Hello everyone,

personally I do think that subject agency in hypnokink is a useful tool to keep yourself safe while having a lot of fun. So I thought I could write a post in here and present my view on the topic. Please note, that my knowledge on hypnosis as a kink and hypnosis in general is very limited. So, please don't expect everything I write here to be absolutely true. Also I welcome any form of constructive criticism, so I can improve both this post and my knowledge on the topic. While I do think that subject agency is very important, it is only of the tools a subject can use to keep themselves safe. Others are vetting a hypnotist/file before a session and picking up on redflags. Also it's important to state, the hypnotist will always carry the majority of the responsibility during a session. But these are topics for other posts.

Well with this said now, let's get to the topic of this post which is subject agency.

To my knowledge is subject agency the ability of a subject to refuse following suggestions in trance and/or awaken from at any point they want so. This is of course very close to the phrase "hypnosis can't make you anything you don't want to do", but that's a topic for another post. Important is here, that agency is already inherent for each subject, meaning that each subject has it and can use it anytime they feel the need to do so.

But it's not that simple, since using the agency requires effort on the subject side. Because in order to use it a subject has to actively oppose what the hypnotist is saying in trance or pulling themselves out it. Both tasks can be really difficult, since trance for does invite the subject to stay and enjoy and isn't something a subject would want to leave on a whim. So the subjects compares the effort of leaving a trance with the unpleasant feelings from the hypnotist/predator and often decides to stay in trance. It's the same with rejecting/refusing suggestions. In theory a subject is always able to refuse a suggestion. But refusing a suggestion is harder done than said, because of the nature of hypnosis: it's simpler to follow along and accept whatever the hypnotist/predator is saying. So again the subject compares the difficult task of going against what the predator says or simply accepting what said predator does. So while it is possible to use subject agency it's not so easy because of the nature of hypnosis.

But it's possible to improve one's subject agency. This can be done by listening to files you know which are safe and try to accomplish one of the following tasks: Trying to wake up before the file ends or trying to refuse a specific suggestion inside a file. Or you do it with a live-hypnotist, who is dropping you and giving you preagreed training suggestions which you then have to refuse. Or they drop you and you try to wake up. If you do this often enough it becomes easier in the future to do it. But keep in mind that agency is an active skill: You have to purposefully get active in trance and use it. It is not like an antivirus-program that detects malware and automatically deletes it. Agency only works, when you take active action against predators while being in their trance. And the more you train your agency, the easier it will become to use it.

That being said, there also a passive component to agency. You can only take active action against predators in trance, if you recognize what they do to you as predatory. That means you have to know what "predatory" means to you and how to recognize it. This can be done by learning more about yourself and hypnosis-kink in general. This will also help you figuring out the various tactics a predator may use against you and be able to pick them up, when they are used against you.

Well that's all from my end. If you have questions or want to know something specific then don't hesitate to make a comment.