Hypnosis is a state in which consciousness and will are
suspended, but other functions are not impaired. The subject
is then extremely susceptible to suggestion and will carry
out orders at once, or long after being awakened. In the late
eighteenth century, an Austrian physician, Mesmer, claimed
that he could reduce people to trance state, and subordinate
their will-power to his. He was expelled by the police from
Vienna, but created a sensation in Paris with his public
demonstrations of stage hypnosis; yet seven years later, he
was denounced as a charlatan. These early experiments in
hypnosis, were formerly called mesmerism, after him.
In the mid-nineteenth century, a Manchester surgeon by the
name of James Braid, realized that the human imagination
played a much greater role in the process of hypnotism than
did any physical forces or than the ability of the hypnotist.
It was Braid who coined the new name, after the Greek word
'sleep'.
We see what a person does under hypnosis, but nobody has
really explained why he does it. We know that it is a trance
state, characterized by relaxation, extreme suggestibility,
and heightened imagination. It is not really like sleep,
because the person is alert the whole time. He is fully
conscious, but tunes out most of the surrounding stimuli,
focusing intently on the subject in hand, to the exclusion of
any other thought. It can be compared to losing oneself in a
book, or watching a film on a screen (which is why computers
can be so harmful, they hypnotise the watcher), or even plain
day dreaming.
One recent researcher maintained that people hypnotize
themselves on a daily basis. For instance, when one is
engrossed in a book, one can experience real happiness,
anxiety or fear, and even be reduced to tears. Normally, the
subconscious looks after all the things one does
automatically. It does all our thinking and passes messages
on to the brain. Whether we are driving a car, baking a cake,
changing a baby or mending a fuse, the subconscious mind puts
all the little things together, and works in conjunction with
the conscious.
Hypnotists who induce the 'trance' state, try to access a
person's subconscious mind. In this way, the conscious mind
will not inhibit his behavior: it will not put the brakes on
unacceptable conduct. Thus a hypnotic subject who is normally
very reserved, might crow like a cock in front of hundreds of
people, or act in a completely uncharacteristic way, because
the conscious mind is not filtering through with caution.
However, our subconscious has a conscience, survival
instincts and its own ideas. There are many things it will
not agree to do: in fact, nobody can be made to do what he
does not want to!
Stage hypnosis was banned more than fifty years ago, although
charlatans are still practicing hypnosis privately. How is
hypnosis used nowadays? The subconscious is the storehouse
for all memories. While under hypnosis, subjects may be able
to access past events which they have completely forgotten.
Psychiatrists may use hypnotism to bring up these memories,
to solve a personal problem. For example, a friend of mine
was overeating regularly, and putting on far too much weight.
The hypnotist dredged up a memory of how, as a child, her
mother had given her a plate of food and told her countless
times what a good girl she was for eating it all up. The
practitioner convinced her to take less on her plate, and
always to leave a little.
As the subject is so suggestible, hypnotists might create
false memories. Thus in forensic hypnotism, the evidence is
not widely accepted.
Hypnotism is a powerful tool for reversing bad habits.
Smoking, bed wetting and nail biting have all been cured by
hypnosis. However, when therapists work with a whole group,
the results are not always successful, nor very long
lasting.
Although it is still a controversial subject, the success of
medical hypnotherapy is undeniable. Doctors claim that
hypnotic suggestion can ease pain, and even cure illness in
some patients.. When they suggest to the subconscious that
the body is free from disease, or that it does not feel pain,
the subconscious might actually bring about the change. Many
cancer patients swear by hypnosis, claiming that it helps
manage the pain and discomfort of chemo therapy. Thousands of
women make it through childbirth with minimum discomfort with
the aid of hypnosis. None of these reported improvements have
been proved by clinical trials, the evidence is purely
anecdotal, which is why so many people are sceptical, or
frankly, disbelieving.
Skeptics argue that hypnotic subjects are not really in a
trance state, they only think they are. A good hypnotist is
someone with strong enough authority and charisma to convince
you to obey him. The influence of the hypnotist is enough to
convince a person that he should act in a certain way. As
soon as the person feels he is obeying the suggestion, he
thinks he must be in a trance. If you think someone is
forcing you to act in a certain way, you will act that
way.
The same applies to a placebo in medicine. Most people who
are given a sugar pill and are told that it is an especially
strong pain killer, will begin to feel less pain after half
an hour. However, in the end, this theory is not really
different from the 'trance theory.' It is immaterial whether
it is imagination, or a trance. When a person is told with
firm conviction that you have brought about a change in his
subconscious, he will believe you, and act accordingly. So
even though no change has been brought about, and it is just
in his imagination, the result is the same, and hypnotic
suggestions can change his whole ideas.
Methods vary, but all hypnosis depends on three things. 1.The
subject must want to be hypnotized. If the person does not
cooperate, hypnotism will not work. 2. The subject must
believe in hypnotism. He or she must be convinced that s/he
is able to be hypnotized. 3. Eventually, the subject must
feel relaxed and comfortable.
If these conditions are met, there are several methods used
to induce a hypnotic trance. The one most commonly known is
the 'fixed gaze' method; this is when the hypnotist waves an
object slowly in front of the subject's eyes, while
simultaneously speaking slowly and soothingly. The aim is to
get the subject to focus on the object so intently that he
tunes out all other stimuli.
Then there is the 'rapid' method: when the hypnotist
overloads the subject's mind with sudden, firm commands, in
rapid succession. If the commands are forceful enough, and if
the hypnotist is convincing enough, the subject will give up
his conscious control over the situation, and will accept any
suggestions the hypnotist makes.
The method most commonly used nowadays by psychiatrists is
'progressive relaxation and imagery.' The hypnotist brings
the subject into a state of complete relaxation and focus, by
speaking slowly and soothingly, without waving any objects in
front of his eyes.
Finally, there is 'loss of equilibrium.' This method uses
slow, rhythmic, rocking movements, to create a loss of
balance. Parents have been using this method on their babies
since time immemorial.
There are advertisements by 'Certified Hypnotists' that they
can help you lose weight, stop smoking or overeating, biting
your nails or cure you of any other bad habits. What is a
certified hypnotist? There really is no official body which
sanctions practitioners, as there is for doctors, dentists or
teachers, for example. It is a fact that anyone who has taken
a course for a couple of hours can call himself certified.
Some of these people have very high standards, but others are
quacks, who extract money from unsuspecting customers.
If you do want to use the services of a hypnotist, take
care! Their ideas are not always the same as ours.
Finally, do not leave a child alone with a hypnotist who does
not share our beliefs, even though he claims he can cure him
of wetting the bed, or of any other disturbing habit.
