Was I or Wasn't I?

Was I hypnotized? How do I know if I was hypnotized?

These are among the most common questions asked of hypnotherapists. I'm thinking that they are asked because people are coming in with some kind of a preconceived idea about what hypnosis 'should' or 'will' feel like. And if what they experience doesn't match with what they thought they would experience, then the doubt creeps in.

So, let me simplify things a bit. If you feel anything differently than the way you feel when you're walking-around alert, then you probably were hypnotized.

Hypnosis happens differently for everyone; sometimes and for some people it feels like an all-out trance, with immovable limbs, quiet mind, and extreme, deep relaxation; I think this is what most people expect it to be. Yet, at other times, and for other people, it can feel like daydreaming. Or like being very relaxed, while still hearing everything.

I cannot predict for you, ahead of time, how your mind and body will react to hypnosis. And even beyond that, there is the very real possibility that it will feel differently to you each time you have a hypnosis session.

So my best advice would be to just RELAX and allow the process to unfold in whatever way it will, without analyzing it to death. It happens the way it happens, and can't be dissected or analyzed.

Did you feel more relaxed than usual? Then call it hypnosis.
Did your mind focus on the process? Then call it hypnosis.
Did your body feel heavy, or like you just didn't want to move? Then call it hypnosis.
Did you hear some of it, but space out at other times? Definitely a sign of hypnosis.

The whole process of hypnosis can be thwarted by trying too hard to figure it out or second-guessing it. Only by disengaging from that analytical part of your mind - the conscious - will you be able to fully enjoy the experience of hypnosis. Then there will be no doubt what hypnosis feels like.