Can self-hypnosis reduce your stress and anxiety?

A five-step self-hypnosis protocol from a Stanford psychiatrist

When I was in college, one of those traveling hypnotists came to our campus and got a bunch of my fellow students to act like idiots on stage. Ever since, I’ve assumed that hypnosis was bullshit.

This was just another example of my being dismissive and ignorant. Turns out stage hypnosis is very different from hypnotherapy, which has been shown to help with pain, sleep, smoking cessation, weight loss, stress, and anxiety.

And the cool thing is, you can actually hypnotize yourself. (That is, if you are hypnotizable; not everybody is.)

In today’s episode of the pod, I got a lesson in self-hypnosis from Dr. David Spiegel, a Stanford psychiatrist and one of the world’s leading researchers on the subject. He walked me through an exercise to tackle my claustrophobia on planes — and it worked surprisingly well. I started the process feeling that familiar tightness in my chest, but by the end, I could picture myself on a plane with the door closing and feel only a fraction of my usual anxiety.

Here’s Dr. Spiegel’s five-step self-hypnosis protocol:

1. Start the shift with a visual cue. Look upward—toward your forehead or the top of your head—and, while keeping your eyes pointed up, slowly close your eyelids. Spiegel says this “eye roll” mimics the brain’s natural transition into altered consciousness. It’s your on-ramp to a focused, inward-turned state.

2. Use deep breathing to settle your body. Breathe in slowly through your nose, then exhale even more slowly through your mouth. Spiegel notes that long exhales activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which dials down the stress response. This is key: you’re interrupting the body’s contribution to the panic loop, giving your brain a calmer platform to work from.

3. Visualize floating somewhere safe. Picture yourself suspended in a place that feels comforting—a lake, a bath, a hot tub, even outer space. Spiegel calls hypnosis a state of “believed-in imagination,” because the body responds to imagined experiences as if they’re real. This image of buoyancy and support deepens physical calm and helps shift your focus inward.

4. Bring the challenge to mind—and reframe it. Once you’re in that calmer state, gently bring up the issue you’re working on. Instead of bracing against it, play with changing your relationship to it. You might float with the discomfort rather than fight it. Or imagine it as an extension of you—for my claustrophobia on planes, Spiegel had me picture the plane as part of my body and the pilot as part of my brain. You can also remind yourself that possibility isn’t probability: just because something is imaginable doesn’t mean it’s likely. This isn’t about self-delusion; it’s about teaching your brain a new pattern while it’s most receptive.

5. Gently return—and carry the shift with you. Count backward from 3 to 1: on 3, get ready; on 2, roll your eyes up again (with eyes closed); on 1, open your eyes. This ritual helps you integrate the calm and reinforces your sense of agency. Over time, repetition makes the state easier to access—like any skill, it gets stronger with practice.

For more on how self-hypnosis works—and how to use it for everything from pain relief to panic attacks—check out today’s episode of 10% Happier with David. We get into the science of hypnosis, the misconceptions, and how to tell if you’re hypnotizable.

Paid subscribers also get a companion meditation from our August Teacher of the Month, Kaira Jewel Lingo. Today’s is a short, practical reset you can use whenever stress and anxiety hit.

And just for our Substack subscribers: Take 40% off all merch at Shop Dan Harris with code INSIDER40. Sale runs through Sunday, August 24. While supplies last.

Paid subscribers get the 10% Happier podcast ad-free, as well as:

• A cheatsheet for each episode — with key takeaways, time-coded highlights, and a transcript

• The ability to comment on posts and participate in subscriber chats

• Access to our twice-monthly live video sessions, in which I guide a meditation and take questions

• Tailor-made meditations every Monday and Wednesday, led by our meditation teacher of the month and designed to pair with the podcast episodes

Join the party.

Episode Cheatsheet

The big takeaway

Dr. David Spiegel, a Stanford psychiatrist and leading hypnosis researcher, busts the myths about hypnosis and self-hypnosis, explaining how this accessible technique offers a powerful way to gain control over stress, pain, habits, and anxiety. He argues that hypnosis isn’t about surrendering control—it’s about learning new ways to focus your mind, manage your body’s responses, and cultivate agency over unwelcome mental patterns.

Unlocking Your Mind: The Surprising Science (and Power) of Self-Hypnosis

Key takeaways:

• Hypnosis = supercharged focus: According to Dr. Spiegel, hypnosis is a state of intensely focused attention (think “telephoto lens”) where you can more effectively tune out distractions and tap into mind-body control.

• Forget the stage show: Stage hypnosis is real but highly selective—only 10-15% of people are extremely hypnotizable. The real power of hypnosis for the average person lies in self-hypnosis techniques that anyone moderately hypnotizable (which is most of us) can use.

• Self-hypnosis boosts agency (not compliance): It’s not about being under someone else’s spell; it’s an opportunity to gain greater control over physical sensation, pain, stress, anxiety, and even habits—often quickly and drug-free.

• It’s evidence-based and brain-backed: Dr. Spiegel describes robust clinical studies (including fMRI research) tying self-hypnosis to measurable reductions in pain, anxiety, and even opioid use, with specific, observable changes in brain activation.

Practical tips to get started with self-hypnosis (“Try this at home”):