01 - Preparation

Before you even get started in your session - you can stack the deck in your favor. Many hypnotists will do a ‘flight check’ with you, but if I find out a subject’s already got all this ready to go there’s a little “oh hell yes” ding that goes off in my head while I try not to break character.

Physical Preparation

Before a session, make sure you can be reasonably comfortable. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just ensure…

Your clothing is comfortable.
You’ve used the restroom.
You have comfy place to sit - ideally where you can put your head back. If your head tends to droop forward, you can get a travel neck pillow.

If you deal with things like chronic pain or you’re tired, your response might be less than ideal. Be well rested if you can and do whatever you usually do to take care of your body. Being tired isn’t a dealbreaker - but it’s not the best. We need that brainpower to follow suggestions!

If you need to scratch an itch or shift during a session, that’s fine - it happens! Just expect your hypnotist to check in with you. Having an achy neck is probably no big deal - just don’t fall asleep on your arm bent backwards.

Sit, Don’t Sleep

Avoid the urge to do your session lying down! The number of sessions I’ve had where this conversation’s come up…

Me: “For sure. You sure you’ll be OK lying down?”

Subject: “Yeah… it’ll be fine!”

Me: “All righty!”

(Five minutes later.)

Me: “And… eyes opening, back at your own p-…”

Subject: snoring

Me: “Back at your own… pace.”

Subject: continued snoring

Me: frantic handwaving, groans, starting to notify the admins to kick you from the chat instance so nobody gives you suggestions while you’re asleep

Mental Preparation

Emotional self-regulation, AKA “keeping your shit together”, can get in the way. It may take some effort to learn to work with yourself if you’re anxious or stressed. It will be a bit more difficult to absorb yourself in the experience if you had a shit day at work. If you feel like you’re suppressing emotion, avoid doing hypnosis that day until you know how you handle it. I don’t have anything academic to cite backing this pattern - but fully absorbing yourself in your head can break self-regulation, and is a pathway to having an unexpected breakdown on your hypnotist. In some literature, they call this response an abreaction.

Expectations

Here’s a pickle. Irving Kirsch’s theory of response expectancy gives us the insight that if we expect things to happen in an experiential sense, they’re way more likely to happen. However, some recreational subjects go in to a session expecting that someone will say ๏๏ﻮค๒๏๏ﻮค and feel the effects of complete mind control. So expectation is a double-edged sword.

We fuck ourselves over when our expectations exceed our response.

Do:

Expect to enjoy your time with your hypnotist.
Expect to experience something new - even if you don’t know what it is yet.
Expect to have to put a bit of effort in to engaging with suggestions, and savor the effects that they have.

Don’t:

Expect a full on psychedelic experience.
Expect mind control.
Expect things you imagine to be real. (But do take note of when you’re surprised that it’s more real than you expected!)

Sobriety

You don’t need drugs to experience hypnosis but, it would be misleading to say they can’t help. Reach for these tools at your on discretion, with the understanding that they can easily become a habit or a crutch.

If you’re a nicotine addict - get your smoke / vape / Zyn / OEO break taken care of before. Avoid overdoing the stimulants, including caffeine. It sucks if you have the jitters when you’re hypnotist is trying to help you relax.

Alcohol

According to one theory, getting tipsy might help. In academic speak - one of the first regions alcohol affects is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex - which includes an area theorized to be responsible for forming feelings of volition. In more practical terms - booze delivers a firm kick your frontal lobes, and you might be more likely to feel something’s happening automatically. The downside is that it does get in the way of following suggestions for obvious reasons.

A drink or two is all you need. Don’t get plastered.

Jazz Cigarettes

Weed can help pretty much anything feel more novel, and this lines up with Irving Kirsch’s response expectancy theory. If something feels more novel and impressive, you may expect a stronger response, thus opening the door to more phenomena. However, you still need to be sober enough to understand and process the suggestions given to you.

Unfortunately, like alcohol, pot also comes with significant health consequences.

Environmental Preparation

You ready for some mixed messages?

A loud environment isn’t (usually) that big of a deal during a session. Check out this clip from Anthony Jacquin hypnotizing someone at the bar.

Here’s some examples of things that don’t usually get in the way:

Fan noise.
Non-vocal music.
Ambient conversation.
Neighbors walking around in an apartment.

There’s a difference when something demands your attention. These will all be a pain in the ass:

Instant messages and texts.
Your cat jumping into your lap or reminding you it’s time for dinner.
The neighbor’s screaming child having a tantrum.
Nickelback - or some other music where it’s life or death to change the radio.
Your roommate popping in to ask you if you want Taco Bell.
A lack of privacy. Close the door - or let your hypnotist know of your situation.
An uncomfortable living environment. Having a less-than-stellar living situation can get in the way of letting yourself go fully in to an experience. Do your best to address the situation and inform your hypnotist - we’ll do what we can to work with you.

If you’re unable to attain peace and privacy - it’s more likely your environment is the culprit than your ability to respond hypnotically.

Communication

Here’s some tips:

Mention if you have any phobias that might come up. Underwater deepeners are reasonably common, so if you don’t like the idea of sinking in to the ocean, best to bring it up sooner than later.
What worked in the past? What’s worth not wasting time on? If you’re not sure yet - that’s OK too.
Keep your pre-talk length in line with what you have planned. Going to try a hand-stick and some street hypnosis? “Yeah that’s cool, let’s give it a go” can cover everything. Doing something intimate? Chat out expectations from both sides and get a vibe check. sleepingirl astutely says it should feel like a conversation.

It doesn’t matter if your hypnotist is brand new and needs encouragement or has done thousands of sessions and comes well vetted. If this is your first time working together - both of you have exactly zero experience with each-other, and would likely benefit from briefly talking things out.

I’ll cover this in more detail in a pre-talk guide later.