In my hypnotherapy practice, I often come across individuals who are in a state of waking hypnosis, often referred to as unintentional trances. What are they and why do they come about? First let’s talk about how they come about.
Each day, we all have over 60,000 message units (thoughts, ideas, feelings) that come from both internal and external sources. Whether you’re still focused consciously on a problem running through your mind or you feel hot sitting in your chair reading these words, these thoughts and feelings contribute to your overall message unit count. Maybe the air passing by tickles the side of your face and ruffles your hair. These are also message units being sent to your brain for processing. When your mind becomes overloaded with an excess of message units, it may unintentionally drop you into a trance-like state. Of course, this is an oversimplification of the complete process. However, it gets the idea across.
We often signify waking hypnosis with decreased senses in our physical bodies, difficulty recalling short-term memory and being very open to suggestions from other people around us. In essence, one might feel like a zombie, existing but not really living. Despite having the ability to think cognitively, most feel a decrease in mental function while in this state. They are easily over-whelmed by little things and find it hard to cope with the rigors of daily life. Often times, many who are in a waking state of hypnosis feel very little motivation or enthusiasm for life. If you are feeling some of these symptoms, you may already be in a state of waking hypnosis.
With the current pandemic still raging and the current civil unrest in our country, we need to be careful of the information we allow into our minds. Though it is important to stay informed, we also need to protect our sanity from being invaded. The news cycles constantly throw numerous pandemic facts and figures at us. How many have contracted the disease? How many have died? Where is the vaccine? Which state is shut down? How bad is the economy? How many people are still unemployed? I’m feeling overwhelmed just typing this! The intent is to present loads and loads of information to their viewers regardless of their appetite for this information. It is very easy to feel overwhelmed by all the information and to fall into a state of waking hypnosis.
When you start to fall into a state of waking hypnosis, it is important that you find the time to count yourself out. What does that mean? It means, you need to wake yourself up out of the state of waking hypnosis. You should establish a way to count upwards and outwards from the sinking quicksand that has pulled you into an unintentional trance-like state. When you do this, you will feel many of your cognitive functions return. “Ok, maybe I’m in an unintentional trance. Help! How do we do this?” The best way is to connect with a skilled hypnotherapist who will be well versed with all the intricacies of waking hypnosis. Once the skilled hypnotist has laid the groundwork for you to count yourself out, it will be much easier for you to walk that path by yourself.