By Adele Jackson-Gibson
Jan 8, 2020

Perhaps you've seen this scenario on TV: An entertainer—a self-proclaimed hypnotist—stands on stage, arms open, and invites people from the audience to join him in the spotlight. The hypnotist then takes out a pocket watch and slowly oscillates it in front of the volunteers' eyes. "Sleepy...you're getting v-e-r-y sleepy," he says.

Minutes later, he snaps his fingers. One person starts barking like a dog. Snap! Another starts unbuttoning her pants. The audience laughs as the group on-stage gets sillier and sillier.

This is, of course, the stereotype of hypnosis, which is why using it for something as serious as weight loss might sound far-fetched. But believe it or not, many people have sought out hypnotists to help them adjust their relationship to food and fitness. And many people have found great success.

It begs the question: When this technique is facilitated by a medical professional, like a psychologist or psychiatrist, does it look like what we see on stage?

Answer: Nah. "People often confound hypnotherapy with stage hypnosis for entertainment, and in reality, the two have very little to do with one another," says Samantha Gaies, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist at NY Health Hypnosis and Integrative Therapy, who works with individuals who want to lose weight or heal eating disorders.

Here's what clinical hypnosis is really about—and how it can help you change your lifestyle for the better.

How does clinical hypnosis work, anyway?

When someone is trying to make a major change in their life, like overcoming obesity, there can be a lot to think about: What foods you should be eating, how you should exercise, and where you'll feel safe enough to exercise, for example. Certain judgements or fears might get in the way of forming long-term habits that could transform a person's health.

"I usually describe hypnosis to my patients by likening their current minds to a hamster wheel," says Dr. Gaies. "There's nonstop movement or thinking, yet that thinking doesn't typically get them very far when it comes to making impactful changes."

So, what a clinical hypnotherapist aims to do is guide their patients into a relaxed state— yes, called a trance—using a number of techniques that vary from deep breathing to visualization.

Contrary to popular belief, a trance won't have you trudging around like The Walking Dead. In fact, most of us enter a trance when we are daydreaming or doing a routine task. In these moments, our "hamster brain" stops spinning and we become less focused on our to-do list or daily stressors. Once in that trance state, Dr. Gaies walks her patients through series of exercises to help them get in tune with their desires to change.