Dispelling the Myths - Hypnosis, and how it works
It's a Choice!
When we hear the word hypnosis, we often picture the person of mystery and power made popular by Hollywood and television. We get images of someone waving a pocket watch back and forth, guiding his subjects into sleep-like states where they are now under the control and influence of his mesmerizing voice. Muttering soft "Yes" responses in acknowledgment of every command the hypnotist delivers.
This representation, however, hardly resembles the true art of hypnosis. In fact, hypnosis today is understood and practiced in a very different way. Contrary to popular belief, hypnotic subjects are not under a spell. In fact they have absolute free will throughout the entire process and can return to a conscious state whenever they choose. Hypnosis is a choice.
"I do hypnotherapy, which is a really big thing in my life. It works well with me because you go back into your subconscious and there are positive suggestions that are said to you. It really works for me."
- Fergie
How Trance Occurs
Hypnosis has always been a mystery. In fact, psychoanalysts have been studying the science of hypnosis for hundreds of years and have yet to formulate a conclusive explanation of how it actually occurs. This said, however, many of the common characteristics of being in a hypnotic state have been well documented, and hypnotists today have access to a very efficient model of application of hypnosis techniques.
Hypnosis is a trance state characterized by a heightened level of suggestibility, relaxation and enhanced imagination. It is not sleep. The subject is actually hyper-attentive. It is most often compared to daydreaming or the feeling of "slipping away" into a book or movie. You are awake, but not fully conscious. You tune
When we hear the word hypnosis, we often picture the person of mystery and power made popular by Hollywood and television. We get images of someone waving a pocket watch back and forth, guiding his subjects into sleep-like states where they are now under the control and influence of his mesmerizing voice. Muttering soft "Yes" responses in acknowledgment of every command the hypnotist delivers.
This representation, however, hardly resembles the true art of hypnosis. In fact, hypnosis today is understood and practiced in a very different way. Contrary to popular belief, hypnotic subjects are not under a spell. In fact they have absolute free will throughout the entire process and can return to a conscious state whenever they choose. Hypnosis is a choice.
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The Magic
In a dream state the world of imagination seems completely real. It has the ability to fully engage our emotions. Imaginary events can create feelings of sadness and fear, or joy and happiness depending on what we experience. Hypnosis is similar to the dream state, but with an important difference, the ability to control what we feel. You CAN choose what you want to feel.
All trance states are forms of hypnosis. Milton Erickson, an expert psychiatrist and pioneer in the field of hypnosis, contended that people hypnotize themselves routinely and on a daily basis without their own awareness. Part of a hypnotist's job is to teach the subject how to create these states on their own through intentional relaxation and focusing exercises.
Under hypnosis, we feel uninhibited and relaxed. We tune out the worries and doubts that normally keep our actions in check. You may have had a similar experience or feeling while engrossed in the plot of an interesting movie. In this special mental state, we are highly suggestible and when instructed to do something by a hypnotist, we are much more likely to comply.
This is what makes stage hypnosis shows so entertaining, where normally reserved sensible adults are suddenly walking around the stage clucking like chickens or singing at the top of their lungs. Fear and embarrassment seem to just fly out the window. It's amazing what the mind can do with a little focus and concentration.
"The easiest way to break habits is through hypnosis."
- Newsweek Magazine
What the Experts Say
The predominant school of thought on hypnosis is that it is a way to directly access a person's subconscious mind. We normally function at a very conscious level, aware only of the thought processes of our conscious minds. We consciously think over the problems that are right in front of us, consciously choosing the words we speak and consciously choosing the actions we are to take in the day.
In our daily functioning though, our conscious minds are working hand-in-hand with our subconscious minds, the part of our minds that does our "behind the scenes" thinking. The subconscious mind has access to a vast reservoir of information that lets us solve problems, construct sentences and take action in the day. It puts together plans and ideas without us being aware. When a new idea seems to come out of the blue, it's because we've already thought through the process subconsciously.
Your subconscious also takes care of all the stuff you do automatically. You don't actively work through the steps of breathing from minute to minute or the beating of your heart - your subconscious mind does that. You don't think through every little mechanism involved in walking or driving your car - your subconscious mind does that. It processes immense amounts of information that is delivered to it on a constant and continuous basis.
In short, your subconscious mind is the real brains behind the operation -- it does most of your thinking for you, and it decides a lot of what you do. When you're awake, your conscious mind works to evaluate a lot of these thoughts, make decisions and put certain ideas into action. It also processes new information and relays instructions to your subconscious mind. But when you're asleep, the conscious mind gets out of the way, and your subconscious has free reign.
Hypnotists theorize that the deep relaxation and focusing exercises of hypnosis work to calm and subdue the conscious mind so that it takes a less active role in your thinking process. In this state, you're still aware of what's going on, but your conscious mind takes a backseat to your subconscious mind. Effectively, this allows you, with the aid of a hypnotist, to work directly with the subconscious. It's as if the hypnosis process pops open a control panel inside your brain.
This theory has gained wide acceptance in the hypnosis community, mostly because it explains all the major characteristics of the hypnotic state so nicely. It provides an especially convincing explanation for the playfulness and openness of hypnotic subjects. The conscious mind is the main inhibitive component in your makeup -- it's in charge of putting on the brakes -- while the subconscious mind is the seat of imagination and creativity. When your subconscious mind has more control, you feel much freer and more creative allowing you to find more effective solutions to the situation at hand.
Hypnotized people do such bizarre things so willingly. It seems like the hypnotist's suggestions are coming directly from the subconscious, rather than from another person. You react automatically to these impulses and suggestions, just as you would to your own thoughts. Of course, your subconscious mind does have a conscience, a survival instinct and its own ideas, so there are a lot of things it won't agree to. Your moral compass will always guide and no process can override that.
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A Scientific Perspective
In numerous studies, researchers have compared the physiological shifts of hypnotized subjects to those that are in a normal state of consciousness and have found many changes in the hypnotized individuals' physiological patterns. However, no comparison seems to be as profound as the perceived shift in brain wave activity.
The most observable data comes from electroencephalographs, also known as the EEG. Measurements of the electrical activity of the brain are taken through electrodes fastened in certain positions around an individual's skull and a resulting measurement of the brain wave activity is plotted as a frequency wave on charts that can be monitored and observed.
Research in this field has demonstrated that the brain produces different patterns of frequency, depending on the subject's mental state. Deep sleep has a different rhythm than dreaming, for example, and full consciousness has a different rhythm than simple relaxation.
EEGs from subjects under hypnosis consistently show an increase in the lower frequency waves associated with dreaming and sleep, and a drop in the higher frequency waves associated with full consciousness. Brain-wave information is not a definitive indicator of how the mind is operating, but this pattern does fit the hypothesis that the conscious mind backs off during hypnosis and the subconscious mind takes a more active role in the process.
Before hypnotists bring a subject into a full trance, they generally test his or her willingness and capacity to be hypnotized. The typical testing method is to make several simple suggestions, such as "Relax your arms completely," and work up to suggestions that ask the subject to suspend disbelief or distort normal thoughts, such as "Pretend you are weightless."
In the traveling hypnosis demonstrations on the college circuit and show grounds like the CNE, hypnosis is used primarily for entertainment purposes. It's an amazing experience watching somebody turn ordinary people like your own friends and family, into outrageous performers. The power of suggestion and imagination, and the lowering of inhibition, does make for a fantastic performance.
These demonstrations though only scratch the surface of what hypnosis can do. A hypnotist conducting a therapy session can use his access to the subconscious to affect long-term changes in the subject. The most widespread example of this is behaviour modification and habit-control treatment. In this application, a hypnotist focuses on one particular habit that is embedded in the subconscious (smoking or overeating, for example) and overrides it. With the "control panel" to the mind open, the hypnotist may be able to reprogram the subconscious to reverse the behavior.
A related application of hypnosis is therapeutic hypnosis, where the subject works with deep, entrenched personal problems. The therapy may take the form of breaking negative patterns of behavior, as with mass habit-control programs. This can be particularly effective in addressing phobias, unreasonable fears of particular objects or situations. Accessing fears, memories and repressed emotions can help to clarify difficult issues and bring resolution to persistent problems.
Many hypnotic subjects claim that hypnotic suggestion can relieve pain. There is a great deal of anecdotal evidence to support this idea. Using only hypnotic suggestion as an anesthetic, thousands of women have made it through childbirth with minimal pain and discomfort. Countless cancer patients swear by hypnosis, claiming that it helps to manage the pain of chemotherapy, and some former patients credit their recovery to hypnotherapy.
When you absolutely convince somebody that you've brought about a change in their subconscious, they register this information as a fact. Like any fact, this information will take root in the subconscious mind. So, even if the hypnotic state is nothing more than a figment of the subject's imagination, hypnotic suggestions can still reform their deeply held beliefs. The end result is the same!
