Teens Talk Hypnosis – the Good, the Bad and the “Boring”

Volunteers respond to the sleep suggestion at a performance of my Hypnotic Experience show.

I have arrived at a number of certainties in my more than four years as a performer and entertainer: 1) be unique; 2) find a niche; and 3) embrace audience feedback…with a thick skin.

My Hypnotic Experience show is certainly unique, as I use comedy and entertaining anecdotes to demonstrate how positive visualization can help a person achieve success in life. 

My niche are events that incorporate non-traditional entertainment into their fare, such as community festivals, street fairs, charitable fundraisers and school activities (i.e. college welcome week, high school after prom, etc.). 

So…that leads us to audience feedback.  Admittedly, there are limited opportunities for this beyond the real-time reaction you receive from event attendees.  (Yes…I have been both heckled and booed.)

When appropriate, I do ask for testimonials from event organizers and people who have given hypnosis a try.  You can find them on my Web site at this link.

Last month, I had the good fortune to return to Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland to speak with more than 100 students about the practice of hypnosis as a tool for stress management, wellness and exceptional living.  My talk continues a long-standing relationship I’ve established with Nikki Marafatsos, an educator who teaches a health class primarily for 10^th and 11^th graders.

In follow-up to my talk, Mrs. Marafatsos asked her students to share their thoughts about hypnosis, my talk and if they are now open to incorporating the practice of visualization into their life.

I’ve included below a select set of comments organized into the good, the bad and the boring.

My takeway:  similar to anything new or unexpected, a person has to be open to hypnosis to truly realize its benefits. 

At Whitman, I left a positive impression on a number of the kids.  That’s good.  Others found the experience less than satisfying.  That’s bad. 

 

And some found me plain and boring.  A reminder of the importance of a thick skin.

The Good

-I enjoyed the process.  He mixed jokes in which was fun and he did a lot of explaining which was good.  Overall, the process was funny, educational and relaxing.  The rest of the day went well.  I was very relaxed and managed my time well.  I also slept well.

-The (hypnosis) process is interesting.  I really felt that I was in the scenery and my mind felt relaxed.  The rest of my day was great, even though there were some stressful tests.  I felt optimistic.

-I thought the process was awesome!  I love things like this.  I’m very spiritual and open person, so I really enjoyed this.  I felt very relaxed for the rest of the day and a lot more alert.  This is definitely something I want to incorporate in my life.

-It was an interesting process and I felt like I was in another state of mind.  I have a very good day.  I also had a very good and relaxed night.

-I was a little skeptical about the process, especially when he said the word “sleep.”  But, as he kept talking, even though I wasn’t hypnotized, I felt more and more relaxed and comfortable.  I felt really good the rest of the day, but even better today after getting the best sleep I have had during the school week.

-I thought it was an interesting way to take a moment out of your day to relax and rejuvenate.  I felt more aware of myself throughout the day and I felt like I tried to stay positive.

-It thought the process was very funny and really cool.  I liked how he made jokes, but then during the hypnosis he was very calm and serious.  I felt very confident the rest of the day and really tried to visualize my success in everything I did yesterday.

-I felt that he explained hypnosis really well because I use to think that hypnotizing someone was controlling them.  But, I now have a better idea of it.  I felt great the rest of the day and I had a great night.

-I found it interesting.  It was a new way to relax and clear your mind.  I did not realize it would have such an impact on the participants…it gave me some new ideas about how the mind works, which I thought about the rest of the day.

-I thought he did a really good job of making the volunteers feel comfortable, but also very welcoming to the doubters.  One thing that I felt was similar to when I practice mindfulness, which has really helped me.

-I was skeptical about it working just because we were in a class and it was uncomfortable.  Amazingly, I excelled at practice and had high energy, felt happy and then slept from 7 PM to 5:30 AM peacefully.  That’s not normal for me.

The Bad

-I felt tired, to be honest.  I don’t really think it affected the rest of my day that much.

-I think the process is interesting.  However, I do not think it was explained very well.  I felt really energized and talkative (the rest of the day).  Although, I did not get a good night sleep! 

-Before I engaged in this (hypnosis) yesterday, I had a really open mind and hoped it would work.  But, after I saw that it did not work, I probably would not incorporate this in my life.

-I felt the process was not what I expected from hypnosis.  The methods were similar to that of yoga teachers and mindfulness instructors.  Ironically, the rest of the day I felt very mellow and tired.

-I thought the process was confusing because he was doing the speaking and the touching of the shoulder.  But, we’re supposed to do that to ourselves?

-It made me fall asleep.  I felt worse than normal (afterwards).

-The rest of the day I felt stress and I got really nit-picky with my plays during volleyball practice.

I really wanted to get amazing sleep that night was I was kind of disappointed.

The Boring

-He talks about himself way too much.  I want more demonstration.

-It was mildly interesting…(I felt) positive at first and energized, but then there was a crash.

-I thought it was really strange and not relaxing.  I felt normal like I do every day.  There was no difference.

-I thought the process was a little creepy and random.

-I thought it was a great process that many individuals should incorporate into their lives.  I noticed people were laughing and making fun of him which was upsetting because they could have benefited from it.

-I thought the process was interesting, but I was unable to be affected by it.  I could not focus on anything based on the fact that I cannot do anything before 11 AM.

-In a classroom, it did not need to be formatted like a show with a few people going up as volunteers.  Similarly, sitting at a desk for it was uncomfortable.