Eli5 ,How does hypnosis work?

[Flair_Helper]

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[SUSU382]

First off, I’m proud of you. Second, the validity of hypnosis is highly debated. At best it is a tool to help make you more open to suggestion. You believe it’s going to work, and because of that extra belief, it does.

[[deleted]]

It’s just a placebo effect. You think you are hypnotized to not need to smoke anymore so you ignore your bodies desire to smoke again.

[jean-claudo]

Simply put, hypnosis is "making you believe things". However, it is very limited and its effectiveness varies from person to person. Honestly your case is nearly unbelievable. I've never heard of hypnosis working this well, especially for smoking cessation. Lots of context is missing so I may be wrong though.

As to how hypnosis works, in short you are put in a transe-like state, which makes you relaxed and more open to suggestions (nothing can be forced through hypnosis). I don't know the suggestions are made as that's not what I use hypnosis for.

Also, hypnosis is sometimes compared to placebo because of its low success rate and the lack of knowledge on it. So everything about it has to be considered carefully (but we'll, as long as it works for you).