Have you ever wished you could be a little less inhibited? Perhaps you would like to feel more comfortable meeting new people, express your opinions more freely, speak in front of an audience, or stop worrying so much about what other people think.
Maybe you find yourself holding back, even when you would really like to participate. You might have ideas you hesitate to share, opportunities you avoid, or feelings you struggle to express.
Alternatively, you may be interested in whether hypnotherapy can help with excessive self-consciousness, shyness, or a tendency to overthink social situations.
Could hypnosis help you become less inhibited?
Yes, hypnotherapy could potentially help reduce certain forms of excessive inhibition, particularly when they are associated with anxiety, fear of judgment, low confidence, or unhelpful thinking patterns.
However, it is important to understand what lowering inhibitions actually means.
There is a significant difference between becoming more relaxed, confident, and willing to express yourself and losing the judgment or self-control that helps you make sensible decisions.
The aim should be to reduce unnecessary psychological barriers, not eliminate healthy boundaries or encourage impulsive behavior.
Let's explore how hypnotherapy might help, what the research tells us, and how it could be used to encourage greater confidence and freedom of expression.
What does it mean to have inhibitions?
Inhibitions are psychological restraints that influence how we think, feel, and behave.
They can affect whether we express an opinion, approach someone, take a risk, participate in an activity, or reveal something about ourselves.
Inhibitions aren't necessarily negative.
For example, they can help us:
Think before speaking.
Consider the consequences of our actions.
Respect other people's boundaries.
Avoid unnecessarily risky behavior.
Manage emotional reactions.
Behave appropriately in different social situations.
These are useful functions.
However, inhibitions can sometimes become excessive or disproportionate to the situation.
For example, you might:
Avoid speaking because you're afraid of sounding foolish.
Find it difficult to introduce yourself to unfamiliar people.
Feel uncomfortable expressing your opinions.
Worry excessively about what others think.
Avoid opportunities because you're afraid of making mistakes.
Struggle to express your feelings.
Hold back your personality because you fear being judged.
Find it difficult to relax and enjoy yourself around other people.
In these situations, inhibitions can interfere with everyday life and prevent you from doing things you would genuinely like to do.
The important distinction is between healthy self-restraint and unnecessary psychological inhibition.
Hypnotherapy would generally aim to address the latter.
Can hypnosis actually lower inhibitions?
Hypnosis can influence certain aspects of attention, perception, and responses to suggestion.
During hypnotherapy, a practitioner may use focused attention, relaxation, mental imagery, and carefully worded suggestions to help someone explore different ways of thinking and responding.
For example, someone who feels excessively inhibited in social situations might receive suggestions intended to encourage:
Greater self-confidence.
Less fear of negative evaluation.
Greater willingness to express opinions.
More comfortable social interactions.
Reduced self-consciousness.
A more relaxed approach to unfamiliar situations.
The objective is to help the individual feel more comfortable behaving naturally rather than constantly monitoring or criticizing themselves.
However, it is important not to assume that hypnosis automatically removes psychological inhibitions.
People respond differently to hypnotic suggestions, and the effectiveness of treatment depends on the particular difficulty being addressed.
There is also a difference between reducing anxiety-related inhibition and changing someone's underlying ability to exercise judgment or self-control.
Hypnotherapy should focus on the former.
How might hypnotherapy help someone become less inhibited?
There are several possible ways hypnosis could be incorporated into a program designed to reduce excessive inhibition.
1. Reducing fear of what other people think
One of the most common reasons people hold themselves back is fear of judgment.
You might worry that other people will criticize your appearance, dislike your opinions, or think you're saying something foolish.
These concerns can become so influential that you start avoiding situations in which you might attract attention.
Hypnotherapy could be used to explore these concerns and introduce suggestions intended to encourage a more balanced response.
For example, suggestions might emphasize:
Feeling comfortable being yourself.
Accepting that other people have different opinions.
Recognizing that occasional mistakes are normal.
Becoming less preoccupied with other people's reactions.
Feeling increasingly comfortable expressing yourself.
The aim is not to stop caring about other people altogether.
It's to develop a healthier balance between considering other people's opinions and feeling confident enough to express your own.
2. Increasing social confidence
Some people are naturally more reserved than others.
Being quiet or introverted isn't a problem in itself. However, if you would like to be more socially confident but repeatedly hold yourself back, hypnotherapy might be worth exploring.
A practitioner could use suggestions and visualization exercises involving situations such as:
Introducing yourself to unfamiliar people.
Starting conversations.
Joining group discussions.
Speaking up in meetings.
Attending social gatherings.
Expressing your sense of humor.
Making new friends.
You might mentally rehearse these situations while imagining yourself behaving more comfortably and confidently.
The intention would be to make the situations feel more familiar and encourage a less anxious response when you encounter them in everyday life.
3. Reducing excessive self-consciousness
Self-consciousness can make ordinary social interactions unnecessarily difficult.
You might become so preoccupied with how you look, sound, or behave that you struggle to enjoy the experience.
For example, rather than concentrating on a conversation, you might continually wonder whether you're making the right impression.
Hypnotherapy could potentially help by introducing suggestions that encourage you to:
Focus more on the present moment.
Pay attention to the conversation rather than constantly monitoring yourself.
Feel more comfortable with your appearance and behavior.
Accept that you don't need to perform perfectly.
Allow conversations to develop naturally.
This could be particularly relevant for people who feel that their self-consciousness prevents them from expressing their personality.
4. Becoming more comfortable expressing emotions
Some people find it difficult to express their feelings.
They might avoid telling someone how they feel, struggle to communicate their needs, or find it uncomfortable to show affection.
This can sometimes be associated with fear of rejection, criticism, embarrassment, or vulnerability.
Hypnotherapy could potentially support work on these underlying concerns.
Suggestions might encourage someone to:
Feel more comfortable expressing emotions.
Communicate their needs clearly.
Become more accepting of their feelings.
Express affection appropriately.
Develop greater confidence in personal relationships.
The objective isn't to encourage indiscriminate emotional expression.
It's to make it easier to communicate honestly and appropriately when doing so is important.
5. Becoming more assertive
There is an important difference between being aggressive and being assertive.
Aggression involves imposing your wishes on others, whereas assertiveness involves communicating your thoughts, feelings, and needs respectfully.
Someone with excessive inhibitions might find it difficult to disagree, say no, ask for something, or stand up for themselves.
Hypnotherapy could potentially be used to reinforce suggestions associated with assertive behavior.
For example, you might mentally rehearse:
Expressing a different opinion.
Saying no without feeling excessively guilty.
Asking for help.
Setting reasonable boundaries.
Communicating dissatisfaction calmly.
Responding confidently when someone disagrees with you.
Practical assertiveness training could complement this work.
6. Reducing performance anxiety
Inhibitions can also affect performance.
Perhaps you enjoy singing but feel embarrassed performing in front of others. Maybe you have something valuable to contribute at work but struggle to speak during meetings.
Other examples include:
Public speaking.
Performing music.
Acting.
Dancing.
Participating in sports.
Making presentations.
Speaking in unfamiliar situations.
Hypnosis is an established area of research in relation to performance-related attention and anxiety, although results vary according to the application and individual.
Mental rehearsal and suggestions involving confidence, concentration, and composure could potentially be incorporated into a broader performance-development program.
Can hypnotherapy help with shyness?
It potentially can, particularly when shyness is associated with anxiety or excessive self-consciousness.
Shyness isn't necessarily something that needs correcting.
Some people genuinely prefer quieter social environments and feel perfectly comfortable being reserved.
However, other people experience shyness as an unwanted restriction.
They might enjoy meeting people but feel too anxious to initiate conversations. They may want to participate in social activities but worry excessively about embarrassment.
Hypnotherapy could potentially help address some of these emotional and cognitive barriers.
For example, a session might include suggestions intended to encourage:
Greater comfort when meeting unfamiliar people.
Reduced anticipatory anxiety.
More positive expectations about social interactions.
Increased confidence when starting conversations.
Greater willingness to participate.
It may also be helpful to combine hypnosis with practical opportunities to develop social confidence.
The objective isn't to transform an introverted person into an extrovert.
It's to help someone feel more comfortable behaving in ways that reflect their genuine preferences.
Can hypnosis help someone become more outgoing?
Possibly, although it is important to understand what being outgoing means.
Being outgoing might involve enjoying social interaction, expressing yourself freely, approaching unfamiliar people, and participating enthusiastically in group activities.
Some people would like to develop these behaviors but feel held back by excessive caution or self-consciousness.
Hypnotherapy could potentially help by working on the emotional barriers associated with those situations.
For example, suggestions might encourage you to:
Feel comfortable initiating conversations.
Express your ideas more freely.
Enjoy meeting new people.
Participate without constantly worrying about mistakes.
Become more relaxed in unfamiliar environments.
However, hypnosis shouldn't be expected to change someone's fundamental personality.
It may be more realistic to focus on developing confidence and behavioral flexibility rather than trying to become an entirely different person.
Can hypnotherapy help reduce inhibitions in relationships?
Relationships are another area where excessive inhibition can sometimes cause difficulties.
You might find it difficult to:
Tell someone how much they mean to you.
Express affection.
Discuss personal feelings.
Initiate difficult conversations.
Communicate your preferences.
Discuss relationship concerns.
Ask for reassurance when you need it.
These difficulties can sometimes be associated with fear of rejection, vulnerability, or previous negative experiences.
Hypnotherapy could potentially help address the anxiety and self-consciousness associated with expressing yourself.
For example, a practitioner might use suggestions that encourage greater emotional confidence and more comfortable communication.
However, healthy relationship boundaries remain important.
Reducing unnecessary inhibition should never mean disregarding another person's wishes, consent, or personal boundaries.
Can hypnosis lower sexual inhibitions?
This is a different and more sensitive application.
Some people use the expression sexual inhibitions to describe feelings of embarrassment, self-consciousness, anxiety, or difficulty communicating their sexual preferences.
Others use it to describe a lack of sexual desire or difficulty feeling comfortable with sexual expression.
These are not necessarily the same problem.
Hypnotherapy might potentially be explored as a complementary approach when anxiety, self-consciousness, or negative expectations contribute to sexual difficulties.
For example, suggestions might focus on:
Feeling more comfortable communicating personal preferences.
Reducing performance-related anxiety.
Developing a more positive body image.
Feeling less self-conscious about intimacy.
Becoming more comfortable discussing sexual concerns.
However, the evidence specifically supporting hypnotherapy for sexual inhibition is limited.
Sexual difficulties can also have physical, psychological, relationship-related, and medication-related causes.
Persistent problems may warrant assessment by an appropriately qualified healthcare professional or sexual-health specialist.
Importantly, lowering sexual inhibitions should never mean weakening consent, personal boundaries, or the ability to make informed decisions.
Can hypnotherapy reduce inhibitions around eating?
Interestingly, this is an area in which there is some direct research.
In 2022, Delestre and colleagues published a randomized controlled clinical trial investigating Ericksonian hypnosis and self-hypnosis in adults with obesity and high levels of eating disinhibition.¹
Eating disinhibition refers to a tendency for eating behavior to become less regulated in response to factors such as emotional or environmental influences.
The study included 80 participants in its main analysis.
Both groups received nutritional education, while the hypnosis group also received eight hypnosis sessions and training in self-hypnosis.
After eight months, the hypnosis group showed a significantly greater reduction in eating-disinhibition scores than the comparison group. The reported between-group difference was 4.2 points.
This is an interesting finding because it demonstrates that hypnosis has been investigated as a way of influencing a specific form of disinhibited behavior.
However, there are important qualifications.
The research involved a particular group of adults with obesity and elevated eating-disinhibition scores. It does not establish that hypnosis can generally reduce all forms of impulsivity or disinhibition.
Nor does it demonstrate that hypnosis can make someone more socially confident or outgoing.
It does, however, provide an example of a specific area in which hypnosis has shown promising research findings.
Does hypnosis make you lose control of your behavior?
No. The popular idea that hypnosis makes someone surrender their willpower or become completely controlled by another person is misleading.
During hypnosis, people generally remain aware of their surroundings and are capable of making decisions.
A hypnotist cannot simply take control of someone's mind and make them behave in any way they choose.
A 2023 article by Stein, Lynn, and Terhune, published in BJPsych Advances, reviewed common misconceptions about hypnosis and the available scientific evidence. The authors specifically challenged the idea that hypnosis involves blind obedience or an irresistible loss of personal control.²
This is important when discussing lowered inhibitions.
Hypnosis should not be understood as a process that removes someone's moral judgment or ability to make decisions.
People may respond to suggestions in different ways, but this is not the same as losing their autonomy.
Can someone be hypnotized into doing things they would normally be too inhibited to do?
This is an interesting question, and experimental research provides some useful insights.
In a 2013 study published in PLOS ONE, Richard Bryant and Lynette Hung investigated whether oxytocin influenced social persuasion during hypnosis.³
The experiment involved 28 highly hypnotizable male participants.
They received either oxytocin or a placebo before being given suggestions involving socially unconventional behaviors, including swearing, singing aloud, and dancing in response to a cue.
Participants who received oxytocin were more likely to swear and dance than those who received the placebo.
The researchers discussed possible explanations involving trust, social anxiety, and responsiveness to social expectations.
However, this was a small experimental study involving an additional pharmacological intervention. It does not establish that hypnosis alone routinely removes inhibitions or causes people to behave against their wishes.
It also does not demonstrate that a hypnotist can reliably make someone perform an action they would otherwise refuse.
The broader lesson is that social context, expectations, and the relationship between practitioner and participant can influence hypnotic responding.
This is another reason why professional boundaries and informed consent are essential.
What is the difference between lowering inhibitions and reducing self-control?
This is perhaps the most important distinction in the entire subject.
Although the expressions are sometimes used interchangeably, they describe different things.
Lowering excessive inhibitions might mean becoming less afraid of expressing an opinion, meeting unfamiliar people, or participating in an activity.
Reducing self-control might mean becoming less able or willing to consider consequences, regulate impulses, or resist inappropriate behavior.
These are not desirable outcomes in the same way.
For example, consider someone who wants to feel more comfortable at social gatherings.
They might currently avoid conversations because they are afraid of saying something embarrassing.
Reducing that anxiety could help them participate more naturally.
However, they don't need to lose their judgment, become reckless, or disregard other people's feelings to achieve this.
Similarly, someone who wants to become more assertive doesn't need to become aggressive.
The ideal outcome is greater freedom of expression alongside appropriate self-regulation.
What might a hypnotherapy session for lowering inhibitions involve?
A session would depend on the particular difficulty and the individual's objectives.
However, a program might include several components.
1. Identifying the source of the inhibition
The practitioner would first explore the situations in which the person feels inhibited.
For example:
Is the difficulty mainly social?
Is it associated with fear of criticism?
Does it involve embarrassment or self-consciousness?
Is it related to expressing emotions?
Does it occur when speaking in front of groups?
Is it associated with particular past experiences?
Understanding the specific difficulty helps establish appropriate objectives.
2. Relaxation and focused attention
The session might begin with a hypnotic induction designed to encourage relaxation and focused attention.
This can provide an opportunity to concentrate on particular thoughts, feelings, and suggestions.
3. Exploring more helpful responses
The practitioner might introduce suggestions designed to encourage greater confidence and a less anxious response to previously uncomfortable situations.
For example, someone might imagine themselves participating in a conversation without continually worrying about what others think.
4. Mental rehearsal
Visualization could be used to rehearse situations in which the individual would like to feel less inhibited.
They might imagine:
Starting conversations comfortably.
Expressing their opinions.
Speaking confidently in meetings.
Meeting unfamiliar people.
Participating in social activities.
Communicating their feelings appropriately.
The intention is to make these experiences feel more familiar and encourage practical changes outside the session.
5. Reinforcing independence
Suggestions might encourage the individual to use their developing confidence in everyday life.
Self-hypnosis could also be taught as an optional way of practicing relaxation and positive mental rehearsal.
The aim should be to help people become increasingly comfortable managing situations independently.
Can self-hypnosis help lower inhibitions?
Self-hypnosis may be worth exploring, particularly when the objective is to practice confidence-building suggestions and mental rehearsal.
For example, you could create a short recording containing suggestions such as:
I feel comfortable expressing myself.
I can share my opinions without needing everyone to agree.
I am becoming less concerned about minor mistakes.
I can enjoy conversations without constantly judging myself.
I feel increasingly comfortable meeting unfamiliar people.
I can express myself while respecting my own boundaries and those of others.
You could listen to the recording regularly in a comfortable environment.
It may also be useful to visualize yourself successfully managing situations that previously caused excessive self-consciousness.
However, self-hypnosis shouldn't be regarded as a substitute for appropriate treatment when inhibitions are associated with significant anxiety, depression, trauma, or another mental health difficulty.
Are there other ways to reduce excessive inhibitions?
Yes. Hypnotherapy isn't the only possible approach, and combining different strategies may be useful.
Depending on the underlying difficulty, some of the following approaches may help.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
CBT can help people identify and examine unhelpful thinking patterns.
For example, someone who constantly worries about being judged might learn to recognize exaggerated predictions and develop more balanced ways of evaluating social situations.
CBT is an established treatment for conditions such as social anxiety disorder.
Gradual exposure
Avoiding situations that cause anxiety can sometimes maintain fear.
Gradual exposure involves approaching manageable situations progressively rather than avoiding them altogether.
For example, someone who struggles to initiate conversations might begin by exchanging greetings with unfamiliar people before gradually attempting longer conversations.
Exposure is often incorporated into evidence-based treatment for anxiety disorders.
Assertiveness training
Assertiveness training can help people communicate their needs, preferences, and opinions more comfortably.
It may be particularly useful for individuals who find it difficult to disagree, say no, or establish reasonable boundaries.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness involves developing greater awareness of present-moment experiences.
It may help some people become less caught up in self-critical thoughts and excessive concern about how they are being perceived.
Practical social skills development
Sometimes, people feel inhibited because they are uncertain about what to say or how to approach particular situations.
Practicing conversational skills, participating in group activities, and gradually increasing social contact may help develop confidence.
The most appropriate approach depends on why the inhibition is occurring.
Can hypnotherapy make someone too uninhibited?
This is worth considering.
The objective shouldn't be to eliminate all inhibitions.
Healthy inhibitions serve important purposes.
They help us recognize boundaries, consider consequences, and regulate our behavior.
For example, you might want to become more comfortable expressing your opinions, but you probably don't want to lose the ability to recognize when a comment could be hurtful.
Similarly, you might want to become more relaxed at social gatherings without making decisions that you later regret.
A responsible hypnotherapist should therefore establish precisely what the client wants to change.
Suggestions should focus on reducing unnecessary fear and self-consciousness while preserving appropriate judgment and self-regulation.
If someone is experiencing impulsivity that causes significant problems, the underlying issue should be assessed rather than simply trying to lower their inhibitions further.
How many hypnotherapy sessions might be needed?
There is no established number of sessions specifically required to lower inhibitions.
The appropriate amount of treatment will depend on the nature and severity of the difficulty.
Someone who wants to feel more comfortable speaking in meetings may have different needs from someone experiencing longstanding social anxiety.
A practitioner might initially agree on a small number of sessions and then review progress.
Useful indicators could include:
Greater willingness to participate in social situations.
Reduced fear of expressing opinions.
Less excessive self-consciousness.
Improved confidence when meeting people.
Greater comfort communicating personal feelings.
Increased ability to manage previously uncomfortable situations.
It is important to assess improvements in everyday life rather than relying exclusively on how someone feels during hypnosis.
If there is little meaningful progress, the treatment approach should be reconsidered.
Who might benefit from hypnotherapy for excessive inhibitions?
People who experience unwanted inhibition associated with anxiety, fear of judgment, or low confidence might find hypnotherapy worth exploring.
Potential areas of interest include:
Social confidence.
Shyness.
Public-speaking anxiety.
Performance anxiety.
Difficulty expressing opinions.
Excessive self-consciousness.
Assertiveness.
Confidence in personal relationships.
However, these are potential applications rather than a guarantee of effectiveness.
For someone with a diagnosed anxiety disorder or another significant mental health condition, an appropriately qualified healthcare professional should help determine the most suitable treatment.
It is also important to recognize that being naturally reserved, cautious, or introverted isn't a disorder.
You don't need to change your personality simply because it differs from someone else's.
So, can hypnotherapy be used to lower inhibitions?
Yes, potentially, particularly when the objective is to reduce excessive psychological inhibition associated with anxiety, fear of judgment, shyness, or low confidence.
Hypnotherapy could provide an opportunity to explore unhelpful thought patterns, practice alternative responses, and develop greater confidence through suggestions and mental rehearsal.
There is also some specific research into hypnosis and eating disinhibition, although this should not be confused with evidence that hypnosis can generally change social inhibitions or personality.
It is important to remember that lowering inhibitions doesn't mean losing control.
The objective should be to become more comfortable expressing yourself, participating in activities, and communicating with others while retaining good judgment and respect for personal boundaries.
Ultimately, the most useful form of reduced inhibition is not the absence of restraint, but the freedom to behave naturally without being unnecessarily restricted by fear, embarrassment, or self-doubt.
You can be more confident without becoming reckless, more outgoing without losing your individuality, and more expressive without compromising your values.
That's a much more worthwhile goal than simply becoming uninhibited.
Reader-Friendly Summary
Hypnotherapy may help reduce certain forms of excessive inhibition, particularly when they are associated with anxiety, shyness, low confidence, or fear of negative judgment.
Potential applications include:
Becoming more socially confident.
Feeling less self-conscious.
Expressing opinions more freely.
Developing assertiveness.
Feeling more comfortable in relationships.
Reducing performance-related anxiety.
Exploring certain forms of behavioral disinhibition, including eating disinhibition.
Research has demonstrated that hypnosis can influence particular responses to suggestion, and one randomized controlled trial found improvements in eating-disinhibition scores when hypnosis was combined with nutritional education.
However, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that hypnosis generally removes inhibitions or changes someone's personality.
The important distinction is between reducing unnecessary psychological restrictions and weakening healthy self-control.
The aim should be greater confidence, freedom of expression, and comfort in everyday life while preserving personal judgment, appropriate boundaries, and respect for others.
Notes
1. Fabienne Delestre, Guillaume Lehéricey, Candice Estellat, M. Hassimiou Diallo, Boris Hansel, and Philippe Giral, “Hypnosis Reduces Food Impulsivity in Patients with Obesity and High Levels of Disinhibition: HYPNODIET Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial,” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 115, no. 6 (2022): 1637–45.
2. Madeline V. Stein, Steven Jay Lynn, and Devin B. Terhune, “Reconciling Myths and Misconceptions about Hypnosis with Scientific Evidence,” BJPsych Advances 29, no. 6 (2023).
3. Richard A. Bryant and Lynette Hung, “Oxytocin Enhances Social Persuasion during Hypnosis,” PLOS ONE 8, no. 4 (2013): e60711.