Can You Forget Something with Hypnosis?

Have you ever wanted to forget someone or something?

Maybe an ex, or an unpleasant memory that changed your life…

Many people think of hypnosis as a magic tool that works on the most astonishing scenarios. You may be wondering in your mind, would it work for forgetting something?

So far, if you’ve seen hypnosis mostly from movies or stage shows, you probably think -rightfully so- if a hypnotist can make me do anything, maybe they can also use the same power to get rid of the things that I don’t really enjoy in life, such as forgetting something that doesn’t serve anymore.

The answer may not be as easy as you think…

How does hypnosis work in the mind?

Let’s start with understanding how hypnosis works in the mind. Hypnosis has been around in different forms since the 1800s. Initially, it was known as magnetizing or mesmerizing because inexplicably, people started seeing improvements in their lives with the simple change of their mindset. They didn’t understand how hypnosis really worked in the mind then, they just knew that it works! And since it wasn’t understood well, it was perceived as this magic that was done by “certain people”.

Now we know how hypnosis works and we also know that it’s far from magic. So much so that we know as a fact that a hypnotherapist cannot control your mind or make you do things you don’t want to do. That’s why it’s a tool that can work on some people but not on everyone.

Let’s focus on the core principles of hypnosis. Did you realize that everything in your life needs your attention? You tune into the sounds that are around you, you may feel hot or cold, you may realize how uncomfortable your shirt feels, etc… on top of the things that the mind is already busy with figuring out such as your job, relationships, and other existing problems. When your mind is really busy and distracted like that, how can you really focus on resolving that one thing that keeps you from moving forward in life?

During hypnosis, the physical body is so relaxed that it doesn’t need to tune into environmental cues such as temperature, clothing, or light. Instead, the mind can focus on the internal resources, emotions, and beliefs that are stored in the subconscious mind. Many people who experience hypnotherapy report that their body felt very heavy and almost impossible to move just like sleep but their mind was wide awake and able to tune in every word and sentence.

The trance, the state of relaxation and comfort provides a safe and open ground for processing emotions, understanding events, and changing behaviors in the end. So it’s not magic, it’s your mind working naturally with the help of a hypnotherapist to change your perspective.

Is it possible to forget something with hypnosis?

This is one of the common questions a hypnotherapist will encounter. “I cannot get over my ex, can you help me forget?” or “I have a childhood trauma that hurts me to this day, can you erase it from my mind?” are just a few examples.

Although hypnosis is one of the most powerful tools to work with the subconscious mind, unfortunately, our subconscious mind does not exactly work like a computer. We cannot reset and go back to factory settings or delete things when we don’t like them.

All the memories, people, or events we experience; all happened because we needed to learn something from them. We had to go through them in order to raise our awareness to the next level. In other words, unfortunately, hypnosis is not the tool to “forget” things but a tool to move further in life regardless of the things that bother you.

What can we do instead?

Instead of forgetting something, we have other options that can help to move forward in life without being stuck. The reason why your subconscious mind brings the memories, events, or people to your awareness is mostly to protect you from experiencing a similar event again. Think of it as a smoke alarm that has been on since the fire. 

The subconscious mind keeps the smoke alarm on to protect you. But as you grow, learn and progress, it’s possible to teach your subconscious mind that the fire is gone, therefore, there is no need to protect you anymore. With the help of hypnosis, you will be able to make sense out of the emotions and beliefs that were created as a result of the negative experience you had, in the deeper part of the mind. After all, without emotions, memory is nothing but pictures, right? What if we could release the emotions that have been stuck with that memory? What if you can memorize the person or event without being triggered? That would be the goal of hypnotherapy.