Fallacy: Hypnosis is the occult or supernatural.
Fact: Hypnosis is scientific. It is not supernatural, nor of the occult, but purely a manifestation of the power of the human mind.
Fallacy: Only a small percentage of the people can be hypnotized.
Fact: Almost anyone can be hypnotized. It is a matter of degree. Some people do make better subjects than others. The people who cannot be hypnotized are babies, the insane or the intoxicated or persons �high� on drugs.
Fallacy: Only weak willed people can be hypnotized.
Fact: As a matter of fact, the easiest subject to hypnotize is a perfectly normal, healthy person; and while some hysterical cases are easy, others may prove very difficult.
Fallacy: The hypnotist dominates the person.
Fact: There is no domination or submission in hypnosis. The hypnotist actually helps the subject express his or her own latent abilities. For example, a person unaccustomed to public speaking can confidently speak to an audience of thousands.
Fallacy: A person can be hypnotized against their will.
Fact: A person must consent to be hypnotized. A person cannot be hypnotized against their will.
Fallacy: The hypnotist has absolute control over the persons mind.
Fact: No hypnotist can make anyone do anything that is against their principles or morals. A hypnotized person knows perfectly well where he or she is and what is happening. If a person is in a deep hypnotic trance he may experience loss of memory, especially if the hypnotist suggested this.
Fallacy: Hypnotherapy requires a deep trance state.
Fact: 87% of all therapeutic uses can be done in a light or medium state of hypnosis.
Fallacy: A subject may not �wake up� from hypnosis.
Fact: This is absolutely false and one of the biggest myths there is. If a person is left to him/her self and falls asleep (a natural sleep) they will wake up by themselves or when the hypnotist stops talking.
Fallacy: It is a popular belief that hypnosis is sleep.
Fact: Because most people under hypnosis have their eyes closed, people assume they are asleep. Quite the opposite is true. The person can hear everything being said and often say they don�t think it is working�when they are being hypnotized. Also, scientific tests that record the action of the lungs and heart show this trance state is more like normal consciousness than ordinary sleep. Testing of brain waves, as measured by special instruments, prove they are characteristic of those in the waking state.
Fallacy: Hypnosis is dangerous.
Fact: Hypnosis is perfectly safe.
Fallacy: A subject knows nothing of what happened during hypnosis.
Fact: A subject in a light or medium state of hypnosis is fully aware of what happened when they �awaken�. In a deep state some subjects may have amnesia.
Fallacy: Orthodox medicine condemns hypnosis.
Fact: The American, British and Canadian Medical Societies all accept the therapeutic value of hypnosis.