Hypnosis

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 1700soBenjamin 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

suggestibilityoAbout 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

oAbout 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…NOoResearchers 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 behavioroPeople 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 agreeosome 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 motivationosubjects 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 treatmentsoOften 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