I'll put you under...

Someone recently contacted me and asked about which type of hypnosis would be necessary to relieve panic attacks. And which type of hypnosis would put you under the deepest. This was my response:

Hypnosis is very effective for panic attacks, but I would need to know more about your situation and about which methods have worked in the past to alleviate them. Have you ever taken medication? Have you been diagnosed with Panic Disorder?

It is very difficult to find appropriate words to describe the hypnotic trance. Many people feel relaxed, heavy and maybe like they are sinking, so we describe it as being "under." But this may be misleading. We also say someone is "under" anesthesia and this is very different from hypnosis, even though hypnosis can be used for anesthesia! The client is always in control and to many clients the trance does not feel much different than daydreaming. And yet it is still very powerful, as changes can occur very quickly that people have not been able to implement using other methods.

But I wouldn't say there is a type of hypnosis which "puts" the client "under." Actually, the level of hypnotic trance is determined by the individual. It seems that some people go "deeper" than others, again the word "deeper" can be misleading, if you are a deep subject, you can use hypnosis as anesthesia and you can experience hallucinations after hypnosis. Some people are light subjects and though it is unlikely they would hallucinate, and unadviseable to do major surgery without chemical anesthesia for them, they can make significant changes in behavior very easily, like quitting smoking.

Hypnosis is a state of focused attention. If you can become so absorbed in a book or movie, or even a daydream that you don't hear someone walk into the room and speak to you, you have experienced a trance. The kind of hypnosis I do involves facilitating the client to experience physical relaxation, and then talking to them, giving them suggestions that we have discussed before the relaxation, and some possibly some metaphors and stories. This might sound very similar to a guided imagery.

I'm curious if you have experienced individual hypnosis before? or was it a group session? I would really like to work with you if you feel it would be beneficial.