HYPNOSIS

Hypnosis

Hypnosis

Introduction

Hypnosis (from the Greek hypno, meaning 'sleep') can apparently be induced in some people using variations on a process involving intense concentration and extreme relaxation. Once in such a state, which some people refer to as an altered state of consciousnesses (although whether this is literally correct is a matter of argument), the subject can sometimes become highly suggestible and can apparently be induced to behave or even think in certain ways. However, there are wide variations in individuals' reactions to attempts to place them in a state of hypnosis, and to their responses once in such a condition. Hypnotism is said to have originally developed from the techniques employed by Franz Anton Mesmer, although he believed that his method, known as mesmerism, worked in a very different way to the modern understanding of hypnosis. Some people claim that a state of hypnosis can also be induced in animals, although the value of this is questionable - all that this seems to produce is temporary inactivity, and it is very difficult to ascertain whether this is the same condition that it is alleged to be produced in humans (Whitehead, 2006, 7-20).

Hypnosis is widely employed as a popular form of entertainment, in which volunteers are placed into a hypnotic trance and are apparently then made to behave in a range of (often comical) ways that are contrary to their normal nature. There are also numerous examples of the apparent successful use of hypnosis as a therapeutic tool - it is employed as a means to increase the suggestibility of some patients so that their behaviour can be changed, with the effect that they lose weight or give up smoking, for example. It is even claimed that it can be used as a method of pain control, reducing the need for the use of pain-relieving drugs. However, those who practise such hypnotherapy do not usually claim that it is a complete treatment in itself, but rather that it is a tool to help a patient who already consciously wishes to attain the desired end result, or that it is a process that complements other forms of treatment. As with many other forms of alternative medicine, hypnotherapy attracts the criticism that successes may well be due to the placebo effect.

Hypnosis: Physical Aspects

Hypnosis is a temporary state of deeply focused inner attention during which one individual (the subject) follows instructions from another individual (the hypnotist) at an unconscious level, without the ability to object to the demands. Its depth, intensity, and level of self-absorption create a unique trance state that has therapeutic value (Whitehead, 2006, 7-20). Medical and psychological uses of hypnosis rely on these altered states of consciousness to help people change their perception of pain, feelings, or memories. Hypnosis is a function of the person hypnotized and, contrary to popular belief, cannot be done against a person's will. Different degrees of a natural tendency to daydream or reflect affect each person's ability to enter a trance and experience its ...