Question: my mum is a hypnotherapist , that means she helps people who smoke... what is the diffrence on the mind between that and stage hypnotsis? thanx

Jen Todd Jones answered on 11 Mar 2013:

Hypnosis helps the brain move into a state where you are completely relaxed and open to listening to something your brain would otherwise perhaps fights against. Generally people who smoke don’t want to hear that it’s bad to smoke because that’s distressing, if they are addicted because of nicotine they may not be able to quite smoking alone and to hear it harms them can feel very negative. Using hypnosis the brain is relaxed and able to listen to advice about addictions and how to get over them, without really becoming aware of what you’re told. We think of ourselves as conscious (when we’re awake) but hypnosis happens at the level of the subconscious or unconscious, a part we’re not aware of but that controls our behaviour.

This is actually exactly the same kind of hypnosis as stage hypnotists! They use the same kind of processes to relax us and make us open to suggestions your mum might.

Jen