How hypnotizable are you? Take the free hypnotizability test

Hypnotizability is how readily you respond to hypnotic suggestions, such as feeling your arm grow light or picturing a scene so vividly it feels real. Researchers treat it as a normal trait that varies from person to person, and most people fall somewhere in the middle. Our free self-test takes about 10 minutes and gives you an informal read on how you responded to one short guided exercise. [1], [4]

If you've wondered whether hypnosis would "work on you", you're not alone. Stage shows have made it look like a party trick, so plenty of people expect to be bad at it. Clinical hypnosis is something else entirely.

What is hypnotizability?

A 2015 paper from the American Psychological Association's hypnosis division defines hypnotizability as a person's ability to experience suggested changes in sensations, emotions, thoughts or behaviour during hypnosis. [1]

It's related to a separate trait psychologists call absorption: the capacity to get fully caught up in an experience, like a book you can't put down or a film that has you feeling what the characters feel. A 1974 study in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology found that people who scored higher on absorption tended to score higher on hypnotic susceptibility. The two overlap without being the same thing. [2]

Hypnosis doesn't mean losing control. You can stop the self-test exercise at any time.

How does the hypnotizability self-test work?

The self-test is called BREATH. It was developed by Dr Gary Elkins and the Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory at Baylor University. It has three parts and takes about 10 minutes from start to finish:

1. Six quick questions about you. You rate how well statements describe you, such as being able to recall a memory so vividly it feels like you're reliving it, or getting so absorbed in a show that you feel what the characters feel.

2. A six-minute guided recording. A short session guides you to relax and imagine yourself in a flower garden. Listen somewhere quiet and safe, sitting or lying down. Never listen while driving or doing anything that needs your attention.

3. Three questions about the experience. You rate how relaxed you felt, how much you felt you were really in the garden, and whether you noticed the scent of the rose the recording describes.

Your answers are combined into one of three results: low average, average or high hypnotizability. These are the self-test's own labels, so they aren't a ranking against the population.

What does my hypnotizability result mean?

Your result is feedback on how absorbed you felt in this one exercise and how you describe yourself. It's an informal self-test, and it can't tell you whether hypnotherapy will help a particular health condition.

Formal measurement looks quite different. The Elkins Hypnotizability Scale, for example, is given one-to-one by a trained assessor; a 2016 study of the scale reported it takes around half an hour. [3]

How common is high hypnotizability?

Less common than you might think. A 2021 review in Frontiers in Neuroscience put about 15% of people in the high range and about 15% in the low range, with the remaining 70% or so in the middle. Those figures come from formal research scales, so they don't map directly onto this self-test's three labels. [4]

Does hypnotizability change over time?

Hypnotizability appears to be a fairly stable trait. A 1989 study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology retested people 25 years after their first measurement and found their scores were still related. [5] A 1973 study of twins also suggested a genetic component. [6]

Whatever your result, a quiet room, headphones and no notifications make it easier to settle into any guided recording.

Does hypnotizability matter for gut-directed hypnotherapy?

Researchers are still working that out. Gut-directed hypnotherapy uses guided relaxation and gut-focused imagery to help people manage IBS, and studies have looked for ways to predict who responds.

A 2010 study published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine followed 156 people having therapist-delivered hypnotherapy for IBS at a UK clinic. People who chose a positive colour to describe their mood had much higher odds of responding. Higher absorption scores were also associated with response. [7]

That's one clinic's findings, and they don't apply to this self-test. A quiz result can't tell you whether gut-directed hypnotherapy will help your IBS. Your doctor is the right person to talk that through with.

If you're living with IBS, you've probably been told it's "just stress" or that it's all in your head. It isn't. IBS is a disorder of gut-brain interaction, and the American College of Gastroenterology's 2021 guideline suggests gut-directed psychotherapies, which include hypnotherapy, for IBS symptoms. [8] You can read how gut-directed hypnotherapy works for what sessions involve and what the research shows.

Where Nerva fits

Nerva is a personalised digital digestive care programme for IBS. It brings together clinical screening, brain-gut behavioural care, dietary guidance and symptom tracking, with a six-week core programme and continued access afterward. Guided gut-directed hypnotherapy audio sessions of about 15 minutes are one part of it. If you have an IBS diagnosis, talk to your doctor about whether Nerva could be a useful part of your care plan.

Only a healthcare provider can diagnose IBS, so talk to your doctor about everything you use to manage your symptoms. Get medical advice for new, worsening or worrying symptoms, such as blood in your stool or unexplained weight loss. These are only examples. [9]

Frequently asked questions

Can anyone be hypnotised?

Most people respond to hypnotic suggestions to some degree. A 2021 review estimated that about 15% of people sit in the low range on formal scales. [4]

Can this test tell me if hypnotherapy will help my IBS?

No. Talk to your doctor about whether gut-directed hypnotherapy suits you.

The bottom line

The self-test is a quick, informal way to see how a short guided session feels for you. If you're considering hypnotherapy for IBS, start with a conversation with your doctor.

References

1. Elkins GR, Barabasz AF, Council JR, Spiegel D. Advancing research and practice: the revised APA Division 30 definition of hypnosis. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2015;63(1):1–9. DOI link.

2. Tellegen A, Atkinson G. Openness to absorbing and self-altering experiences ("absorption"), a trait related to hypnotic susceptibility. J Abnorm Psychol. 1974;83(3):268–277. DOI link.

3. Kekecs Z, Bowers J, Johnson A, Kendrick C, Elkins G. The Elkins Hypnotizability Scale: assessment of reliability and validity. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2016;64(3):285–304. DOI link.

4. Santarcangelo EL, Carli G. Individual traits and pain treatment: the case of hypnotizability. Front Neurosci. 2021;15:683045. DOI link.

5. Piccione C, Hilgard ER, Zimbardo PG. On the degree of stability of measured hypnotizability over a 25-year period. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1989;56(2):289–295. DOI link.

6. Morgan AH. The heritability of hypnotic susceptibility in twins. J Abnorm Psychol. 1973;82(1):55–61. DOI link.

7. Carruthers HR, Morris J, Tarrier N, Whorwell PJ. Mood color choice helps to predict response to hypnotherapy in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2010;10:75. DOI link.

8. Lacy BE, Pimentel M, Brenner DM, et al. ACG clinical guideline: management of irritable bowel syndrome. Am J Gastroenterol. 2021;116(1):17–44. DOI link.

9. NIDDK. Diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome. Source link.