Confusional suggestions are based on a simple yet powerful idea: when the conscious mind becomes uncertain, overloaded or momentarily “scrambled,” it loosens its usual grip on experience. In that space of uncertainty, the unconscious can respond more freely, often in far more creative and therapeutic ways than the conscious mind would allow.

These types of suggestions are particularly useful when a person is consciously motivated to experience hypnosis, yet something deeper seems to resist. On the surface they “want” to go into trance; underneath, another part hesitates. Confusional techniques create a gentle interruption in the usual patterns of thinking, so that the unconscious can step forward.

Shock and Surprise

Shock and surprise are not about frightening a client or overwhelming them; instead, they are about creating a brief, unexpected moment that the conscious mind cannot immediately categorise. That “pause” often becomes a doorway through which the unconscious begins an inner search.

Shock and surprise can:

• Capture and refocus the client’s attention
• Disrupt habitual thinking patterns
• Stimulate creative unconscious problem-solving

This may be done in several ways:

1. Shocking or surprising words
   A single, unusual or paradoxical phrase can create a small “mental jolt.”
2. Strategically placed pauses
   Silence at just the right moment invites the client’s unconscious to “fill in the gaps.”
3. Linking surprise to ongoing hypnotic phenomena
   For example, using a client’s existing trance response as the basis for a surprising suggestion.

Consider a client whose hand is held in a light, cataleptic position. The facilitator might say:

“And what that hand is going to do next will surprise you…”
and then simply remain silent, waiting expectantly.

The combination of suggestion plus silence encourages the unconscious to create something unexpected—perhaps movement, a shift in sensation, or a spontaneous lowering of the hand.

Shock and surprise can also be used as a reinduction of hypnosis after a client has been brought back to alertness:

“Are you awake?
Are you sure?
And what do you begin to notice about your eyes…
as they begin to flutter… and get heavier… and close, all by themselves.”

Here, the apparent check on wakefulness (“Are you awake?”) is quickly transformed into a suggestion that their eyes naturally return to a hypnotic state. The conscious mind is still trying to decide if it is fully awake, while the unconscious simply follows the suggestions.

A further example of a shock-style suggestion would be:

“It would be a disaster, if you didn’t change directions, and arrived at where you are going.”

At first glance the statement appears contradictory. “Disaster” and “arrived at where you are going” do not quite fit together in the usual way. This mild confusion invites the client to re-evaluate their current direction—internally and externally—while their unconscious mind considers alternative paths.

Double Dissociation Double Bind

A Double Dissociation Double Bind builds on several concepts at once:

• Dissociation (stepping back from an experience)
• Overload (presenting multiple alternatives)
• Confusion (blurring the usual “either/or” logic of the conscious mind)

This type of suggestion can incorporate many other hypnotic forms, such as time distortions, amnesia suggestions, or altered-body-awareness suggestions, all woven together. The aim is to create just enough complexity that the conscious mind stops trying to follow every detail, leaving the unconscious mind free to respond.

When using this style of suggestion, careful observation is essential. How the client responds to each alternative reveals a great deal about their natural hypnotic talents and tendencies. Some will respond more to bodily suggestions, others to memory changes, and others to shifts in perception.

A general template for this kind of double bind might look like:

“(In a moment) you can ___ but (you don’t need to; even though; when; without knowing) ___,
or, you can ___ (do the opposite) but (or any of the phrases above) ___.”

The power of this structure lies in the fact that both options lead in the desired direction, while giving the conscious mind the sense of having a “choice.” Each path is slightly confusing, each framed with qualifying phrases that blur simple, logical decisions.

Here are some illustrative examples:

1. 1. Separating person and body awareness
   “In a moment you can awaken as a person, but it isn’t necessary for your body to awaken.
   Or, you can awaken along with your body, but without being aware of your body.”
   • In both cases, the client is guided toward an awakening, yet the relationship between “self” and “body” is made ambiguous, promoting dissociation.
2. 2. Eyes open does not have to mean fully awake
   “In a moment you will open your eyes, but you don’t need to wake up;
   or you can come fully awake when you open your eyes, but without an awareness of what transpired while they were closed.”
   • Here, the link between “eyes open” and “awake” is loosened. The client can have eyes open and remain in trance, or awaken and not recall what occurred. Conscious logic is stretched; unconscious responsiveness is heightened.
3. 3. Choosing not to remember / choosing to forget
   “You may choose not to remember, or you may choose just to forget,
   but choosing to forget is your choice in the same way as choosing not to remember that which you’ve chosen to forget.”
   • The phrasing folds back on itself. “Remembering,” “forgetting,” and “choosing” all intermingle, inviting the unconscious to create amnesia or selective recall without the conscious mind being able to track exactly how that is happening.
4. 4. Looping memory and forgetting
   “As you remember to forget what it was that you were going to remember,
   you can just as easily forget what you were going to remember to forget.”
   • This is a deliberate verbal Gordian Knot. Trying to follow it consciously only increases confusion; allowing it to “wash over” the mind permits the unconscious to accept the deeper implication: certain memories may gently fade or become less accessible.

In each of these, the content appears paradoxical or circular. That is not a flaw; it is the mechanism. The conscious mind becomes preoccupied with the tangle, while the unconscious responds to the deeper direction of the suggestion.

Phrasing for a Double Dissociative Conscious-Unconscious Double Bind

A further refinement is to structure a double bind specifically around the relationship between the conscious and unconscious minds. Here, the suggestion simultaneously compares and contrasts what each part of the mind is doing, encouraging a double level of dissociation:

• between experiences (e.g. feelings vs. facts), and
• between conscious and unconscious processing.

A simple phrasing template is:

“Your conscious mind ___, while (or, and, since, as, because, at the same time) your unconscious mind ___,
or perhaps your unconscious mind ___, while your conscious mind ___.”

This can be built in either of two general formats:

1. Conscious first, unconscious second, then repeat
   Conscious ___, unconscious ___, while (or, since) conscious ___, unconscious ___.
2. Unconscious first, conscious second, then repeat
   Unconscious ___, conscious ___, while unconscious ___, conscious ___.

The structure is not as important as the ongoing interplay between conscious and unconscious roles. The hypnotist repeatedly suggests that both are active, yet in different, complementary ways.

Here are some examples:

1. 1. Solution generation and evaluation
   “Your conscious mind may think about solutions, while your unconscious mind considers their implications,
   or perhaps your unconscious mind will generate some solutions, while your conscious mind wonders what the results may be.”
   • The client is guided into a state where the unconscious is assumed to be creative, while the conscious is more reflective and curious.
2. 2. Details vs. feelings
   “Your conscious mind may remember the details of those events, while your unconscious mind perceives the feelings,
   or your unconscious mind may recall what happened, while your conscious mind is only aware of strong feelings and not the reason for them.”
   • This gently fragments the experience into pieces—facts and emotions—allowing the unconscious to reorganise them in a more useful way.
3. 3. Time and pacing
   “Your conscious mind may be aware of the time available to complete the test, while your unconscious mind seems to have all the time it needs,
   or, your conscious mind may enjoy a relaxed pace without concern for time, while your unconscious monitors the time you have left and the speed of your work.”
   • Here, task performance is supported by assigning “time management” to the unconscious, freeing the conscious to remain calm and focused.
4. 4. Perception of a person and emotional response
   “And when you open your eyes you can consciously see your mother sitting in front of you while your unconscious mind is aware of your feelings toward her,
   or perhaps your unconscious mind will hold the image of her while your conscious mind is encompassed in the feelings you have about her.”
   • The relationship between image and feeling is allowed to shift between conscious and unconscious domains, encouraging a new emotional organisation around the person.

In all of these examples, the client is led into a double awareness: the conscious mind handling one aspect of experience, the unconscious another. The constant alternation and cross-linking can feel confusing at a purely logical level, which is precisely why it is effective for therapeutic change.

 

A Final Perspective

Confusional suggestions often seem complex, tangled and “too much” when first encountered. That is entirely natural. They are, by design, confusing.

It is helpful to remember:

• You do not need to master every nuance of these patterns to use hypnosis effectively.
• Confusional suggestions are an additional tool, not the foundation of good hypnotherapy.
• Clarity, rapport, and simple, well-formed suggestions will usually be far more important in your day-to-day work.

Think of confusional methods as advanced spices in a recipe. They can add depth, richness and subtlety when used appropriately, especially with clients who are highly analytical, resistant, or “stuck” in rigid thought patterns. Yet the meal itself—the core of therapeutic change—can be cooked perfectly well without them.

As your skills grow, you will find that even simple, small elements of confusion—a pause, a paradox, a double bind—can help loosen old patterns, enabling the unconscious mind to reorganise experience in more helpful, flexible and healing ways.