| Inside this article: |
- What is Hypnosis?
- What is a trance?
- How does hypnosis work?
- What is self-hypnosis?
- What is Clinical Hypnosis helpful or useful for?
- Can anyone be hypnotized?
- What about the level or depth of trance?
- Will I cluck like a chicken?
- Is hypnosis like being asleep?
- Is hypnosis like transcendental meditation?
- Is trance and relaxation the same thing?
- Can someone not wake up from hypnosis or trance?
- Are hypnosis and biofeedback the same?
- What about all these hypnosis clinics?
- Hypnosis for cigarette smoking cessation and diet control
|
| Just what is Hypnosis? |
| Hypnosis is a word that means one person
helping another to experience a trance. This trance experience "belongs" to the
person or paitent, so really all hypnosis is self hypnosis. |
| What is a Trance? |
| Trance is a very natural, everyday experience
for all of us. You, the reader, have been in and out of a trance a number of times since
you woke up this morning. For example, when you stare off into space and you daydream or
fantasize, that's a trance. When you have been riding down the highway and are lost in
your own thoughts or entranced in a conversation with a passenger and are surprised that
you have forgotten part of the ride or that you traveled so far, that's a trance. A person
can be entranced reading a good book, entranced listening to music or watching a TV show.
Trance is a conscious experience but an altered or alternate state of consciousness. |
| How does Hypnosis work? |
| All hypnosis involves a focus of consciousness
on something (e.g., the hypnotist's voice, staring at a spot on the wall or imagining
something in one's mind like consecutive numbers). Since the person's conscious attention
is concentrated or focused, the person "lets go" of control of the unconscious
mind. The "unconscious" includes our automatic, unconscious behaviors and
experiences, and the functioning of the involuntary nervous system. The unconscious
usually is quite significant in terms of our emotional experience. Many emotional
illnesses and symptoms are thought to be significantly influenced by unconscious
processes. |
| What is Self-Hypnosis? |
| Self-hypnosis means going into a trance by
yourself. Usually a person will use a structured procedure or "induction" which
involves a focus of consciousness. After practicing self hypnosis, many people can just
"let go" into a trance without needing the induction procedure. Most people find
self hypnosis more effective after first being hypnotized by someone else. |
| What is Clinical Hypnosis Helpful or Useful
For? |
| Hypnosis is not a cure-all,
however, sometimes the results of hypnosis can be very dramatic and effective. The
usefulness or limitations or hypnosis are not yet fully established. Hypnosis is a
tool to be used by a professional within that person's profession and training. For
example, a dentist might use hypnosis to help a paitent with pain but he or she should not
treat phobias. More and more physicians are using hypnosis for stress management. |
| Hypnosis can be very effective in the treatment
of a wide variety of emotional disorders, such as phobias and other anxiety conditions,
many sexual problems, and unhealthy habits or compulsions. Of course, more complex
conditions, such as psychotic disorders or serious depressions, would usually require
medication and psychotherapy, but hypnosis might also be helpful as a part of the
treatment plan. Hypnosis can also be helpful in treating acute or chronic pain. |
| Can anyone be Hypnotized? |
| Anyone can be hypnotized. Besides the skill of
the hypnotist, the two variables that are most important for being hypnotized are: (1) the
person's motivation and (2) the person feeling at least some safety or comfort within the
hypnotist setting. Some people may have a more difficult time "letting go" into
trance than others and it may take longer for these persons to learn to experience trance. |
| What about the level or depth of trance? |
| Different experiences can be associated with
various levels of trance. However, there is little relationship between the depth of
trance and treatment effectiveness. For example, just as many persons with whom I
have used hypnosis for cigarette smoking cessation were successful who experienced milder
states of trance as those who experienced a deep trance. |
| Would someone say or do something against
their will because of hypnosis? (In other words, will I cluck like a chicken?) |
| This is a myth. No one would ever say or do
something against their morals or values because they are hypnotized. Such misconceptions
stem from portrayals of hypnosis in the mass media and by stage hypnosis. |
| Is hypnosis like being asleep? |
| Not really. Sleep, like coma, is unconscious
experiencing. However, with trance the person is quite conscious but conscious processes
might be slowed down or suspended to some extent. The hypnotized person is aware of the
hypnotist's voice and of other things taking place in the environment, sometimes even more
aware than she/he would be normally. |
| Is hypnosis like transcendental meditation? |
| Transcendental meditation (TM) is a form of
hypnosis. When the practitioner of TM is alone it is a form of self hypnosis. However, the
objectives may be different. In TM, the objective is to clear the mind; with clinical
hypnosis there could be many different kinds of objectives. For more information on TM, do
a search at Google or try the Transcendental Meditation Portal. |
| Is trance and relaxation the same thing? |
| No. In most clinical applications of
hypnosis, there will be at least some relaxation or a slowing down of bodily processes.
However, a person can be in trance even when the body is not relaxed. For example, most
long distance or marathon runners will go into trance after running a number of miles.
They might imagine being somewhere else and this will help them to "leave their body
in some way" (in a manner of speaking) and not experience as much pain or discomfort.
In other words, whether they know it or not, they are doing self-hypnosis for pain
control. |
| Can someone not wake up from hypnosis or
trance? |
| First of all, when you're hypnotized or in a
trance, you are not asleep. Sometimes a hypnotized person who is coming out of a trance
may feel a little groggy for a few moments and may continue to feel calm or "slowed
down" but the hypnotized person can choose to become alert or come out of trance
whenever desired. |
| Are hypnosis and biofeedback the same? |
| No. Hypnosis has been described above.
Biofeedback involves providing feedback to an individual which then allows increased
control over bodily functions. For example, providing visual readout of finger tip
temperature might eventually allow a person to learn how to increase that temperature. For
more information about biofeedback, search at Google
or try the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and
Biofeedback. |
| What about all these hypnosis clinics? |
| Most involve group hypnosis. These clinics are
less costly but also less effective than hypnotic treatment done on an individual basis.
Group hypnosis situations are often led by persons not trained in human behavior which can
be important for success in many cases. |
| Hypnosis for Cigarette Smoking Cessation and
Diet Control |
| I receive many inquiries about this. I am the
senior author of the text Modern Clinical Hypnosis for Habit Control (find it at amazon.com) and the treatment strategies that my
associates and I have developed are widely used. |
| For over 500 people that I have treated,
hypnosis was 70% to 75% successful in helping them to stop smoking. About 10% of these
patients had a mild "slip" or relapse after 9 to 12 months, but most were then
able to stop smoking after a brief intervention (sometimes over the telephone). Treatment
for smoking cessation for most people is one 2.5 hour session and patients are screened
ahead of time. Important screening variables are motivation, current stress in the
person's life, and the extent of alcohol use. |
| Hypnotic treatment for diet control involves 3
to 6 or more hourly sessions. Treatment is weekly at first and then tapers. Success for
weight loss has been 60% to 70%. It is often necessary to address emotional issues or
sensitivities that are associated with overeating or being overweight. An important
strategy in the treatment of unhealthy habitual patterns is patients regularly doing
self-hypnosis. |
