First time hypnotizing. Fun, but full of problems.

[Mebi]

So last night I was chilling with my friends in a trailor one of them has in his backyard. We were getting bored and sleepy, when I decided to bring up the topic of hypnosis. One of them agreed, somewhat reluctantly at first, to let me hypnotize him. I spent a few minutes explaining what hypnosis was, letting him know that he would safe and relaxed, that he could choose to leave trance whenever he wanted, blah blah. Finally i got to the real stuff. I started with a full relaxation induction technique, focusing on each body part head to toe for a moment as a wave of relaxation released tension, both mental and physical. I used the shut-eye technique, making it seem as though he couldnt open his eyes, in order to convince him more thoroughly that he was in a deep trance. I then did the whole ten to one countdown thing, getting more and more relaxed with each number, heading down steps to a feather bed at the bottom, etc......After a very long induction (it was both his and my first time, and i wanted to be sure he was deep before I tried anything) i decided to try some amnesia on him. I attempted to make him forget about the number six, but when he counted his fingers, he still used the number. So I relaxed him a little more, using positive reinforcement, and then tried something else. I had him sit back up again, telling him that the more he tried to talk to me, the harder it would become, until he could only mumble. I started a conversation, and before long I realized the hypnosis was affecting him as his speech became slurred beyond recognition. I continued, putting him back under after each experiment to give him more commands.

Then the problems started

My friend decided to chime in out of nowhere, instead of being quiet like I had asked him to. He started giving suggestions to the subject, many of which i disagreed with and tried to counteract. This confused the hell out of the subject, stressed him out, and after another half hour in this manner he woke up freaking the hell out. He was scared to hell of what was going on, and it took me a while to calm him down and lay him back to sleep so I could bring him out of trance. Talking to him later, he was telling me about how he had no clue who to listen to and that it was too stressful. He never wanted to try it again, but i convinved him that it could be a great experience if i did it correctly. I told him I would let him make a list of things he wanted me to try, and he agreed to do it again sometime.

So i have many questions. What can I do to make sure he doesn't listen to my friends? How can I prevent a subject from becoming stressed? How far can you go with your suggestions before they begin to overwhelm the subject? What are some fun suggestions for me to try on him? (PG rated please. Hes another dude I'd much rather be with a chick.) Any feedback, comments, or suggestions are highly appreciated.

[BobbyS]

So i have many questions. What can I do to make sure he doesn't listen to my friends? How can I prevent a subject from becoming stressed? How far can you go with your suggestions before they begin to overwhelm the subject? What are some fun suggestions for me to try on him? (PG rated please. Hes another dude I'd much rather be with a chick.) Any feedback, comments, or suggestions are highly appreciated.

With regards to making him listen to just you, just drop some lines along the way about how he can say 'no' instead if he hears a suggestion he doesn't like, and that only your suggestions will actually affect him - you should have already dropped something about how any other noises other than your voice are just background noise and aren't important.

Pretty much every other question you asked in that para is dependent upon the subject.

[busboy]

I hate to say it, but the easiest thing would be to try again without your nimrod buddies there trying to muck it up.

[loony28]

I hate to say it, but the easiest thing would be to try again without your nimrod buddies there trying to muck it up.

That's a good idea. BobbyS also has a good idea.

[busboy]

If you friends are going to be there (mabye the subject feels more comfortable with "witnesses"), try giving them an example of why they should shut the heck up.

I had a far less serious similar example (buddy mucking up a suggestibility test as opposed to a full-on trance), and I explained to them that what I was doing was like when they work on their car (guy's a gear-head). If they're doing engine work on their car, and I get bored and start randomly unbolting things under the hood, not only is their effort completely wasted but now I've made more (possibly serious) work for them, because I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know a "don't touch" bolt from a "no big deal" bolt, and guessing wrong can lead to major headaches. They got the metaphor, and stayed quiet the next time.

In cases like this, my personal experience has been that the "but-ins" stem from an assumption that what you're doing is not based in any sort of skill or knowledge, but that you're putting someone in a trance is like something you saw on tv and are just copying. If you can get across to them that what's happeneing is more skill/knowledge based than they think, they may step back and let you do your thing.

[MN_FriendlyGuy]

So i have many questions. What can I do to make sure he doesn't listen to my friends? How can I prevent a subject from becoming stressed? How far can you go with your suggestions before they begin to overwhelm the subject? What are some fun suggestions for me to try on him? (PG rated please. Hes another dude I'd much rather be with a chick.) Any feedback, comments, or suggestions are highly appreciated.

You trusted a friend. You asked him to stay quiet, but something happened. Take a moment to remember what it felt like when he did that.

A friend trusted you. You told him he would be safe but something happened to make him freak. Take a moment to remember what you went through to calm him.

The event you've described was obviously exciting and fun - a power exchange. You want more.

Friendship and hypnosis are based on trust. Before using hypnosis to push someone to his limit, are you sure it's a direction you want to go?