Hypnotherapy: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and Why It Matters
Hypnotherapy: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and Why It Matters
At Flip That Script, we love exploring topics that spark curiosity, raise eyebrows, or are even misunderstood. Hypnotherapy is one of those subjects. For some, it conjures images of swinging pocket watches, mind control, or people barking like dogs on stage. For others, it feels mysterious, even a little intimidating.
So let’s clear the air. Let’s talk about what hypnotherapy really is and what it definitely is not.
First, What Hypnotherapy Isn’t
Let’s start with the myths, because that’s where most confusion lives:
It’s not mind control. Nobody is making you do anything against your will.
It’s not sleep. You’re aware the entire time.
It’s not spilling your deepest secrets. Your subconscious won’t reveal anything you don’t choose.
And it’s definitely not Hollywood drama. Stage hypnosis is entertainment, not therapy.
Think of those performances as theater. Real hypnotherapy is grounded in psychology, neuroscience, and healing.
So, What Is Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is a state of relaxed, focused awareness where your critical, analytical mind steps aside, and your subconscious comes forward.
Your conscious mind is like the actor on stage. It handles logic, decision-making, and short-term focus but it can only process about 40 bits of information per second. Your subconscious mind, on the other hand, is like the scriptwriter backstage. It processes over 11 million bits per second, storing memories, habits, beliefs, and emotional patterns.
Here’s the catch: if your conscious mind wants change (quit smoking, release anxiety, build confidence) but your subconscious “script” says otherwise, you’ll find yourself fighting an uphill battle. Hypnotherapy works by gently rewriting that script with your permission, your participation, and your awareness, so conscious goals and subconscious patterns finally align.
Everyday Trance: You Already Do This
Hypnosis isn’t some foreign state. We all drift into trance every day:
Daydreaming
Driving on autopilot
Getting lost in music
Scrolling social media
These are all natural altered states. Hypnotherapy simply uses this natural state intentionally to create healing, empowerment, and transformation.
Stories From the Chair
We’ve seen it firsthand. Dana once used hypnotherapy for a brutal toothache when medication wasn’t available, the pain eased, and even her hip pain quieted down. Hollie used hypnotherapy after major surgery to manage post-op pain and speed recovery. Clients describe everything from floating outside their body to feeling like they’ve slept a full eight hours in fifteen minutes.
The experience is different for everyone. Some feel dreamy, some deeply grounded, and some swear they don’t feel hypnotized at all. And yet, the results speak for themselves.
Breaking Myths Wide Open
“I can’t be hypnotized, I’m too smart.”
Not true. Hypnosis isn’t gullibility. It’s a learned skill. In fact, people with strong imaginations, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness often go deepest.“It’s evil or demonic.”
Also not true. Every spiritual tradition includes inner journeys: vision quests, meditations, retreats. Hypnosis is simply a modern language for going inward — connecting with worth, truth, and the divine spark.“You could get stuck.”
Impossible. At worst, if a session ended abruptly, you’d open your eyes or drift into a nap.“It’s just placebo.”
Peer-reviewed studies show hypnosis helps with trauma, pain management, blood pressure, IBS, smoking cessation, performance, childbirth, and more. It rewires patterns through neuroplasticity literally building new neural pathways.
Why It Works So Well
Your subconscious is always trying to protect you, keeping you in familiar patterns even when they no longer serve you. Hypnotherapy bypasses the “critical filter” of the conscious mind and speaks directly to the subconscious, allowing for rapid, lasting change.
It bridges the gap between what you want and what your subconscious believes.
The Heart of Hypnotherapy
At its core, hypnotherapy is:
Collaborative: Done with you, never to you.
Safe: You remain in control, aware, and able to stop anytime.
Transformational: Rewriting old scripts, healing trauma, and aligning you with your highest self.
Expansive: Whether it’s confidence, healing, performance, or inner peace, hypnosis taps into the vast potential already within you.
It’s not hocus-pocus. It’s science, spirit, and self-awareness woven together.
Final Thoughts
Hypnotherapy isn’t about escaping your past it’s about transforming your relationship with it. It’s not about erasing memories it’s about rewriting the way they live in your body and mind.
As certified, trauma-informed hypnotherapists, Dana and I believe hypnosis is one of the safest, most powerful tools for change. From regulating the nervous system to healing trauma, from childbirth to chronic pain, from confidence to creativity — the possibilities are endless.
Hypnosis is healing. It’s empowerment. It’s transformation.
And maybe it’s time you flipped your own script.
Hollie Eaddy CCHt.