Dr. David Spiegel

And basically, in the adult population, about 20% are extraordinarily hypnotizable.

They lose themselves in movies.

They get so involved in a work project that they forget to go to dinner.

There are all kinds of things.

They just immerse themselves completely.

About 60% are moderately hypnotizable.

So they'll engage in intense experiences like that, and then they'll step back and wonder about it and

And there's a group at the lower 20% who just aren't hypnotizable, and they value thinking over feeling.

But by the time you're 20, 21, the hypnotizability you have, and it can be low, medium, or high, is very stable.

Yes, I would say it is.

It's a cognitive and affective flexibility thing.

You can immerse yourself in things, get into them, enjoy them, but then step back.

And so it's a skill that people can use, but it can make trouble for you.

If you become totally convinced that one more time

A bit of pain in my chest means I'm having a heart attack every time it happens.

You can lose yourself in that.

You can believe it.

You can sometimes get taken in easily by people.

One thing I noticed about very hypnotizable people is that they're empaths.

They quickly tune into the way other people are feeling and try to please them.