6. "I went to a doctor of hypnosis for help." There are many medical doctors, dentists, psychiatrists and psychologists that have their doctorates and also practice hypnosis. However, there is no legitimate educational facility on the planet that awards doctorates of hypnosis. “Doctors of hypnosis” are fake titles awarded by fake schools that print fake diplomas on the internet. It’s great when you see a legitimate doctor, but check their credentials. If someone is lying about being a doctor of hypnosis, in my opinion, that’s unethical and fraudulent. It’s up to you to be responsible for yourself and do the research on who you’re seeing.
7. "People under hypnosis always tell the truth." This is false. It is very easy for someone to tell lies under hypnosis.
8. "I will remember where I hid my…" Although hypnosis can be very effective at helping people remember where they put things, it is not a memory panacea that will help you find those lost keys or that wad of cash you stashed 10 years ago. Memories are a tricky thing to deal with in a hypnotic state and it’s just as easy to place false memories into someone’s mind as it is to help reconstruct or remember true ones.
9. "I will have no control over my body and I will do crazy things." In reality, people in stage hypnosis shows have the choice to follow or reject a suggestion given by the hypnotist. Excellent stage hypnotists do their best to make it seem like they don’t have a choice, but they always do. During my hypnosis shows, I lose 1 or 2 people throughout every 5 or 6 shows because they choose not to follow the suggestions. I just get them to go back to their seats in the audience and continue with the show like nothing happened because my primary job is to entertain during show time.
10. "Hypnosis is the “Miracle Cure.”" Hypnosis is very effective at helping people make mental, emotional and physical breakthroughs. Hypnosis operates on the basis that the subconscious mind doesn't know the difference between what's real and imagined. For example, think about a horror movie, people watching them get scared, their pulse and breathing speed up, maybe they get goose bumps. Even though there is no real danger, their subconscious creates physical reactions to the mental programming of the horror movie. Just like the movie, hypnosis works to change your physical, mental and emotional reactions through your subconscious. This is extremely powerful for athletes to improve athletic performance, mothers that want to use hypnosis to reduce pain during childbirth, dentists and surgeons that operate without anesthetic, and people that want to change habits like smoking, emotional eating or fears/phobias. Because of some of the things that have been done (especially surgeries without anesthetic) people view hypnosis as a miracle cure. It can seem like it works miracles, but the effectiveness of hypnosis is always dependent on a combination of a person’s hypnotizability level, the skill of the hypnotist and the problem being worked on. It’s not a panacea, but it’s an excellent modality for discovering and harnessing the power of your own mind.
--Colin Christopher