There is a really interesting problem that we discuss in hypnosis, the apex problem, which both asks and answers the question: Can hypnosis work too well?
The short answer is yes. But let me explain what I mean. The apex problem, which is a fascinating issue that seems pretty unique to hypnotists, occurs when the client’s desired change integrates so completely into their experience, that they no longer realize that they had a problem, or how bad that problem was before the session. Here’s a particularly dramatic example: A woman went to a hypnotist (my teacher, Mike Mandel, to be specific) to deal with the uncontrollable grief and guilt she felt after accidentally killing her beloved pet. It had been several months, and she couldn’t stop sobbing as she spoke about the event during her session. She was so upset and distracted that she was having trouble functioning in her life. The hypnotherapy session doesn’t remove her memory of what has happened, she still loved her pet and knew the details of what had happened, but it greatly reduced the overwhelming emotional burden she felt in connection to the actual event. She began to feel much better immediately, so much so that she actually complained that the session was a waste of money because she didn’t really need help dealing with such a minor issue. She couldn’t even remember how bad she felt when she walked in. Mike simply pointed to her pile of soaked tissues on the table, and only then did she realize how effective the treatment had been.
So, as you can see, this is really more of a problem for the hypnotist than the client, who definitely achieved the results she wanted. It’s a great way to illustrate how effective hypnosis can be. A more subtle but fairly common example of the apex problem occurs when clients doubt that even long term behavior changes, like quitting smoking, are not related to the session that immediately preceded the change. Even when someone admits that they went from being a frequent smoker to not smoking once since the session, they still sometimes don’t connect the two. Part of this is because hypnosis is a naturally occurring state, and people may assume that nothing happened because they were expecting the experience to feel more strange than it actually is. The other part of why this happens is because the changes made through hypnosis often feel completely natural because they are coming from your own unconscious mind, and thus integrate completely with your experience. They may assume that the change was just something they did without help, even though that had seemed so difficult previously that they hired a hypnotherapist to help. Hypnosis doesn’t go into your room and lock up your cigarettes, it works by removing the resistance to making the change. Their desires now line up with the change they are making so well, that they don’t remember what it was like to feel the unwanted cravings in the first place.
Individual results vary for a variety of reasons, and not every client experiences this depth of change in the first session. However, many of them do, and even those who can still remember the struggle they used to have will still benefit greatly from the way hypnosis allows you to integrate a new way of being at a deep level.
It can be a little inconvenient as a hypnotherapist, but in terms of helping people make the changes they want to make, I think the apex problem is great sign that the changes are working at the deepest levels, and it’s also a great way to explain how effective hypnosis can be. It is an incredible tool that works much better than most people assume that it will, most of the time. So well, in fact, that you might forget you ever had a problem to begin with.
