Hypnosis is one of the most misunderstood and controversial methods of psychological therapies, yet it has been practiced for centuries, helping people with issues ranging from low self-esteem and depression, to fertility and childbirth. If you are curious about hypnosis, read on.
Hypnotherapy (hypnosis with a therapeutic endpoint) is nothing like the performances you see in stage shows, where people are barking like dogs or clucking like chickens. There are no swinging pocket watches, no purple capes and no mind control.
Hypnotherapy is a form of therapy used to readjust the subconscious mind. In therapy, you are able toput your mind and body into a heightened state of learning, making your mind more open to positive suggestion for self-improvement or behaviour modification. The goal is to rebalance the subconscious and conscious mind allowing them to work together in harmony, which in turn helps give you greater control over your behaviour, emotions and physical wellbeing.
Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis is not a state of deep sleep. It involves the induction of an induced state of deep relaxation. You are acutely aware, concentrated and focused and it is in this state that the conscious mind can relax and stay calm and become more responsive to positive suggestions, ideas, concepts and lifestyle changes.
Let’s dispel a few myths:
- You cannot get stuck in hypnosis – this is quite impossible.
- You do not become in any way unconscious or semi-conscious.
- You cannot, at any time, be made to do things you do not want to do.
- You are totally aware of yourself and your surroundings at all times.
- You do not go to sleep.
- You are not in anyone’s power, and nobody can take control of you.
- You can leave the hypnotic state whenever you want.
- You cannot lose your mind.
- It cannot permanently remove memories or thoughts from your mind.
- You will not suddenly blurt out your ‘dark’ secrets.
- It cannot bestow psychic abilities or supernatural powers.
- It cannot make you act against, or abandon, your moral code.
- You do not say or do ‘funny things’ unless you want to.
- Hypnosis is a truly natural state of mind and body and is therefore perfectly safe.
Does it work for everyone?
Hypnosis is a willing state and so if you would like to have hypnotherapy, you are a good candidate for it. It is quite impossible to hypnotise someone against their will, it simply wouldn’t work. For that reason, if you are extremely sceptical of its efficacy, or if you are frightened of it, it may not work for you.
However, the evidence speaks for itself.
In clinical studies hypnosis has been shown to aid weight loss, effectively reduce physical pain, post-surgical pain or pain related to other medical procedures. When it comes to labour and delivery-related pain, hypnosis can in many cases significantly add to the benefits of standard medical care including epidurals and drugs. Hypnosis is helpful for smoking cessation, in treating stress, anxiety and PTSD, and can even alter a person’s immune function in ways that offset stress and reduce susceptibility to viral infections.
You can find out much more about hypnosis here: https://gailmarrahypnotherapy.com/about-hypnotherapy/
2 thoughts on “Curious about Hypnosis?”
can a person be hypnotized in order to bring out something held within the subconscious mind that may have happened to them under sedation
A very interesting question! I’ll do my best to answer…
The scientific data suggests that the use of hypnosis in recovering memories can be problematic.
Hypnosis is a creative process, it’s a way of unleashing the imagination, allowing the subconscious mind the space to explore possibilities for change and improvement with the aid of positive suggestion.
In psychology, we look at the effects of false memory. False memory refers to a psychological experience that’s remembered as factual but is either entirely false or significantly different from what actually occurred.
We all have false memories from time to time, simply because the brain doesn’t always record events with 100% accuracy, rather we are more likely to remember the “story” or the “gist” of an event and then come up with lots more detail to flesh it out and even embellish it over time.
I hope this helps!