Hypnosis

● an induced state of awareness, usually characterized by heightened suggestibility, deep relaxation, and highly focused attention ● What do you think about hypnosis? Let’s see…

History of Hypnosis ● Hypnotic techniques have been used throughout history…but Austrian physician, Anton Mesmer reintroduced it in the late 1700s o Benjamin Franklin chaired a commission to investigate his mesmerizing cures…attributed the “cures” to “mere imagination” – making hypnosis (mesmerism as it was then called) not accepted as real medicine evolution of Mesmer's ideas and practices led James Braid to develop hypnosis in 1842

Can Anyone Experience Hypnosis? ● It depends on the subject’s level of suggestibility o About 20 % of people are highly suggestible  Usually these individuals have rich fantasy lives and easily become absorbed in the imaginary events of a novel or a movie o About 40% of the population have a low level of suggestibility…meaning that they would not be very susceptible to hypnosis ● How suggestible are you???

Can hypnosis make you do things against your will or remember long forgotten events? ● Answer to both of these questions is…NO o Researchers have found that “hypnotically refreshed” memories combine fact with fiction  Due to the person’s heightened state of suggestibility, the way the hypnotist asks questions can alter the person’s answers  So most courts in the United States do not allow evidence if it is gained when someone is under hypnosis

Can hypnosis make you do things against your will or remember long forgotten events? ● Research has shown that the observable behaviors of hypnotic subjects are usually well within the normal limits of behavior o People who are hypnotized are not any more likely than someone who is not hypnotized to perform a specific action

Is hypnosis an altered state of consciousness? ● Experts cannot agree o some believe that it is a distinct state of consciousness, separate from sleep or our normal waking state  resulting in a dissociation from normal consciousness – proven by brain scans of an individual under hypnosis “seeing” something (and activating the visual centers of the brain) that is just a suggestion and not really there

Is hypnosis an altered state of consciousness? ● other believe that hypnosis is simply heightened motivation o subjects are not entranced, but merely motivated to focus their attention and channel more energy into suggested activities still others believe that hypnosis is a social process and subjects are just unknowingly acting out the role of a “good subject” to please the hypnotist

What are the therapeutic benefits of hypnosis? ● Can be used in psychological & physiological treatments o Often in these arenas, posthypnotic suggestions are utilized (suggestion made under hypnosis to be carried out when the person is no longer hypnotized)  Used psychologically to help individuals overcome phobias and stress  Physically…can be used to help someone alleviate or control pain