Presented by Dr. Neither sleep or unconsciousness, hypnosis is a state in which a person has shut out distractions and is free to focus intently on a particular subject or memory.
Practitioners stress how normal and commonplace the hypnotic state is.
Almost everyone, they point out, experiences some form of hypnosis spontaneously - while daydreaming, reading, or even while driving long distances along a highway. When a person is in hypnosis, they are deeply relaxed physically, but mentally many times more alert than their normal state of awareness. They also hear and respond to everything and are an active participant in the therapy. They have great control over what they will or will not do and will instantly reject any suggestions uncomfortable to them. If the individual likes and wants the suggestion given they are allowed to enter the subconscious mind.