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002 - What the Hell is Trance

Remember when I mentioned the American Psychological Association defined hypnosis as being a state of focus, and then roasted it a bit? Unlike hypnosis, trance can be seen as a state of focused attention.

Usually.

A state of consciousness involving focused attention and reduced peripheral awareness characterized by an enhanced capacity for response to suggestion.

-Yapko, Michael D; Yapko, Michael D.. Trancework: An Introduction to the Practice of Clinical Hypnosis (p. 7). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.

Thankfully, Yapko continues to provide their own definition (in contrast to the APA’s) - which is a bit more useful in our context:

Hypnosis is a focused experience of attentional absorption that invites people to respond experientially on multiple levels in order to amplify and utilize their personal resources in a goal directed fashion.

Yapko, Michael D; Yapko, Michael D.. Trancework: An Introduction to the Practice of Clinical Hypnosis (p. 8). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.

So at bare minimum for trance, but not for hypnosis, we need:

  1. Some focus.
  2. Some degree of reduced peripheral awareness.

Graham Old, both a hypnotherapist and one of my favorite writers, put trance plainly to one of his clients:

H: “I had a day-off once, just chilling out with my family, when I bumped into someone who knew my daughter. They had heard that I’m a hypnotist and – completely out of the blue – they began talking about hypnosis. They hadn’t learned what you’ve learned about the nature of hypnosis and wanted to know what it felt like. So, I said, “Close your eyes, for a second” and they did. And then she opened them and I said, “That’s what hypnosis feels like!”

[Client laughs]

H: “So, you’re not going to turn into a zombie, or have some kind of mystical experience. You will always be in control. You will always be able to hear my voice even when you can’t hear anything else. It really is the most natural thing in the world and we all go into trance and come out again and go into trance again, countless times throughout the day.

Old, Graham. Therapeutic Inductions: Rethinking Hypnosis from the Very Beginning (pp. 37-38). Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.

There’s very little that can get in the way of being hypnotized, provided that you have peace and privacy. Most of the problems with “getting into trance” come with either having unrealistic expectations of the experience or not realizing you’re already there.

Trance As Phenomena

Within the community, you’ll hear things like “trance feels different to everyone.” They’ve been falling out of favor, but before a hypnotist would do an induction, they’d do some sort of physiological test. EG - making your arm rigid, suggesting biting into a lemon, or a magnetic hands demo.

Ironically, all of those are hypnotic responses. Sticking your hands together does not mean focus is easy, or vice versa.

We don’t need trance for hypnotic response. But, it can help, and trance is inherently fun. Besides - it’s the main draw for a lot of folks, and it’s a very real experience.

With both trance and phenomena, we can notice a pattern:

  1. The hypnotist gives suggestions.
  2. The subject follows those instructions.
  3. We see a response. (Hopefully.)

For now, I’d like you to think of trance as a byproduct of suggestion - another phenomena. Just like your arm being stuck to your leg, forgetting your name, or your hand levitating on its own.

Trance often, but not always, includes:

  • Physical and mental relaxation.
  • Slower breathing.
  • Some focus and attention.
  • Feelings of dissociation and the emotion of entrancement.
  • Pleasant feelings of heaviness - often attributed to ‘sinking’ suggestions.
  • The head tilting forward as the neck muscles relax.

There are even some weird experiences that happen spontaneously:

  • Lacrimation - the fancy word for tears.
  • Slower blink reflex, or eyelids fluttering.
  • Twitching - similar to how some people move when they’re falling asleep.

Rarely, but problematically, it sometimes encourages:

  • Difficulty speaking. (It’s very normal to speak in trance with just a hint of effort - even if you feel wonderfully relaxed.)
  • The inability to move. (Please shift and adjust if you’re uncomfortable.)
  • Unquestioningly accepting suggestions. (You never need to accept a suggestion that makes you feel uncomfortable. That doesn’t mean sit there and wait. It means stop, come back up, and ideally talk it out.)

sleepingirl puts it excellently when they say…

There’s a lot of variation in hypnotic response even from moment to moment in an individual, so the MOST important sign is that they are having a reaction that is somehow different from their baseline.

8: How do you know if they’re in trance? - sleepingirl

You can suggest many of these responses (like relaxation) directly. Other responses may be a byproduct of another suggestion - such as being so relaxed that your neck tilts downward. Others may happen spontaneously, like time compression or dilation.

Further Reading

Optional, but these are here if you want to explore the topic.

Trance

  • Make Trance Work For You. An article from Binaural Histolog. They go in a tad more depth about using trance to your advantage, rather than allowing it to be unobtanium or a road-block.
  • How do you know if they’re in trance? from sleepingirl. Includes some more indications of trance - things you can look for and enjoy when you try this out yourself.
  • Or hell - Hypnosis vs Trance from Binaural Histolog. I’m convinced that there’s only one certain thing in hypnosis - the more someone groans when asked about a state of trance, the more aware they are of academic literature on the subject.
  • Wordweaver’s notes on the book Hypnosis Without Trance. Specifically worth reading are the thoughts on Hypnotic Trance.