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Hypnosis Isn’t Magic—It’s Neuroscience: What the Data Really Says

How a Near-Death Experience Led Me to the Science of Hypnosis



image shows woman with eyes closed and a outline of her brain glowing underneath
The Science of Powerful Trance

In 2011, I suddenly dropped dead and went to a wonderful place. No bills. No responsibilities. And I felt an indescribable peace and connection to all beings. Isn’t that weird? Connected to everyone and not being pissed off about their bad manners, rudeness, or politics. Peace. Love. Harmony.


When I got shocked back to life, it was a rude awakening. More bills. More responsibilities. And more questions.


The two biggest questions I had were:

  1. How do I get back to that peaceful place (without having to die again)?

  2. Now that I beat the 4% odds of surviving, I must have a life purpose. What is it?


I sought to answer those questions via a journey through meditation, spirituality, religion, and drugs. I became a shaman, learned Reiki, and sat with the dying in hospice. I even did stand-up comedy.


The thing that got me closest to that perfect place is hypnosis. It activates different parts of the brain than meditation and similar parts as hallucinogens. I only found this through personal experience. And now I have become multi-certified in how to help people use hypnosis to get there themselves. Safely. No side effects. And it produces quick, meaningful change.


So, I started a business helping people find this place (trancewell.help). And I asked many of the people on my mailing list, “Would you like to know more about hypnosis through science or through the woo-woo?”


To my disappointment, almost everyone answered, “science!”


Fine. This is a good thing, right? It forces me to do the research and figure out how it actually works, versus making up something like a “light your sage and speak to your ancestors” type of answer. And the work will make me a better hypnotist: combining my spiritual practice with scientific evidence of best practices.


I started by interviewing doctors for my podcast and then using their research articles as a springboard for more research. Below is what I have discovered so far. It is broken into four sections:

  1. Showing how hypnosis is stronger than the placebo effect

  2. The areas of the brain affected by hypnosis (and how the brain is affected)

  3. Hypnosis compared to traditional therapy (spoiler: hypnosis is the turbo-charge)

  4. The things hypnosis excels at changing/helping



Section 1: The Skeptic’s Question: Is It Just a Placebo?

One of the most common criticisms of hypnosis is that it’s just the "placebo effect" with a fancier name. The argument goes something like this: if someone believes something will help them, their brain releases endorphins, and they feel better. Skeptics claim that hypnotized individuals are simply highly compliant people convincing themselves it works.


While belief and expectation do play a role in any therapeutic intervention, modern neuroimaging has shown that hypnosis and the placebo effect are fundamentally different processes in the brain.


The placebo effect primarily operates through the brain's "limbic system," which is the emotional center responsible for processing hope and expectation. For example, if you believe a sugar pill is morphine, your emotional brain relaxes, which can temporarily reduce your perception of pain.


Hypnosis, on the other hand, goes much deeper. It directly impacts the brain’s sensory processing centers.


Using fMRI scans, researchers have observed something remarkable: under hypnosis, the brain doesn’t just make you care less about pain—it can actually block the raw pain signal from reaching your conscious mind. Hypnosis affects the somatosensory cortex (where physical sensations are registered) and the occipital areas in ways that a placebo simply cannot.


Additionally, research shows that the ability to be hypnotized is a distinct neurological trait. In one study on pain relief, highly suggestible individuals experienced significant physiological pain reduction through hypnosis, while a placebo condition failed to replicate those results. If it were just about belief, the placebo would have worked just as well.


  • Scientific Evidence: This article explains the neuroimaging differences, showing how placebo acts on emotional centers while hypnosis acts on sensory processing areas. Read more at Reveri Health.

  • Scientific Evidence: This study demonstrates that "hypnotic susceptibility" is a real biological trait that modulates pain relief differently than mere placebo expectation. Read the study at PubMed.

  • Scientific Evidence: Neuroimaging shows hypnosis can separate the physical sensation of pain from the emotional "suffering" of pain in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex. Read the analysis at Monash Lens.


Would you like to experience the healing power of hypnosis and trance? I've got a growing library of free audios & videos you can access here: Start Here | Trancewell

Section 2: Mapping the Trance: How Hypnosis Changes Your Brain

If hypnosis is real, what’s actually happening inside your brain? It’s not your brain "falling asleep." Instead, it’s your brain shifting into a unique state of relaxed alertness.

Researchers at Stanford and other institutions have identified a specific "neural signature" of the hypnotic state, involving three key areas of the brain.


  1. Quieting the Worry Center: Hypnosis decreases activity in the Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex (dACC), a key part of the brain’s "salience network." Think of the dACC as your brain’s "worry center"—it’s the part that constantly scans for errors, second-guesses decisions, and makes you feel self-conscious. When you’re in a hypnotic state, this area quiets down, which explains why people in a trance feel uninhibited and stop overthinking.

  2. Super-Connecting Mind and Body: Hypnosis increases connectivity between the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC)—the brain’s executive "CEO"—and the Insula, which monitors bodily sensations. This enhanced connection allows your mind to exert greater control over your physical body, explaining how hypnosis can regulate heart rate, digestion, and even pain signals.


Hypnosis vs. Meditation and Mindfulness

It’s easy to confuse hypnosis with meditation, but they’re not the same. While they’re "cousins"—both involving altered states of consciousness—brain scans reveal distinct differences.


Meditation is about "open monitoring," like using a wide-angle lens to observe all thoughts and sensations without judgment. Hypnosis, by contrast, is "focused dissociation"—a zoom lens that hones in on one idea or goal while tuning out everything else. A comparative fMRI study confirmed that while both practices relax the brain, they activate entirely different connectivity patterns.


Rewiring the Brain (Neuroplasticity)

One of the most exciting aspects of hypnosis is how it facilitates neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to rewire itself.


By quieting the critical dACC and accessing the subconscious mind, hypnosis creates the perfect environment for "Long-Term Potentiation," the biological process where neurons that fire together wire together. This allows therapeutic suggestions to bypass the conscious mind’s resistance, forming new neural pathways for habits, behaviors, and emotional responses much faster than in ordinary waking consciousness.




Section 3: The Turbocharger: Hypnosis vs. Traditional Therapy

Standard talk therapy, like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), is a gold standard for treating many mental health challenges. It works by engaging the conscious, rational mind to identify and change negative thought patterns.


But here’s the thing: the conscious mind is just the tip of the iceberg. Much of our behavior is driven by subconscious programming, emotional triggers, and automatic bodily responses—areas that talk therapy sometimes struggles to reach.


This is where hypnosis shines. It’s not an "either/or" choice against traditional therapy; it’s more like a turbocharger.


Hypnosis acts as a catalyst for traditional therapy tools. In a hypnotic state, patients are less critical and more open to adopting new perspectives. Studies show that combining hypnosis with CBT significantly increases the effectiveness of treatment for conditions like obesity, insomnia, and anxiety. Hypnosis helps patients internalize what they learn in therapy, turning it into automatic behavior rather than something they have to consciously "work on."


For example, in treating major depression, clinical trials have found that while CBT is effective, adding hypnosis leads to better long-term outcomes and symptom prevention. Hypnosis appears to solidify the cognitive shifts made during therapy sessions.


  • Scientific Evidence: A clinical trial showing that combining CBT with hypnosis outperformed CBT alone for long-term remission of depression. Read the trial at Taylor & Francis Online.

  • Scientific Evidence: A meta-analysis of 17 trials found that participants treated with hypnosis improved more than 79% of control participants regarding anxiety. Read the analysis at ResearchGate.

  • Scientific Evidence: A review indicating that hypnosis acts as a "catalyst," increasing the effect size of CBT for issues like obesity and insomnia. Read the review at PubMed Central.



Section 4: The Heavy Lifting: Things Hypnosis Excels At

While hypnosis is often associated with habit changes like quitting smoking or losing weight, its strongest scientific backing lies in its ability to regulate the physical body—especially in managing pain and calming the nervous system.


Non-Opioid Pain Management

Pain management is where hypnosis truly shines. In clinical settings, it’s used for both acute pain (like during dental procedures or childbirth) and chronic pain conditions.

Systematic reviews of surgical patients show that those who receive hypnosis experience lower pain scores, less nausea, faster recovery, and—critically—require far less medication. In today’s opioid crisis, this is a gamechanger. Hypnosis works by altering how the brain processes pain signals, essentially turning down the "volume" on suffering.


Anxiety and the Autonomic Nervous System

Hypnosis is also incredibly effective at calming the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).

For people stuck in "fight or flight" mode due to anxiety, trauma, or chronic stress, hypnosis helps shift the body into the "rest and digest" state. This isn’t just a feeling of calm—it’s a measurable physiological shift, seen in biomarkers like increased Heart Rate Variability (HRV). Hypnosis can even stimulate the Vagus nerve, signaling the body that it’s safe, which slows the heart rate and restores digestion.


  • Scientific Evidence: A meta-analysis confirming that medical hypnosis significantly reduces pain scores and the need for opioids in surgical settings. Read the data at MDPI.

  • Scientific Evidence: A review detailing how hypnosis shifts the Autonomic Nervous System from "fight or flight" to "rest and digest," measurable via heart rate. Read the review at PubMed Central.

  • Scientific Evidence: An article exploring Polyvagal Theory and how hypnotherapy stimulates the "safety nerve" to pull people out of trauma-based shutdown states. Read more at Sense-Ability.



Conclusion

The days of dismissing hypnosis as fringe magic are over. The science is clear: hypnosis is a verifiable, biological state that changes brain connectivity, influences physical physiology, and enhances traditional psychological treatments. As our understanding of the brain grows, hypnosis is earning its rightful place as a powerful, evidence-based tool in modern healthcare.


If you are curious about experiencing hypnosis and trance for yourself, I have built (and continuing to build with the help of my team) a free library of audios and videos for you. You can sign up free here: Start Here | Trancewell


Further Reading & Additional Evidence

  • Hypnosis vs. Mindfulness for Insomnia: A study comparing different modalities found that while mindfulness helped calm pre-sleep worry, hypnosis was superior for improving sleep continuity and physical relaxation. Read the study at ResearchGate.

  • Hypnosis for Acute Stress: Research showing brief hypnosis is superior to standard care for reducing pre-procedural anxiety in medical settings. Read the review at PubMed Central.

  • Long-Term Resilience: A 2-year follow-up study in palliative care showing patients receiving hypnosis maintained lower anxiety and pain scores long-term compared to standard care. Read the trial at Annals of Palliative Medicine.

  • Faster Healing: A review indicating that the deep physiological relaxation of hypnosis can reduce surgical inflammation and improve wound healing times. Read the article at ProBiologists.

  • The Default Mode Network: Further research on how hypnosis deactivates the brain's DMN (the "wandering mind"). Read the study at PubMed Central.

 
 
 
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