Hypnosis in the Media

By Barrie St John

Hypnosis is not always portrayed very well in the media. I think the way in which it is presented often comes from a lack of understanding about what hypnosis really is. Whether it is on television, in the papers, or in a Hollywood movie, hypnosis tends to be sensationalised and is almost always shown in a negative light.

But hypnosis is not the only thing that is given this treatment by the media. After all, people seem to prefer negative news. Maybe negative news is more interesting, or maybe we’re just used to it because that is all that gets delivered to us. Whatever the case, if news in general leans towards the negative and media toward sensationalism, it’s not very likely that you’re going to hear much about the benefits of hypnosis in any mainstream coverage.

Generally, the media still treats hypnosis as something mystical and mysterious. Movies portray it as scary or as dark and unknown. Just think back to how many times you saw a person in a movie hypnotised by a swinging watch or by a hypnotist commanding the person look deeply into their eyes. In Hollywood hypnosis is somehow aligned with occult powers, which is just ridiculous.

The good news is that I think there is a general improvement as of late. Doctors, psychologists, and hypnotherapists have been using hypnosis to treat physical, emotional, and behavioural issues with much success for quite some time now. Hypnotherapy is also widely seen as a very effective tool for stopping smoking. Unfortunately, the misinformation about hypnosis still lingers and because of this there is still a stigma attached to it.

These widespread misconceptions can be quite difficult for a hypnotherapist to work past. I always ask my clients whether they have been to a hypnotist before or experienced hypnosis and what their thoughts are about it either way. It helps to check out what our starting point is and lets me know what sort of preconceived notions have to be overcome.

If you are interested in self hypnosis but are expecting something out of the movies, you won’t find it in our self hypnosis CDs and MP3 downloads. My self hypnosis sessions are not weird or wacky and they don’t particularly take people on a spiritual journey. What they do is help condition you to utilise your own healing process and guide you towards a particular behaviour you want to take on or away from one with which you struggle.

Our hypnosis recordings use reliable research and proven psychological techniques and have nothing to do with miracles or divine intervention. And the best part is you don’t even have to ‘look deeply’ into my eyes!

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