Hypnosis: The Facts and The Fallacies
In many cultures the phenomenon of trance has a long history stretching
beyond ancient Egyptian times. Hypnosis by comparison has a much shorter
history, which somewhat incorrectly can be traced to the 18th century when
an Austrian born physician by the name of Franz Anton Mesmer claimed that
he had discovered and perfected a certain control of the human energy field,
which he called animal magnetism.
Mesmer believed that physical and mental illness was mostly caused by
a lack of or an incorrect alignment of an ethereal magnetic substance that
flowed down from the heavenly bodies. He also believed that he was a vessel
for this so called animal magnetism and that he was also able to transmit
it to others. Modern Quantum Physics has now shed a tremendous amount of
light on Mesmer's postulations.
The first significant figure to appear in the post Mesmerism era was the
factual father of hypnosis as it is understood today, he was James Braid.
Braid rejected animal magnetism and Mesmerism but recognised that the phenomenon
of trance had much therapeutic value. He originally and falsely believed
that hypnosis was a form of nervous sleep and named his trance method neuro-hypnotism,
which he later shortened to hypnotism. Braid understood that verbal suggestion
could be used to induce trance and that trance, once produced, significantly
increased acceptance to suggestion. Briad often emphasised that it was more
so the patients' willing responsiveness than the hypnotist's power that
made hypnosis so remarkable effective.
Another pioneering hypnotist was a Scottish surgeon named James Easdaile.
Easdaile performed several thousand surgical procedures using hypnosis as
an anesthetic. Many of these were major operations, including seventeen
documented limb amputations. Because of an absence of pain or shock for
his patients, Easdaile's post surgical mortality rate was only 5%, while
the then expected mortality rate using conventional medical methods was
50%.
Perhaps the greatest setback and primary reason that the many benefits
of hypnosis faded into an incorrectly perceived arena of mind control, mysticism,
satanic possession and opportunistic entertainment, was the fact that after
using hypnosis therapeutically for five years the so-called father of modern
psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, suddenly began to reject its effectiveness.
In 1910 Freud gave a lecture stating that he had become dissatisfied with
being able to induce only a small percentage of his patients into deep trance.
This dilemma probably came about because of his dubious ability as a hypnotist.
The legacy of Freud's abandonment of hypnosis is well summed up in the
writings of the American psychiatrist Dr D.H. Malan, who wrote "Freud
unwittingly took a wrong turn by rejecting hypnosis, which led to disastrous
consequences for the future of psychotherapy and an enormous increase in
the duration of treatment, using a method which itself has now become, to
say the least, of doubtful therapeutic effectiveness."
One of the most beneficial aspects of hypnosis is the ability of the subconscious
to allow the conscious mind and the physical body to release accumulated
stress. People don't usually go to sleep in the classic sense of the word
during hypnosis. More so they drift into a highly focused state of non-emotional
relaxation and nobody will do any deeper into trance than they allow themselves
to go, excepting perhaps when the hypnotist has convinced them otherwise.
It has been scientifically proven that there is a strong and effectual
connection between the mind and the body, and also that an excessive accumulation
of day-to-day stress is the primary cause for many of today's physical and
mental illnesses. Hypnosis can release physical, mental and emotional tension
from the nervous systems in the body and the mind.
People who are challenged by Stress, a desire to Quit Smoking, Weight
Loss, Appetite Control, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia, Depression and countless
other issues often benefit significantly from the use of hypnosis, while
for a few hypnosis may afford only short term or limited benefit.
Most present day beliefs about hypnosis are incorrect and resultant from
over zealous movie producers and irresponsible stage hypnotists. So far
as stage hypnosis is concerned the hypnotist may have hypnotic inducement
talents, but he or she has no magic power. More correctly, stage hypnotists
invite volunteers up onto the stage, then using learned skills, weed out
those volunteers who are more easily susceptible to suggestion.
Stage and entertainment hypnosis is not mind control at all, it is mostly
a hypnotised subject's voluntary recognition and acceptance of the hypnotist's
illusional suggestions by those volunteers who, whether they are aware of
it or not, have at some level willingly agreed to comply.
Another aspect of hypnosis worth mentioning is regressive therapy; when
whilst in hypnosis the hypnotised subject is regressed to review some apparent
happening from the past, or to find so-called repressed memories etc. This
can be followed by an often frightening negative abreaction, during which
the hypnotised victim may display hysterical mental and/or physical discomfort
from what they are experiencing.
Regressive therapy using hypnosis can be dangerous. It is significantly
unsubstantiated, and unless performed by a competently trained therapist,
regression offers only dubious therapeutic value. If the subconscious mind
has hidden something from the conscious mind it has done it for good reason.
There is often little or no evidence to determine that what is being reviewed
by a hypnotically regressed person is real - as opposed to an accidental
pre-hypnosis, or during hypnosis, implementation of a false or idealistic
memory.
It has often been demonstrated that when a therapist suggests the possibility
of, then subtly encourages their existence, intentional or accidentally
implanted false memories can easily become believed realities. New memories,
or "snapshots of perception" are continuously altered or created
by the subconscious mind, but memories are mostly idealistic glimpses of
previous perceptions. So, by correctly utilising focused imagination, the
subconscious creation of a consciously believed false memory is relatively
easy.
It Is Not Difficult To Learn How To Hypnotise Another Person.
Knowing What To Do When The Person Is In Hypnosis Requires Expertise
and Is An Entirely Different Matter.
All hypnotherapists aren't necessarily qualified or good counsellors or
even good hypnotists for that matter and if a person has a Doctorate in
Medicine or a Psychology degree, that is also no indication of their effectiveness
as a hypnotist.
In Australia, many Doctors, Psychologists and Hypnotists appear to favour
the Ericksonian model, ignoring the fact that another's style can never
be adapted and presented as effectively as what it could be when presented
by its creator.
Hypnotherapy is not about authoritative mind control or emotional regression.
Skillfully correctly applied hypnosis is about subconscious perception enabling
a conscious alteration of habitual negative beliefs.
Hypnosis: The Facts and The Fallacies
In many cultures the phenomenon of trance has a long history stretching
beyond ancient Egyptian times. Hypnosis by comparison has a much shorter
history, which somewhat incorrectly can be traced to the 18th century when
an Austrian born physician by the name of Franz Anton Mesmer claimed that
he had discovered and perfected a certain control of the human energy field,
which he called animal magnetism.
Mesmer believed that physical and mental illness was mostly caused by
a lack of or an incorrect alignment of an ethereal magnetic substance that
flowed down from the heavenly bodies. He also believed that he was a vessel
for this so called animal magnetism and that he was also able to transmit
it to others. Modern Quantum Physics has now shed a tremendous amount of
light on Mesmer's postulations.
The first significant figure to appear in the post Mesmerism era was the
factual father of hypnosis as it is understood today, he was James Braid.
Braid rejected animal magnetism and Mesmerism but recognised that the phenomenon
of trance had much therapeutic value. He originally and falsely believed
that hypnosis was a form of nervous sleep and named his trance method neuro-hypnotism,
which he later shortened to hypnotism. Braid understood that verbal suggestion
could be used to induce trance and that trance, once produced, significantly
increased acceptance to suggestion. Briad often emphasised that it was more
so the patients' willing responsiveness than the hypnotist's power that
made hypnosis so remarkable effective.
Another pioneering hypnotist was a Scottish surgeon named James Easdaile.
Easdaile performed several thousand surgical procedures using hypnosis as
an anesthetic. Many of these were major operations, including seventeen
documented limb amputations. Because of an absence of pain or shock for
his patients, Easdaile's post surgical mortality rate was only 5%, while
the then expected mortality rate using conventional medical methods was
50%.
Perhaps the greatest setback and primary reason that the many benefits
of hypnosis faded into an incorrectly perceived arena of mind control, mysticism,
satanic possession and opportunistic entertainment, was the fact that after
using hypnosis therapeutically for five years the so-called father of modern
psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, suddenly began to reject its effectiveness.
In 1910 Freud gave a lecture stating that he had become dissatisfied with
being able to induce only a small percentage of his patients into deep trance.
This dilemma probably came about because of his dubious ability as a hypnotist.
The legacy of Freud's abandonment of hypnosis is well summed up in the
writings of the American psychiatrist Dr D.H. Malan, who wrote "Freud
unwittingly took a wrong turn by rejecting hypnosis, which led to disastrous
consequences for the future of psychotherapy and an enormous increase in
the duration of treatment, using a method which itself has now become, to
say the least, of doubtful therapeutic effectiveness."
One of the most beneficial aspects of hypnosis is the ability of the subconscious
to allow the conscious mind and the physical body to release accumulated
stress. People don't usually go to sleep in the classic sense of the word
during hypnosis. More so they drift into a highly focused state of non-emotional
relaxation and nobody will do any deeper into trance than they allow themselves
to go, excepting perhaps when the hypnotist has convinced them otherwise.
It has been scientifically proven that there is a strong and effectual
connection between the mind and the body, and also that an excessive accumulation
of day-to-day stress is the primary cause for many of today's physical and
mental illnesses. Hypnosis can release physical, mental and emotional tension
from the nervous systems in the body and the mind.
People who are challenged by Stress, a desire to Quit Smoking, Weight
Loss, Appetite Control, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia, Depression and countless
other issues often benefit significantly from the use of hypnosis, while
for a few hypnosis may afford only short term or limited benefit.
Most present day beliefs about hypnosis are incorrect and resultant from
over zealous movie producers and irresponsible stage hypnotists. So far
as stage hypnosis is concerned the hypnotist may have hypnotic inducement
talents, but he or she has no magic power. More correctly, stage hypnotists
invite volunteers up onto the stage, then using learned skills, weed out
those volunteers who are more easily susceptible to suggestion.
Stage and entertainment hypnosis is not mind control at all, it is mostly
a hypnotised subject's voluntary recognition and acceptance of the hypnotist's
illusional suggestions by those volunteers who, whether they are aware of
it or not, have at some level willingly agreed to comply.
Another aspect of hypnosis worth mentioning is regressive therapy; when
whilst in hypnosis the hypnotised subject is regressed to review some apparent
happening from the past, or to find so-called repressed memories etc. This
can be followed by an often frightening negative abreaction, during which
the hypnotised victim may display hysterical mental and/or physical discomfort
from what they are experiencing.
Regressive therapy using hypnosis can be dangerous. It is significantly
unsubstantiated, and unless performed by a competently trained therapist,
regression offers only dubious therapeutic value. If the subconscious mind
has hidden something from the conscious mind it has done it for good reason.
There is often little or no evidence to determine that what is being reviewed
by a hypnotically regressed person is real - as opposed to an accidental
pre-hypnosis, or during hypnosis, implementation of a false or idealistic
memory.
It has often been demonstrated that when a therapist suggests the possibility
of, then subtly encourages their existence, intentional or accidentally
implanted false memories can easily become believed realities. New memories,
or "snapshots of perception" are continuously altered or created
by the subconscious mind, but memories are mostly idealistic glimpses of
previous perceptions. So, by correctly utilising focused imagination, the
subconscious creation of a consciously believed false memory is relatively
easy.
It Is Not Difficult To Learn How To Hypnotise Another Person.
Knowing What To Do When The Person Is In Hypnosis Requires Expertise
and Is An Entirely Different Matter.
All hypnotherapists aren't necessarily qualified or good counsellors or
even good hypnotists for that matter and if a person has a Doctorate in
Medicine or a Psychology degree, that is also no indication of their effectiveness
as a hypnotist.
In Australia, many Doctors, Psychologists and Hypnotists appear to favour
the Ericksonian model, ignoring the fact that another's style can never
be adapted and presented as effectively as what it could be when presented
by its creator.
Hypnotherapy is not about authoritative mind control or emotional regression.
Skillfully correctly applied hypnosis is about subconscious perception enabling
a conscious alteration of habitual negative beliefs.