About hypnosis - fact and fiction

About Hypnosis
– Fact and Fiction

Hypnosis is not some sort of mystical experience. The actual experience of hypnosis is no more than a relaxed mental state, similar to meditation or daydreaming.

It is a completely natural and normal state you experience
every day when drifting off to sleep and during the first
few moments upon waking.

You often enter hypnotic states quite spontaneously. Like when you are engrossed in an interesting book or movie or immersed in a daydream, and are completely oblivious to someone calling your name.

Have you ever driven to a destination that was well known to you and realised when you got there that you didn’t remember any of the trip. You were in a state of mind similar to hypnosis.

You are simply focusing your attention on a particular train of thought and are (more or less) oblivious of your worldly surroundings and other extraneous thoughts.

Unfortunately like many things that are not well understood, hypnosis lends itself to exploitation of sensation seekers. It has been the subject of stage shows, carnival acts, fictional stories and party tricks for longer that living memory.

People routinely and innocently talk about someone ‘being hypnotised’ or being ‘put under someone’s spell’. This implies the operator having power over the subject and loss of control on the part of the subject.

Contrary to this popular belief, no-one can hypnotise you without your consent

All hypnosis is self hypnosis – you have to be 100% willing. And no-one can make you do or say anything that you wouldn’t normally do or say, you always maintain control of the situation.

If you have ever seen a stage hypnotist you are probably thinking ‘but I saw people doing stupid, embarrassing things that they didn’t remember afterwards’.

Let me explain…

First of all the hypnotist asks anyone who would like to be a part of the show to come up on stage. These are outgoing people who know that they may be asked to do stupid and embarrassing things and are quite prepared to do it.

Next he will give them some suggestibility tests such as asking them to clasp their hands together and then telling them they can’t pull them apart. During this he will gradually eliminate the people who are less suggestible, eventually leaving him with a handful of people that he knows will be easy to work with.

The stage hypnotist is skilled in weeding out these people, known as somnambulists. They represent approximately 5% of the population who go easily and quickly into a hypnotic state and don’t remember anything during the time they are in that state.

This does not mean, however that the hypnotist has control over them. Because they are also outgoing people, they are willing to do some silly things but the hypnotist could never convince them to do anything that they would not normally feel comfortable doing.

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Hypnosis itself is not a therapy. It is merely a
comfortable tool that allows for useful communication
at the subconscious level.

Although there is usually a degree of relaxation involved, physical relaxation is not a necessary part of the hypnotic experience. It would be more accurate to describe hypnosis as relaxation of the mind.

When used for therapeutic purposes it is a gentle, non-invasive means of helping people make changes to unhealthy or annoying behaviours that are beyond their conscious control.