When hypnotized, a person enters a state that resembles sleep but is induced by a person (the hypnotist) whose suggestions are readily accepted by the subject. However, the hypnotized person is not asleep. The hypnotized person seems to respond in an uncritical, automatic fashion, ignoring aspects of the environment (e.g., sights, sounds) not pointed out by the hypnotist. The person’s memory and awareness of self may be altered by suggestion, and the effects of the suggestions may be extended (posthypnotically) into the subject’s subsequent daily activity.

It’s important to remember that hypnosis is not some “magic bullet” that causes you to change your behavior all by itself. When you “get hypnotized” it’s a process where you are guided into a state where you have greater access to mental skills and resources that you already possess, and may even be currently using in a counter-productive way. Once you are in that state, a skilled hypnotist can alter your perception of reality by exercising a limited control over your focus, attention and imagination.

Sometimes. Similar to when you are fully awake, when in a hypnotic state you are also able to experience happiness, fear, anger, sadness, and any other emotion, but usually with a greater sense of intensity. The ability to experience these emotions is why it can be useful and an excellent “tool” for the hypnotist when training people how to manage those emotional states.

It’s important to understand that hypnosis is a natural state. You may not realize it, but you experience this state everyday. Remember the feeling you pass through just before waking up in the morning or going to sleep at night? Tomorrow, when you’re waking up, take notice of how nice that feeling is… the “transition” between your sleeping state and fully cognizant awake state. It probably feels a bit “soft and hazy.” During this transition you can also be aware of someone if they are speaking close by.

This varies from person to person, and also upon the suggestions given by the hypnotist. Remember, you are not asleep during the session, and you can hear everything the hypnotist is saying. (As opposed to being unconcious, when you’d not be able to hear anything.) During the session you will be so focused on any communication from the hypnotist that nothing else will matter. It’s quite common to forget portions of the session, very similar to waking up from an interesting dream and then forgetting what transpired in the dream. (Hypnosis and dreaming are different and not the same thing.)

That’s a definite possibilty, and depends on the specific medication you are taking. If you are currently under medication or have a medical condition, always consult your doctor to find out if hypnosis is appropriate for you, given your medical circumstances.