006 - Understanding Hypnosis

This is session number 006 of the Influence Psychology and Persuasion podcast. This podcast is all about understanding hypnosis. What it is, how it's induced, and why it seems so effective at producing rapid amazing change.

First I need to start off by saying, hypnosis is absolutely a "real thing", and you should not view this in terms of magic, or things like sorcery. You'd be surprised how many people seem to classify hypnosis is something not of this world, or simply made up.

So let's start with what is hypnosis?
This can be defined in so many ways but let's drag a little excerpts from Wikipedia as they have a nice neat, and concise description, here is what It is said here.

"Hypnosis is a state of human consciousness involving focused attention and reduced peripheral awareness and an enhanced capacity for response to suggestion.

To give you an example of what hypnosis is, and something that is commonly taught throughout hypnotherapy training practices around the world. Hypnosis is a state of trance. The most common example of day to day trance is while you are driving, think for a moment, perhaps you're on a route that you know all too well, you may have the radio on in the background and you're thinking about what the day has to offer, and things that you may have to do. When you get to where you're going, more often than not you won't remember the route you took, what cars were in front of you, what happened at the roundabout. so many people actually say they don't remember any of the journey. then the strange addition! While you are driving, without seemingly paying any attention to the journey, the radio was on in the background. If you are asked what was playing, you prog you wouldn't remember. However! You will most likely be singing that, or humming it throughout the day without giving it a second thought.