Hypnosis - a clinical viewpoint

[Aurelia5]

We all got off on a thread that started talking about hypnosis and I said I'd go through my psych textbook and explain it. But I couldn't find the thread I wrote that on, so here's a new one.

You've probably heard someone say they were MESMERIZED by something at some time in their life. Well this all started with an Austrian named Anton Mesmer. He had a way of putting people into a state where they were very open to suggestion. He fancied it all up with the swinging pendulum, or a light, or some thing that the subject stared at. Then he would start with the "Your eyes are heavy - you want to close your eyes" etc etc. Well naturally after staring at something intensly for five minutes their eyes would be heavy!

People who would go to these doctors who said they could hypnotize them for one reason or another - everything from getting rid of a bad habit to talking to their dead relatives - were simply what is now known as 'highly open to suggestion'. You remember when we were little kids at a halloween party or something and they would get a bowl of spaghetti and blindfold you and make you put your hand in it and tell you it was worms? And you would just FREAK OUT? Those kids were primed for suggestion.

It is said that about 20% of the population is highly suseptable to suggestion, (they call it "hypnotically able' now), and that 'fantasy-prone people make up most of that group. Maybe a hypnotist is trying to get a person to make himself think he's smelling perfume when actually it's ammonia. The subject is concentrating very hard on a perfume smell and is subconsciously wanting to smell perfume. That person can talk himself into smelling perfume becaused his power to envision what has been suggested is so strong.

As far as making you stop smoking, no, it can't do that. But what you can do is another technique that does work, called Creative Visualization. It is simply concentrating and thinking about something you want very badly and seeing yourself there, feeling yourself there, and spending a large amount of energy thinking about how it will be when you get there. We've all done it. You want something like a new coat you saw but right now you don't have the money for it. So you start saving for it, and all during the time you're working for it, you're imagining yourself in it, and how great you'll look. This powerful feeling of want and seeing the end result - you looking great in your new coat, is what motivates you to get it and not let anything get in your way. Hypnosis is similar to that, with the hypnotist asking leading questions, like CAN you see yourself in that coat? etc etc.


There are a few other things that happen during hypnosis, but it would be too long to go into.

Basically, it's all in the power of suggestion.

A5

[crystalgaze]

Thank you for the explanation! I learned something today for sure.

[coldautmun]

Hi!

I have also heard of the power of suggestion. However I also heard from a friend who studied psychology that hypnotism is no longer used in clinic treatments because of some technicalities.

[Mich]

Interesting info. Thanks for posting it.