Were you looking for hypnosis on Facebook when you logged on? Did you think that you would be hypnotised by the posts as you scrolled through them? Maybe twitter is working its hypnotic magic on you instead, How is social media hypnotising us on a day to day basis?

I find social media and its rise to be very interesting but I do have to admit that it sometimes seems that people are being hypnotised by facebook and twitter. Have you ever just "had a quick look" at what your friends are up to and found that an hour has passed whilst you watched videos and looked at pictures of cats?

It's that hypnosis on social media that has pulled you in. People often think that hypnosis is a strange and mystical thing and all about taking control of your mind but it isn't that at all. It is a normal state and really just that relaxed feeling of daydreaming, exactly like you may find when you are looking at facebook. Have you ever been driving and realised that you cannot remember the last couple of miles? That's called highway hypnosis and is very common. It's a little like getting so involved in a film that you forget about the outside world and get drawn into the story.

Hypnotherapy is different of course in many ways. As a Clinical Hypnotherapist I use a variety of techniques and it certainly isn't just closing your eyes and imagining that you are walking down some stairs. I first learnt about hypnotherapy when I had hypnosis for insomnia over twenty years ago. I slept so badly that I didn't think I could ever change things but I did and when I learnt how to relax I never looked back. It is really all about learning to relax and let go of stress and anxiety and that must be a good thing surely? When I see all the moaning and negative posts of facebook I can see that it isn't really how I want to spend my time, but perhaps you see it another way?

So, maybe its time to find a different way to relax. It's fine to let the facebook hypnosis pull you in once in a while, but if you start to spend too much time under its spell perhaps you are missing out on what is happening for real around you.

I know that it is great to see what your friends are up to, but if you can why not go and see them or a family member you haven't seen for a while for real!

If you would like to know how it feels to by hypnotised, it's just a relaxing feeling and you are always in control. In fact you can listen to a free relaxation MP3 here: http://www.markpowlett.co.uk/freerelaxationdownload.html