10 Frequently Asked Questions About Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy
10 Frequently Asked Questions
10 Frequently Asked Questions About Hypnotherapy
The Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions about Hypnosis
People always have a lot of questions about Hypnosis and how it’s used. According to medical experts, alternative health care practitioners, and Hypnotherapists these are the most frequently asked questions about Hypnosis:
1. Will I still be in control of myself?
This is what most people are afraid of. They are terrified that if they really submit to the relaxation of hypnosis and go fully into a trance like state that they will no longer be in control of themselves and can be easily controlled by the person that is hypnotising them. But be assured that you are still fully in control of yourself when you are hypnotised. You are still conscious, but your conscious mind is extremely relaxed. No one can take control of you and make you do stupid things while you’re hypnotised unless you allow it.

2. Am I surrendering my free will if I get hypnotised?
Absolutely not. When you are in a hypnotic state you are more aware and more focused on yourself then you are in a normal state. You are not giving up your free will or allowing anyone to turn you into a “zombie” or a chicken. Despite what you’ve seen in films hypnosis doesn’t make you the slave of the person hypnotising you. The person hypnotising you also can’t make you fall in love or out of love with someone else, make you change any essential part of who you are, or do anything that you don’t want to do. You are in full possession of all your faculties throughout the hypnosis session and you are not under a “spell” or in anyway under the direction of someone else. The things that you’ve seen on the tele or in stage shows where people get “hypnotised” and run around acting like chickens or saying silly words on command is not real hypnosis. You will never do anything while you are hypnotised that you wouldn’t do under normal circumstances.
3. Can I be hypnotised without my consent?
One of the most common frequently asked questions about hypnosis is “can I be hypnotised without my consent?”. It is an area of concern for a lot of people that don’t know a lot about hypnosis. But don’t worry, no one can hypnotise you without your consent. Hypnosis isn’t magic, it’s just a state of very deep relaxation. If you don’t want to be hypnotized then you won’t be able to relax and you won’t enter a hypnotic state. The process of entering a hypnotic state takes some time because it will take time for your body and mind to reach the deep relaxation that is necessary for hypnosis. You can stop the hypnosis session at any time during that process if you’re not comfortable or if you don’t want to be hypnotised. You’ve probably seen hypnosis done in films or on TV where the person doing the hypnotising snaps their fingers and the other person immediately falls into a trance and is incapable of doing anything but what they are told. That’s not how hypnosis works.
4. What happens if I can’t come out of hypnosis?
It’s physically impossible for that to happen, because you are not unconscious at any point during the hypnosis. You will be in a deeply relaxed state but fully conscious and you can come out of that state at any time that you want to. You can also come out of that state when given a verbal cue by the hypnotherapist. Sometimes when you get the verbal cue to come out of your hypnosis you may not want to because the relaxed state you are in feels so good. When that happens it may take you a few minutes to return to your normal awareness but that is only because you want to stay in the relaxed state, not because you are being forced to stay in it or because you can’t come out of it on your own. You are always in control, even when you are deep in a hypnotic state.
5. Can I hypnotise myself?
Yes you can hypnotise yourself, it could even be argued that all hypnosis is self hypnosis as you are in control of what you are doing. You will need to learn the proper way to do it but once you’ve had some instruction it’s possible to hypnotise yourself. Some people prefer self-hypnosis because they can relax easier on their own and in familiar surroundings. You can also hypnotise yourself between sessions with a hypnotherapist if you feel you need a little extra relaxation or a boost in your therapy. When you’re using self-hypnosis though you aren’t getting the expertise and therapeutic help that you would be getting from a trained therapist so if you’re using hypnosis to help you deal with Anxiety, Depression, or psychological issues then you should probably see a professional therapist instead of relying on self- hypnosis.
6. Does hypnosis work on children?
Yes, Hypnotherapy is often used to treat children that have behavioural disorders and children that have had traumatic events happen to them. Children have also been put into a hypnotic state in order to help police solve crimes in crimes where children have been attacked. Some Hypnotherapists have found that using hypnosis as a method of treating night terrors for children under 10 years old can be more effective than other treatments because putting the children in a deep hypnotic state before bed relaxes their brain enough that they don’t have night terrors. If your child is having night terrors and has not responded well to other treatments using hypnosis is an option you should discuss with your doctor.

7. Is hypnosis real?
Lots of people are sceptical about hypnosis at first, but usually that’s because they don’t have a good understanding of how hypnosis is used for medical and psychological treatments. Hypnosis is not some crazy New Age therapy. It’s a legitimate therapeutic technique that has been used with proven success to treat medical and psychological disorders in millions of people. Anyone can be treated with hypnosis, and in most cases hypnosis is a very effective form of treatment for many different disorders. Hypnosis has a long history of being used to treat illness; it’s not a new or untested therapy.
8. How many problems can I cure at once using hypnosis?
Hypnosis isn’t a magic cure that will get rid of all of your problems at once. You will still need to address your medical and psychological problems one at a time, and over the course of several treatments, in order to see results. It’s possible that symptoms of one disorder that mimic symptoms of another disorder might go away with the symptoms of the other disorder but in general you will need to tackle one problem at a time when you’re using hypnosis as a treatment.
9. Do I need to see a hypnotherapist more than once?
Another frequently asked question about hypnosis is “how many sessions will I need?” You most likely will need more than one session with a hypnotherapist to solve your problem, depending on what it is. Most people see noticeable results after just one session so you might not need extensive hypnosis or months of treatment in order to eliminate your problem, but it will almost always take more than one session for you to see any kind of noticeable results for psychological problems.
10. Is hypnosis safe?
Hypnosis is perfectly safe. You are always in control of the situation and you are never unconscious. Unlike drug therapies hypnosis has no possible side effects and in most people hypnosis always works unlike drugs which may work or may not work depending on your body’s chemistry and what the disorder is. Hypnosis can safely treat the physical and mental aspects of common problems like addictions safely and can help you break your physical and emotional dependence on overeating, smoking, drinking, drama, anger, or any other destructive addition that you might have.

Are You sceptical of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy?
Let’s get this out of the way first . . .
You don’t believe in hypnosis.
You especially don’t believe in hypnotherapists.
And if anyone mentions “mind control,” your internal shutters come down like a medieval drawbridge.
Fair.
You’ve seen the stage shows. You’ve heard the voices. You’ve been told to “just relax” by people who look suspiciously relaxed already. And somewhere along the way, someone suggested you clear your mind, as if that’s a normal thing brains do, like closing an app.
Your brain did not come with that feature.
If anything, your mind is more like a browser with 42 tabs open, three frozen, one playing audio, and at least one devoted entirely to replaying something embarrassing from 2014.
So when hypnosis was explained as “empty your thoughts and surrender control,” you quite reasonably thought, Absolutely not.
And here’s the twist:
You were right to reject that version.
Because the problem was never that you resisted hypnosis.
It’s that you were sold a misunderstanding.
Hypnosis isn’t silence.
It’s not switching your brain off.
And it definitely isn’t handing the keys of your personality to someone with a clipboard.
Hypnosis is attention doing what attention naturally does—shifting.
You already do it every day.
When you drive somewhere and arrive with no memory of the journey.
When you scroll for “five minutes” that suspiciously last 37.
When you reread the same paragraph three times and somehow still don’t know what it said.
Congratulations. You’ve been hypnotised. Several times. By accident. Without chanting.
Your previous attempts didn’t fail because hypnosis doesn’t work.
They failed because you were trying to force your mind into stillness instead of giving it something better to do.
Which brings us to the good part.
The Connect Mental Defrag Protocol isn’t about belief. It doesn’t require trust, openness, or buying into anything you’d be embarrassed to explain at dinner. It’s a practical, 30-second mental reset that interrupts spirals, reduces noise, and gets your brain unstuck—without asking it to behave unnaturally.
Think of it less as hypnosis…
and more as pressing “restart” without shutting the system down.
You’re already using this ability unconsciously. This book just shows you how to use it on purpose.
No swinging watches.
No affirmations shouted into mirrors.
No personality replacement.
Just a very human brain doing what it does best—once you stop fighting it.
You’re not here to be converted.
You’re here to declutter.
And frankly, that’s much more respectable.

CHAPTER 1
Eating When the House Is Too Quiet
Chapter 1: Eating When the House Is Too Quiet
There is a particular kind of hunger that arrives when the lights are low and the rooms feel too big.
It’s not loud. It doesn’t rush.
It settles in quietly—after dinner is done, after messages stop coming, after the day releases you and leaves you alone with yourself.
This is the hunger of absence.
If you find yourself drifting toward the kitchen at night, not because you want food but because the silence feels heavy, you are not indulging—you are responding. The body is exquisitely sensitive to quiet. When companionship, conversation, or purpose fades for the evening, the nervous system looks for something familiar to hold onto.
Food has learned this role well.
Let’s slow this moment down—gently—and apply The Quiet Pause Method™.
The Inner Knock
The emotional signal
Before your hand reaches for anything, notice what arrives first.
It may feel like:
-
A hollow stillness in your chest
-
A subtle restlessness
-
A sense of being unseen or unneeded
-
The thought: “It’s just me now.”
This is not hunger.
This is your nervous system registering aloneness.
The Inner Knock is simply the signal that says:
“I want comfort. I want presence. I want to feel held.”
Nothing needs fixing here. Only noticing.
The Soft Interrupt
A calming micro-action (≤15 seconds)
Instead of heading straight to the cupboard, pause where you are.
Place one hand lightly on the center of your chest.
Take one slow breath in through your nose…
and exhale gently through your mouth.
That’s it.
This small gesture interrupts the automatic loop—not by force, but by offering your body a signal of safety. Touch plus breath tells your nervous system: “You’re not alone right now.”
The Reframe Whisper
A hypnotic, affirmational phrase
Silently, softly, say to yourself:
“This feeling is allowed to pass through me.”
Not “go away.”
Not “stop.”
Just… pass through.
This whisper reframes the moment. You are no longer something that needs soothing with food—you are a feeling moving through a safe body.
The Felt Shift
The immediate emotional reward
Within seconds, something subtle changes.
Your shoulders drop.
Your breath deepens.
The urgency softens into warmth or neutrality.
You may still choose to eat—and that’s okay.
But now the choice comes from presence, not from filling a void.
The reward here is not control.
It’s companionship with yourself.
And in a quiet house, that matters more than anything on a plate.

CHAPTER 2
Anxiety That Masquerades as Hunger
Sometimes the urge to eat doesn’t come from emptiness—it comes from too much.
Too many thoughts. Too much tension. Too much energy moving through a body that doesn’t know where to place it.
This kind of eating feels urgent. You may notice a tightness in your chest, a flutter in your stomach, or a restless pacing that leads you to the kitchen without a clear intention. Food becomes a way to settle the feeling—to ground the buzz, to quiet the inner hum.
This is not lack of control.
This is a nervous system asking for relief.
Let’s meet this moment with The Connect Quiet Pause Method, exactly as it’s designed—softly, precisely, and without judgment.
The Inner Knock
The emotional signal
Before food enters the picture, anxiety speaks through the body.
You might feel:
-
Tightness or pressure in the chest
-
Shallow breathing
-
A jittery, unsettled sensation
-
The thought: “I need something—now.”
This is not hunger.
This is activation.
The Inner Knock here is your nervous system signaling that it’s on alert and looking for a way to come back into balance.
The Soft Interrupt
A calming micro-action (≤15 seconds)
Pause where you are.
Gently press your feet into the floor.
Exhale slowly through your mouth—as if you’re fogging a mirror.
Just one long exhale.
This brief action sends a powerful message to your body: the urgency is over. You’re not stopping yourself—you’re slowing the signal that drives the urge.
The Reframe Whisper
A hypnotic, affirmational phrase
Silently offer yourself this phrase:
“I am safe in this moment.”
Let the words land without effort.
They are not instructions—they are reassurance.
This whisper redirects the subconscious need from doing to being. From fixing the feeling to allowing it to settle.
The Felt Shift
The immediate emotional reward
Almost imperceptibly, the body responds.
Your chest loosens.
Your breath deepens.
The frantic edge softens into steadiness.
The reward is not the absence of anxiety—it’s regulation. A sense that you can stay present without needing to consume something to calm down.
From this place, choice becomes possible again.

CHAPTER 3
Eating on Autopilot at the Same Time Every Day
There’s a moment that arrives almost like clockwork.
Late afternoon. After dinner. Mid-morning.
Your body moves before you’ve decided anything at all.
You may not even feel particularly hungry. Yet suddenly you’re standing in the kitchen, opening the same cupboard, reaching for the same thing, at the same time—day after day.
This is not a craving.
This is a pattern.
Habitual eating loops are not driven by desire, but by familiarity. The nervous system loves rhythm. When life feels uncertain or emotionally quiet, repetition becomes soothing. Time itself becomes the trigger.
Let’s bring gentle awareness to this moment using The Connect Quiet Pause Method™—not to break the habit, but to soften it.
The Inner Knock
The emotional signal
The signal here is subtle and often missed.
It may show up as:
-
A sense of “It’s time” without knowing why
-
Mild restlessness or boredom
-
A mental cue: “This is when I usually eat.”
This is not hunger speaking.
This is your nervous system responding to routine as reassurance.
The Inner Knock is the body saying:
“I recognize this moment. I know what comes next.”
The Soft Interrupt
A calming micro-action (≤15 seconds)
When you notice yourself moving automatically, pause briefly.
Look around the room and silently name three things you can see.
Just three.
This small act gently pulls you out of autopilot and back into the present moment. It doesn’t disrupt the routine—it awakens it.
The Reframe Whisper
A hypnotic, affirmational phrase
Quietly offer yourself this phrase:
“I am here now, and I can choose.”
There is no pressure in this whisper.
Only permission.
It reminds the subconscious that habit is not obligation—and that awareness alone is enough to loosen the loop.
The Felt Shift
The immediate emotional reward
Something subtle but powerful happens.
Time slows.
The urge becomes less mechanical.
You feel a small return of agency.
The reward here is presence—the feeling of being awake inside your own routine.
You may still eat.
But now, you are with the choice instead of being carried by it.
And that quiet awareness is how habits begin to change—without effort.

Chapter 4:
Comfort Eating After Emotional Disappointment
Some disappointments don’t announce themselves loudly.
They arrive quietly—after a conversation that didn’t land, a plan that fell through, a hope that went unanswered. No drama. No collapse. Just a soft internal sinking.
This is the kind of moment that often leads to comfort eating.
Not because you’re upset enough to cry.
But because something didn’t happen.
After 50, emotional letdowns often come wrapped in maturity: “It’s fine.” “I’m used to it.” “I shouldn’t make a fuss.”
But the body still feels the loss. And food becomes a way to smooth the ache, to gently cover disappointment that feels too small—or too old—to name.
Let’s meet this tender moment with The Connect Quiet Pause Method™, exactly as it’s meant to be used.
The Inner Knock
The emotional signal
Before the urge to eat appears, there is often a subtle emotional dip.
You might notice:
-
A heaviness behind the eyes or in the chest
-
A quiet sadness without a clear story
-
The thought: “I thought it would be different.”
This is not weakness.
This is grief in miniature.
The Inner Knock here is your heart registering unmet expectation—asking, very gently, to be acknowledged.
The Soft Interrupt
A calming micro-action (≤15 seconds)
Pause for a moment.
Place one hand over your heart and press lightly—just enough to feel the contact.
Hold for one slow breath.
This brief gesture offers physical reassurance where words often fail. It tells the body: “I see this. You’re not alone with it.”
The Reframe Whisper
A hypnotic, affirmational phrase
Softly, silently, offer this phrase:
“It’s okay to feel this.”
Nothing more.
This whisper removes the need to fix, justify, or rise above the disappointment. It allows the feeling to exist without being numbed or covered.
The Felt Shift
The immediate emotional reward
Something softens.
The ache becomes less sharp.
The urge to self-soothe loses urgency.
You feel a quiet sense of being emotionally held.
The reward here is permission—the relief that comes from not having to override your feelings to be acceptable.
From this place, food is no longer required to carry the emotional weight.

CHAPTER 5
Anxiety Is Just a Stuck Attention Loop
Let’s be clear: anxiety is not “just in your head.”
It’s also in your chest, your stomach, your sleep, your jaw, your shoulders, your scrolling thumb, and that slightly haunted feeling you get when someone says, “Can we talk?”
Anxiety is real. It can be intense. It can be exhausting. And it often arrives with the confidence of a weather forecast:
“Something is wrong. I can’t prove it, but I’m sure.”
What we’re doing here is not minimising anxiety. We’re reframing it in a way that gives you leverage.
Because anxiety, at its core, is often a very human system doing a very predictable thing:
It’s attention getting stuck.
Like a cursor that won’t stop blinking on one terrifying sentence.
Your brain latches onto a threat (real, possible, imagined, or emotionally familiar), then loops: scanning, predicting, preparing, rehearsing. It doesn’t mean danger is guaranteed. It means your nervous system is trying to create certainty.
Unfortunately, it tends to do this by dragging you through every possible worst-case scenario like it’s a sightseeing tour.
So no—your anxiety isn’t you being dramatic.
It’s your attention refusing to let go.
Which means the solution isn’t “calm down.” (Thanks, Karen.)
The solution is: unstick the attention.
That’s exactly what the Connect Mental Defrag Protocol™ is for.
1) Glitch Notice
Recognising anxiety as a loop, not a prophecy
The glitch signal usually looks like this:
-
Your mind keeps returning to the same worry
-
Your body feels alert even when nothing is happening
-
You’re trying to “solve” a feeling with more thinking
-
You’re scanning for certainty and finding… more scanning
Name it—calmly, even wryly:
“Ah. Stuck attention.”
or
“My brain is threat-searching.”
This is not denial. It’s a diagnostic.
When you label it, you stop treating the anxious thought as a command and start treating it as a pattern.
2) Interrupt Ping
A tiny action (≤30 seconds) that breaks the loop
Anxiety hates the body being in charge. So we give the body a simple cue that signals safety.
Do this:
-
Press both feet into the floor
-
Exhale slowly and fully (one long exhale)
-
On the exhale, relax your shoulders by about 10%
That’s the ping.
You are not trying to “get rid of anxiety.”
You are telling your nervous system: “We are here. We are grounded. We are not sprinting.”
3) Recode Line
A phrase that redirects attention without arguing with it
This is where most people mess up: they try to replace anxious thoughts with positive ones.
An anxious brain hears “Everything is fine” and responds with,
“Is it though? Provide evidence.”
So we use a line that doesn’t invite debate:
“This is a feeling, not a forecast.”
That one sentence separates sensation from certainty. It doesn’t dismiss the fear. It removes its authority.
If you want a second option, equally debate-resistant:
“I can be uncomfortable and still be safe.”
Choose one. Repeat once. That’s enough.
4) System Ease
The immediate reward: reduced urgency, regained control
You’ll know it’s working when:
-
The intensity drops slightly (not necessarily to zero)
-
The urge to fix everything immediately softens
-
Your body feels more anchored
-
Your mind has a little more space around the worry
That’s System Ease.
And here’s the important point: success isn’t “no anxiety.”
Success is not being dragged by it.
You’re teaching your attention that it can move. That it can shift. That it can come back to the present.
Anxiety is loud.
But it doesn’t get to be the pilot.

Chapter 6:
Focus Isn’t Discipline, It’s Direction
If focus were a personality trait, half the population would be fired by lunchtime.
You’ve been told—explicitly or not—that concentration is a matter of discipline. That if you really cared, really tried, really applied yourself, you’d be able to sit down and focus like a morally upright adult.
Which is nonsense.
If focus were about effort, you’d be laser-sharp every time something mattered. Instead, you can concentrate effortlessly on a documentary about shipwrecks, yet struggle to read an email that directly affects your income.
This isn’t laziness.
It’s attention without direction.
Your brain doesn’t focus because you tell it to behave. It focuses when it knows where to point itself. When it doesn’t, it drifts—checking, scanning, switching tasks like a bored intern with Wi-Fi.
So no, your focus problem is not a character flaw.
It’s a navigation issue.
Let’s fix that using the Connect Mental Defrag Protocol™.
1) Glitch Notice
Recognising unfocused effort
The glitch here is subtle but familiar:
-
You’re “working” but nothing is moving
-
You’re switching tabs, apps, or thoughts constantly
-
You feel busy but ineffective
-
You keep restarting the same task from the beginning
This is what unfocused attention looks like. Not distraction—diffusion.
Label it neutrally:
“Ah. Attention is roaming.”
or
“No direction set.”
No criticism. Just diagnosis.
2) Interrupt Ping
A tiny action (≤30 seconds) to reset attention
We don’t clamp down harder. We pause and reset.
Do this:
-
Look away from the screen
-
Take one slow exhale
-
Place one finger lightly on the desk or surface in front of you
That’s the ping.
This brief physical cue interrupts the scattered loop and brings your attention back into the room—where it can be redirected.
3) Recode Line
A phrase that gives attention a job
Now we give your brain a single, specific direction.
Say silently:
“What’s the next small thing?”
Not “finish the project.”
Not “do it properly.”
Not “focus harder.”
Just the next small thing.
Attention doesn’t respond well to vague ambition. It responds beautifully to clear, limited instructions.
4) System Ease
The immediate reward: focus without strain
When it works, you’ll notice:
-
The task feels less overwhelming
-
Movement replaces hesitation
-
Focus appears without forcing
-
Momentum builds quietly
That’s System Ease.
Focus isn’t something you wrestle into submission. It’s something you aim. Once attention knows where to go, it usually cooperates—grudgingly at first, then willingly.
You don’t need more discipline.
You need a clearer arrow.

Chapter 7:
Why Willpower Is Overrated
Willpower has an excellent publicist.
It’s credited with productivity, self-control, success, moral virtue, and—somehow—the ability to override biology, emotion, habit, and the fact that you are a human being with a nervous system.
If willpower were as powerful as advertised, nobody would eat biscuits they didn’t plan to eat, scroll when they meant to sleep, or abandon perfectly good intentions the moment life got mildly inconvenient.
And yet.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Control does not come from effort. It comes from leverage.
Willpower is what you use when something has already gone wrong—when attention is scattered, emotions are loud, and you’re trying to wrestle your brain into compliance like it owes you money.
That’s not strength. That’s damage control.
The Connect Mental Defrag Protocol™ works before willpower is required—by preventing attention from getting stuck in the first place.
1) Glitch Notice
Recognising the moment you’re trying to “force” control
The glitch here sounds like:
-
“I should be able to control this.”
-
“I just need to try harder.”
-
“Why can’t I be more disciplined?”
And it feels like:
-
Tension
-
Resistance
-
Mental fatigue before you’ve even started
This is the signal that effort has replaced strategy.
Label it gently:
“Ah. Willpower mode engaged.”
or
“I’m pushing instead of steering.”
That moment of recognition is the pivot point.
2) Interrupt Ping
A tiny action (≤30 seconds) that stops the push
Before you double down, pause.
Do this:
-
Unclench your jaw
-
Drop your shoulders
-
Exhale slowly once
That’s it.
This tells your nervous system something important: we’re not under attack. Control doesn’t come from tension—it comes from reducing unnecessary resistance.
3) Recode Line
A phrase that replaces effort with alignment
Instead of demanding more discipline, try this line:
“What would make this easier?”
Not faster.
Not perfect.
Easier.
This question redirects attention toward leverage—changing the conditions instead of blaming yourself for reacting to them.
Your brain is very good at ease. It’s terrible at sustained force.
4) System Ease
The immediate reward: control without strain
When you stop relying on willpower, you’ll notice:
-
Less internal arguing
-
Fewer “shoulds”
-
More follow-through with less effort
-
A sense of cooperation instead of conflict
That’s System Ease.
Willpower is not useless—but it’s a backup generator, not the main power supply. When you rely on it constantly, something upstream is misaligned.
You don’t need more grit.
You need fewer internal battles.

Chapter 8:
Hypnosis Without the Hypnosis Voice
Let’s address the concern sitting quietly at the back of the room with its arms folded.
You don’t trust hypnosis because you don’t trust people.
Specifically:
-
People who lower their voice mid-sentence
-
People who say “just allow” without explaining what
-
People who assure you that you’re “completely in control” while sounding like they absolutely are not
If hypnosis requires you to surrender your will, stop thinking, or hand over decision-making to someone with a soothing cadence and a suspicious amount of confidence—then yes. Avoid it. Run. Lock the door.
But here’s the part that often gets missed:
Real hypnosis doesn’t take control away. It gives it back.
Manipulation happens when attention is hijacked without your consent. Hypnosis—used properly—is the opposite. It’s simply learning how attention works so you can stop it being dragged around by every thought, fear, or persuasive voice (including your own).
There is no special “hypnosis voice” required.
There is no trance you can’t leave.
There is no off switch for your values, judgment, or free will.
If there were, advertising would be illegal and nobody would ever buy insurance they didn’t need.
Let’s dismantle the fear using the Connect Mental Defrag Protocol™—clearly, calmly, and with no spooky music.
1) Glitch Notice
Recognising the fear of losing control
The glitch usually sounds like:
-
“What if I get stuck?”
-
“What if someone puts ideas in my head?”
-
“I don’t like the idea of being suggestible.”
And feels like:
-
Resistance
-
Guardedness
-
A strong desire to keep one eyebrow raised at all times
Label it neutrally:
“Ah. Control alarm.”
or
“This feels unfamiliar, not unsafe.”
That distinction matters.
Fear doesn’t mean danger. It means your system is protecting autonomy—which is actually a good thing.
2) Interrupt Ping
A tiny action (≤30 seconds) that grounds agency
To reassure the nervous system, we use a physical cue that reinforces choice.
Do this:
-
Press your thumb and finger together
-
Notice the pressure
-
Release
That’s it.
This simple action reminds your body: I initiate, I stop, I choose. Hypnosis doesn’t override agency—it works with it.
3) Recode Line
A phrase that reframes hypnosis accurately
Now give your mind a definition it can trust:
“Hypnosis is guided attention, not surrender.”
Say it once. Calmly.
This removes the drama and replaces it with something factual. You are not handing over control—you are directing focus, the same way you do when reading, listening to music, or getting lost in a film.
The only difference is that now you’re aware it’s happening.
4) System Ease
The immediate reward: safety with autonomy intact
When the defrag works, you’ll notice:
-
The fear softens
-
Curiosity replaces resistance
-
Your body feels steadier
-
The need to “stay on guard” reduces
That’s System Ease.
Hypnosis doesn’t work on you. It works with you—or not at all. And anyone who suggests otherwise is either misinformed or selling something.
You don’t lose control in hypnosis.
You lose unnecessary interference.
And frankly, your inner critic could use the break.

Chapter 9:
Eating When You’re Tired of Being Strong
There’s a specific kind of exhaustion that doesn’t show up on a sleep tracker.
It’s the exhaustion of being the capable one.
The steady one.
The “it’s fine” one.
The one who keeps it together so well that nobody even thinks to ask if you’re okay—because you’ve been performing Functional Human™ for so long it looks permanent.
And then, at the end of the day, food starts to look less like food and more like a small, reliable off-switch.
Not because you’re hungry.
Because you’re done.
This isn’t about discipline. It’s about depletion. When you’re emotionally exhausted, your brain seeks fast comfort and low effort. Eating works quickly, requires no conversation, and doesn’t ask you to explain yourself. Honestly, it’s a very persuasive system.
So we’re not going to shame it. We’re going to defrag it.
Use the Connect Mental Defrag Protocol™—step by step—right in the moment when you’re “tired of being strong.”
1) Glitch Notice
Recognising emotional exhaustion before it turns into autopilot eating
The glitch signal usually sounds like:
-
“I can’t do one more thing.”
-
“I just need something.”
-
“Don’t ask me questions. Don’t ask me to choose.”
And it feels like:
-
A heavy chest
-
A flat, numb mood
-
A quiet resentment that you even have to be the adult again
Name it gently—like you’re observing a weather pattern:
“Ah. Depletion.”
or
“Battery’s in the red.”
This isn’t you being weak.
This is your nervous system asking for relief.
2) Interrupt Ping
A tiny action (≤30 seconds) that gives your body the comfort signal first
Before you reach for food, give your nervous system a quick “I’ve got you.”
Do this:
-
Drop your shoulders on purpose
-
Unclench your jaw
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Take one long exhale, like you’re fogging a mirror
That’s it.
This is not a deep breathing ceremony. It’s a quick nervous-system cue that says:
“We’re safe. We can soften.”
3) Recode Line
A phrase that stops food being the only comfort option
Now give your brain a line that doesn’t argue with your need—just widens your choices:
“I need comfort, not coping.”
Or, if you prefer something even simpler:
“I can be soft without food.”
You’re not banning anything. You’re restoring agency. You’re reminding yourself that comfort doesn’t have to mean consumption.
4) System Ease
The immediate reward: permission to soften without spiralling
The win here isn’t “never emotionally eat again.”
The win is a shift:
-
The urgency lowers
-
The “I need something NOW” feeling relaxes
-
Your body feels a touch more cared for
-
You regain the ability to choose what actually helps
That’s System Ease.
And here’s the important part: sometimes you’ll still eat. That’s fine. But now it can be a conscious choice—maybe with a glass of water, maybe seated, maybe with actual enjoyment—rather than a silent collapse into the cupboard.
Because you don’t need more strength.
You need more support.
And yes, you can provide some of that support in 30 seconds—without becoming a “hypnosis person.” (You’re welcome.)

Chapter 10:
When Food Feels Like the Only Reliable Comfort
For some people, food isn’t just enjoyable.
It’s dependable.
It’s been there on the good days and the very quiet ones. It didn’t ask questions. It didn’t misunderstand you. It didn’t leave, judge, or require you to explain why you’re feeling the way you do.
So if food feels like the only reliable comfort, that didn’t happen by accident.
It happened because, at some point, food worked.
This chapter isn’t here to take that comfort away. That would be cruel and unnecessary.
Instead, we’re going to gently widen the circle of safety—so food doesn’t have to do all the emotional heavy lifting.
We’ll do that using the Connect Quiet Pause Method™, slowly, compassionately, and without pretending this attachment is “just a bad habit.”
The Inner Knock
The emotional signal beneath the urge
Before the reach for food, there’s often a very specific feeling:
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A sense of being alone, even if others are nearby
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A quiet vulnerability, like your guard is down
-
The thought: “At least this will make me feel okay.”
This is not weakness.
This is your nervous system seeking safety.
The Inner Knock here is the body saying:
“I want something that won’t disappear.”
Pause just long enough to acknowledge that truth—without correcting it.
The Soft Interrupt
A gentle micro-action (≤30 seconds) that offers safety directly
Instead of immediately reaching for food, try this first:
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Wrap your arms lightly around your torso
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Apply just enough pressure to feel held
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Take one slow breath in, and one slow breath out
That’s it.
This is not a replacement. It’s an addition.
You’re giving your body the sensation of comfort before deciding what comes next.
The Reframe Whisper
A compassionate phrase that widens the definition of safety
Silently say:
“I can feel safe right now.”
Not forever.
Not perfectly.
Just right now.
This whisper doesn’t argue with your attachment to food. It simply introduces another source of steadiness—your own presence.
The Felt Shift
The immediate emotional reward
What often follows is subtle but meaningful:
-
The urgency softens
-
The sense of desperation eases
-
The feeling of being alone loosens its grip
-
You feel steadier, even briefly
That’s the Felt Shift.
And here’s the important part: you may still eat. That’s okay. But now the eating can come from choice rather than fear—from comfort rather than survival.
Food doesn’t have to be your only safe place anymore.
It can be one of many.
And that’s not loss.
That’s relief.

