of other humans.) Lay what you wrote aside. You have focussed your unconscious on what to work on.

4. Get comfortable and close your eyes.

5. Focus on your breath. Count from 1 to ten like this… As you breathe in, think “1”. As you breathe out, think “2”. On the next in-breath, think “3”. On the next out-breath, think “4”. And so on. When you get to 10, begin again at 1 on your next in-breath. Continue to count your breath this way until you’re completely relaxed or your self-hypnosis session is over. If you stop counting and your mind begins to wander, bring your attention back to the breath and begin counting again.

You should now have everything you need to hypnotize yourself.