What is hypnosis? How is it used?
  Is hypnosis approved by the medical community?
  Does a hypnotherapist have special powers?
  How do I know if I am hypnotized?
  What if I cannot be hypnotized?
  Is being hypnotized a sign of a weak mind?
  Can hypnosis freak me out? I’m scared. I’m nervous.
  What will happen in a hypnotherapy session?
  So this means that with one hypnotherapy session I will accomplish my objectives?
  What is the purpose of and advantage of reinforcement audio cassette tapes?
  Will I be revealing secrets that I don’t want to?
  Will I be humiliated?
  What if I don’t wake up?

AUDIO: Listen to this message from Dr. Stiles answering your questions

  What is hypnosis? How is it used?
Hypnosis is a state of altered awareness with heightened suggestibility. Your body is relaxed, your mind awake and aware, but you are more open to accepting new thoughts and feelings. It is no more than releasing the super concentration powers of your own mind; therefore, through hypnosis you can learn to change the attitudes that you want to change. As you change your attitudes you even affect your physical being.

  Is hypnosis approved by the medical community?
Yes, in 1958, the American medical Association approved the use of hypnosis. Hypnotherapy is used by many physicians, dentists and other practitioners.

  Does a hypnotherapist have special powers?
No. In fact, the hypnotherapist does not hypnotize you. You are hypnotizing yourself through his direction. Hypnosis is a natural state. The hypnotherapist is only a guide. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis, just as all aerobics are self-aerobics. You are instructed, and it is up to you to participate for results and success.

  How do I know if I am hypnotized?
When you are hypnotized, you feel very relaxed, but you are always awake. It’s the same feeling you would have if you were daydreaming. Your conscious mind may be distracted or your thoughts wander, but your unconscious mind (subconscious) is open and remains receptive to the suggestions given by the hypnotherapist.

  What if I cannot be hypnotized?
There are many different levels of hypnosis. The level one needs to reach in order to benefit from such programs as stop smoking, weight loss, reduction of stress is, again, similar to daydreaming. Most people don’t think they can by hypnotized, but once they try, it is very easy. About 95 percent of people can be hypnotized and can, therefore, receive great benefit from hypnotherapy. Anyone with a mental age over six, willing to be hypnotized and wanting results, will be an easy subject.

  Is being hypnotized a sign of a weak mind?
No. The opposite is true. The more intelligent and imaginative a person is, the better the subject. The majority of people who do not go into hypnosis are those who have the mistaken notion that hypnosis might hurt them or they are distracted through fear or anxiety.

  Can hypnosis freak me out? I’m scared. I’m nervous.
What you will experience is deep relaxation. The only thing that happens is that your body will relax, which enables your mind to be more open. You are not asleep, in a deep trance, unconscious, or out of control. If you need or want to open your eyes at any time, you will be able to do so.

  What will happen in a hypnotherapy session?
Most hypnotherapy sessions last from 45 minutes to 90 minutes. During that time you will usually be given suggestions about relaxation and during this relaxed state of mind, you will be given suggestions about changing your habits. The hypnotherapist will also be talking about important facts, feelings, and attitudes in changing your habits. You might be asked to recall occurrences that happened earlier in your life.

  So this means that with one session I will accomplish my objectives?
As with all therapies, hypnotherapy is not magic. It will be necessary for you to work with the hypnotherapist and to have re-enforcement of the suggestions given. Oftentimes, the hypnotherapist will give you an audio CD so that you can listen to these suggestions on your own. Hypnosis cannot make you do anything unless you are willing. Hypnosis can strengthen your motivation, but it cannot force you to accomplish anything.

  What is the purpose of and advantage of reinforcement audio cassette tapes?
Any attitude change is something that must be worked on over a period of time. Although not necessary, cassette tapes given to you by the hypnotherapist can be an important part of your program because these audio CD's will help to reinforce the suggestions until they permanently replace the attitude you first had. Also, there is a convenience of using the tape at your ideally scheduled times.

  Will I be revealing secrets that I don’t want to?
When you’re hypnotized you have total control over what you say and what you do. The only “power” during a hypnotherapy session lies in your mind, because in hypnosis, you have greater awareness than when you are fully awake. You completely retain all power of selectivity. That means that your secrets will remain secure.

  Will I be humiliated?
Unfortunately, hypnotism has been used by stage hypnotists to, indeed, make some individuals look foolish. The people who are on the stage volunteered to participate. They knew that in doing so, they would be acting silly, and generally entertaining the audience. People who volunteer for these shows do so with a complete knowledge of what is to come. They are often uninhibited, fun-loving people who realize that a hypnosis show is meant to be entertainment for everyone. As stated above, they know what they are doing, and they elect to do so. The power of selectivity remains even in that particularly hypnotic state. A hypnotherapist would never put you in a position of harm to where you would feel humiliated. The hypnotherapist is a guide to help you find the causes of problems and to, eventually, help you overcome them.

  What if I don’t wake up?
When you are in a hypnotic state, you are not asleep. There are some similarities between hypnosis and sleep, but the two states are very different, both psychologically and physiologically. If, during hypnosis, you should fall asleep, you will wake up naturally. There has never been, in all of recorded history, a case of any individual not awakening from hypnosis.