Despite a quiet mood and the soothing voice of hypnotherapists Saturday, Gainesville residents were not getting sleepy...very sleepy.
Instead, the attendees listened attentively to seven certified hypnotherapists discuss topics ranging from stress management to weight loss through hypnotism in honor of World Hypnotism Day.
World Hypnotism Day, officially Jan. 4 but celebrated throughout the week, is dedicated to dispelling myths and promoting the truth about hypnotism, according to its Web site.
Although this is the holiday’s sixth year of recognition, Saturday was the first time the day was celebrated in Gainesville, said Carol Perrine, a certified clinical hypnotherapist and co-organizer of the event.
Intrigued by the idea, Gainesville residents like Helen Kiefer crowded Books-A-Million on Northwest 13th Street and braved the cold to attend and learn more about the mysterious topic.
“It’s not a voodoo thing like some people think,” Kiefer said.
Perrine said many of the misconceptions about hypnotism that World Hypnotism Day seeks to remove come from the idea that hypnotism is a form of mind control.
“The idea is that you can be made to quack like a duck,” she said, “but the truth is you cannot be made to do anything that you wouldn’t do normally, legally or morally.”
World Hypnotism Day also seeks to raise awareness of the medical and dental uses of hypnotherapy, Perrine said.
Hypnotherapy can help people stop smoking, lose weight, raise low self-esteem and even fix procrastination, Perrine said.
Lily Blanchet agreed, saying she had previously been hypnotized with great success.
She came to the event for presentations on stress and weight loss, hoping they might help in the same way they helped her quit smoking.
“After hypnotherapy,” she said, “I feel as though I can do anything.”
