friend's reactions?

[BobbyS]

It depends. If you know someone who's interested in hypnosis, tell them about it (even if it's just very mild like your bf). It's probably not a good idea to show most sane people the more 'interesting' sides of this site as they'd probably freak. (I certainly did when I first visited.)

[sandy82]

I can understand why you would like to see "real-life stories" from others. It's a form of reinforcement, and it's hypothetically possible that you might gain some insights from what they have to say.

On the other hand, it may hard to draw lessons from the experiences of others when there could be many variables. The differences between you and a responder here. The differences between your friend(s) and the responder's friend(s). Variations in fact pattern. Differences in location and cultural climate. If you're in Manhattan or San Francisco, your friend probably wouldn't raise an eyebrow. That may not be true in certain other places.

You need to ask yourself whether, deep down, you are seeking to help your friend or whether you can't contain yourself and have an urge to "confide" in yet another person about your interests. In other words, ask yourself who benefits.

On a practical level, you might want to consider whether your friend wants to be told that he needs to work out. Think about a personal characteristic of your own about which you are sensitive (everyone has them). Do you want someone to tell you point-blank that you need to do something about it? After all, who knows that better than you do?

Small item. If you decide to go ahead and give this advice and if you're worried about how it might be received, be sure to label your attraction to hypnotism as an interest and not as a fetish. Advertisers and politicians will tell you that word choice can be everything.

[drowsydawg]

I'm really open about being gay and somewhat open about my interest in BDSM, but extremely closeted about my interest in hypnosis.... I'll only talk about it with people in "the scene".

Nearly all of them have been supportive or interested, except for one lady who had some bad experiences with therapists and has to use more indirect methods to access her subconscious.