“What is hypnosis?” Describe the psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in hypnotherapy
Hypnosis can be traced as far back as the ancient Egyptians where it was used as a means of curing illnesses through suggestion, it was known as the curing sleep. Hypnosis can be described as a sleep like trance and a state of heightened relaxation, that hypnotists today call a trance state this is where you are more susceptible to suggestion and influence. Hypnosis can be used in many ways such as stage entertainment, therapy and as a means of investigation. For example Milton Erickson who is known as the father of modern hypnosis said “You use hypnosis not as a cure but as a means of establishing a
…show more content…
It is also common for stage hypnotists to get a physical reaction from clients while in a trance state such as making them play a fictional guitar. During the post hypnotic state you may notice physical differences from the suggestions used depending on the reason for hypnosis such as weight loss or heath improvements from not smoking. This may not be obvious straight away and may take several sessions to modify your behaviours. As you can see the physical aspect effects every part of the session and although hypnosis cannot physically harm you it is important to consider all the factors in order to successfully complete a session.
Other than the physical aspect is the physiological aspect. The psychological aspect is the most important as it is what a hypnotist or hypnotherapist relies on in order to successfully complete a session. The psychological aspect effects every part of the induction and both pre and post hypnotic state. Actual hypnotism itself is heavily driven by the psychological aspect as any kind of hypnotism is a form of suggestion and does not take a physical action, it solely relies on convincing your subconscious of modified behaviours or changes. Understanding the difference between your conscious mind and subconscious mind is important in understanding the physiological aspect of hypnosis. “Your subconscious mind is a
The hypnotist induces a trance by slowly persuading the participant to relax and lose all interest in external distractions. The participant is not under the hypnotists control but can be convinced to do things that he or she would not normally do. However, anyone can resist hypnosis by refusing to open his or her mind to the hypnotist.
We will look at these in more detail to understand what changes might occur in the subject at each stage. The objective is, broadly speaking, to facilitate a trance-like state in the subject which enables easier access to the subconscious. After the therapy, there would typically be a period of reflection wherein the subject is encouraged to discuss how the therapy felt and what next steps they might take. However, for the purposes of answering the question ‘What is Hypnosis?’, we will focus primarily on the four key stages.
Now that you are aware of what hypnosis is and the different forms of it, let's talk about common myths and misconceptions people have about hypnosis. Number one, the hypnotist can make you do something against your will. This is completely wrong, hypnotist only guide you to places, and if there is somewhere you don't want to go you
What is hypnosis? Hypnosis has amazing benefits and can enhance people lives in many ways. In modern times, it is unfortunate that Hypnosis is seen as a method of entertaining people instead of it being respected for its true aspects. In reality, hypnosis bears little resemblance to these stereotyped images, as it can improve focus and general well-being mentally and physically. It is a cooperative interaction in which the participant responds to the suggestions of the hypnotist. It can also be described as a sleep like trance state or better expressed as a relaxed creative mind, focused by the individual. Despite stories about people being hypnotised out of their consent hypnosis requires voluntary participation on the part of the
The content of this essay will explore how hypnosis has been defined in both the past and the present. I will explain my understanding of hypnosis as well as exploring the history of hypnosis, its origins and how it was first practiced. I shall also detail some of the techniques used and the psychological and physical changes which occur during hypnosis. Finally I will discuss the role of relaxation in hypnotherapy and look at some of the reasons that individuals wish to undergo hypnosis and the benefits they may experience.
Moreover, hypnosis is a trancelike state of heightened suggestibility deep, relaxation, and intense focus. They experience imaginary happenings as if they were real. Some researchers use state theory to point out that hypnosis meets some parts of the definition for an altered state of consciousness. Today, in psychotherapy, hypnosis can help patients relax, remember painful memories, and reduce anxiety. In addition, it does successful job in the treatment of phobias, stop smoking, and improve study habits. On the other side, role theory states that gypnosis is not an alternate state of consciousness at all. This theory mentions that some people are more easily hypnotized than others, due to possessing a characteristic called, ¡°hypnotic suggestibility.¡± These people usually have a richer fantasy life, follow directions well, and can focus on a single task for a long time. In addition, during hypnosis, some other people are acting out the role of a hypnotized person. Then follow the hypnotist, because that is what is expected of the role.
Once hypnotised suggestion can be used to present a range of physical responses including the slowing of breathing and heart rate, desensitisation of limbs and changes in body temperature as well as response to other external stimuli. Often during a hypnotic induction, the subject will be encouraged to disregard external sounds and smells or to simply allow them to further assist with the relaxation and journey into the subconscious. I myself have experienced a complete loss of awareness of external sounds during hypnosis missing an entire firework display outside the window of the room in which I was being treated.
As a person responds to the methods used in hypnosis, the persons state of attention changes. A person can experience different stages of awareness, consciousness, imagination, memory, and reasoning and may become more responsive to suggestions; this is why it is used in abnormal behavior to see where ones state of mind is.
The history of hypnosis is a bit like a history of breathing. Like breathing, hypnosis is an inherent and universal trait, shared and experienced by all human beings since the dawn of time. It’s only in the last few decades that we’ve come to realise that hypnosis itself hasn’t changed for millennia, but our understanding of it and our ability to control it has changed quite profoundly. The history of hypnosis, then, is really the history of this change in perception (History of Hypnosis, 2012). Although through the ages many rituals and practises from all over the world resemble modern day hypnosis, hypnosis from a western medical point of view started in 18th Century
For most of the part hypnosis occurs naturally especially when a person thinks deep about something that he desires. As per the source of Joseph Nicholson there are many ways of hypnotizing a person of which the two most important ways of hypnosis were,
Its first important to understand how important words are for the hypnotherapist. Its claimed by studies from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) that 90 percent
People are now beginning to realize that hypnosis is not stage trickery, but a serious medical discipline with a great potential to improve people's lives. We are seeing more people than ever attending hypnotherapists, and getting good results from their treatments. We are also seeing an increase in the numbers of people who are trying to treat themselves using hypnosis. Now that we have more information resources available, through libraries and through the Internet, more people are realizing that it is realistically possible to treat psychological and behavioral conditions in your own home, provided of course that the problems have not escalated to a degree where professional help is essential.
During normal life, the mental chatter and thoughts in your mind block your ability to interact with your subconscious mind. If you want to connect to your subconscious, the thoughts that normally fill your mind must die down. Hypnosis can help this process by inducing a state of total relaxation. It is essentially similar to the way you feel when you watch a movie or get lost in a good book. The mental chatter in your mind dies down during this hypnotic state, and you are able to to work directly with your subconscious.
Hypnosis explained by the psychology community as an altered state of consciousness that leaves people in a more subjective state, or more likely to listen to verbal suggestions. The term of hypnosis came from the Greek root word for sleep. There have been records of Hypnosis going back 2,500 years in ancient China and Egypt, (Gurgevich, 2011-2015, para.1). Hypnosis or also known as hypnotherapy is said to be used to help you gain control over undesired behaviors or to help you cope better with anxiety or pain, (“Test and Procedures Hypnosis,”2015, Para. 2). An example of how a hypnotherapy session might go like this; a therapist comes in while a patient was in an relaxed state and proceeds to tell the patient that they will be cured from their illness when they came out of the relaxed state and then the patient may or may not be cured.
The word hypnosis comes from the Greek word that means sleep. This leads to the assumption that the person being hypnotized is asleep throughout hypnosis. On the contrary, the person is always awake and conscious. The person under hypnosis is simply in a state of deep relaxation and heightened awareness. To do this, the hypnotist is talking to the subjects subconscious. The conscious mind does things automatically. When the sub-conscious mind would be telling the receiver "No" to doing what the conscious mind is relaying. When the hypnotist direct a suggestion to the receivers conscious it will do it. The mind will respond to the hypnotist suggestion. If a hypnotist would tell a person that is under hypnosis that they are eating an ice-cream, in theory, the receiver would feel the sensation of the cold in their mouth and taste the sweetness. Another example of a hypnotist power of your sub-conscious under hypnosis would be the suggestion of feeling scared, the receiver’s body would show signs of