When I first learnt about hypnosis, I was taught about "hypnotic phenomena" and these "phenomena" all had long Latin or Greek names, and seemed so complex and daunting. "Dissociation", "anaesthesia", "time distortion" . It was so helpful to connect all of these complex technical words with our common everyday experiences. Doing this relieved the complexity and made them accessible.

When we go into hypnosis, or for that matter have an everyday trance experience - daydreaming, marvelling at a sunset ... there are spontaneous alterations in our experience, different for each person and event.

We can have a sense of time standing still, going fast or slow, or even a sense of timelessness.

We can forget where we are, who we are, why we are ... and simply be in the present moment.

We can completely lose awareness of our body such as sensations of our feet, breathing, eyes blinking.

We can find ourselves recalling past experiences similar or different. We can fantasise about out future.

These experiences and more are normal, everyday experiences, often unnoticed, but still normal.

This can be such a relief when we see "dissociation" as an extension of the everyday experience of letting some part of our experience become background as if it's not there.

"Association" can be an extension of the everyday experience of bringing something into the foreground.

"Time distortion" can be seen as an extension of the way that time flies when we are having fun.

"Hypnotic anaesthesia" can be seen as not noticing something that is potentially noticeable such as the sensation of our feet on the floor.

"Age regression" can be seen as an extension of remembering, while "age progression" can be an extension of anticipating, or looking forward to something.

Once we recognise this, we can explore what each individual client is experiencing in hypnosis, and what particular flexibility of sensations they are having, and this can provide yet another resource towards a solution.

Someone troubled by chronic pain might recall the pleasure of sitting in front of a fire on a cold night, and when we ask about their particular experience, they may report an experience of not noticing their body as they are absorbed in looking into the flames, or they may report feeling warm and comfortable, or noticing that it is as if they are not there at all, but recalling a camp fire years previously.

Whatever their experience is, we have the opportunity to bring it to their problem experience - not noticing their body, a feeling of warmth and comfort, or not being present to their body sensations. This will be different for each individual client and allows yet one more way of respectfully connecting someone with their resources towards their solution.

If you're interested, next time you are working with a client in hypnosis, ask them what their experience is, and see how this can be relevant to their solution.

Please leave a comment about what you discovered.