The Power of Hypnotism
Let’s say you have some sort of problem or bad habit (as do most people I know) and you really want to overcome it. Maybe you are addicted to smoking, but no matter what you do, you just can’t resist the urge to go crawling back to your cigarettes and take another smoke. Finally, you see an ad in the paper for a hypnotist that says he (or she, of course) can help break addictions with a little hypnotic suggestion, and you decide that you might as well give it a try. You walk into small, quiet room and lay down on a comfortable sofa across from the hypnotist. He begins to calmly tell you to relax all parts of your body, and tells you to shut your eyes. “You are getting very sleepy.”
The next thing you know, you wake up from a deep sleep, and all of a sudden all your urges to smoke another cigarette vanish; your addiction is broken. Sounds ridiculous right? Maybe to some, but others completely believe this would be totally plausible. In fact, hypnosis is a very controversial subject in the field of psychology. The practice of hypnosis is actually about as old as the United States of America, as the earliest it is thought to have been used was around the time of the American Revolution (Rosen 2). However, many psychologists still argue about whether or not it is a true, practical process, and what it actually means to be hypnotized. Is it the bringing out of a hidden unconscious level of awareness, honing in all attention on a single stimulus, or simply a patient psychologically playing the role of an obedient hypnotized subject (“Exploring the mysteries of hypnosis”)? I believe that hypnosis really works, and is a viable technique that when used correctly, can be implemented to help people not j...
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Hypnosis can be defined as a form of highly focused concentration with relative suspension perplexed awareness used to lessen pain experience. (King.B, 2001) It can also be used alongside analgesics such as morphine. (Bamford.C, 2006) This paper will be discussing the effectiveness of its use to manage pain and related areas based on the benefits and limitations highlighted by various methodologies. These methodologies include decade long observations of case studies, testing on amputees and cancer patients whilst comparing use of pharmacological medicines to use of hypnosis itself. Some of the advantages of hypnosis include how it increases self efficacy by actively allowing patient to control pain symptoms, (Williamson.A, 2004) compliments and in some cases lessens the need to take pharmacological medicines. It lessens anxiety and depression in patients with chronic pain or terminal illnesses while enhancing the function of the immune system. (Liosso.C, 2001)All these benefits are however undermined by the process’s lack of effect on activity level or physical quality of life, (Liosso.C, 2001) the existence of individual differences in hypnotic responsibility and the fact that the effects of hypnosis achievable in non hypnotic social situation context (Brian.R.V, 2010). Nonetheless, just as the effectiveness of other methods of pain management varies due to issues such as genetic makeup, hypnosis is more effective on some individuals than it is on others. Case studies have proven its success on its own and in some cases combined with pharmacological medicine. It is therefore better to compliment what is already available than reject it due to its psychologically driven success aspect.
In permissive induction is unique in utilising aspects of the client’s personal experience. The permissive hypnotherapist gives indirect suggestions to the client which has been preceded by a series of pacing statements. For indirect suggestions to be really effective the hypnotherapist changes tone of voice slightly. Rapport and pacing are key elements and when present make it very easy to lead a client into trance.
DOI: 4/24/2013. This is a case of a 59-year-old female customer service representative who sustained injury to her left ankle when she got up after her foot “fell asleep”. As per OMNI notes, patient underwent ligament reconstruction with Brostrom repair on 1/16/2014 and left knee arthroscopy on 10/8/2014. As per office notes dated 6/21/16, the patient returns for interval followup visit. The patient has been working more and is explaining to me that she is having exacerbation of symptoms. The patient admits to increasing neuropathic pain secondary to complex regional pain syndrome. It was mention that the patient has been on Topamax and tramadol which allow the patient to get some improvement. She admits 40% improvement in the pain and she also
Hypnosis is derived from the Greek word hypnos, which means sleep ("Hypnotism"). However, the patient does not sleep during hypnosis. It has been described as a therapeutic method, which uses the "technique of inducement of trance, which is a state of semi-conscious relaxation, at the same time maintaining sensory contact with the environment" (Bernik). Hypnosis can produce various levels of perception, increased memory, increased attention and motor functions, and "higher intellectual functions" (Bernik).
Hypnosis has been used for a wide range of problems from, opting to remove some symptoms of certain mental diseases, reducing stress and psychological traumas, and treating phobias, to aiming to cause weight loss and cure one from illness and diseases (Keller, 2008). Although hypnosis in general, is considered to be safe and totally harmless when controlled by a physician, the present era has attached danger to it, in that it creates delusions through other people’s lives. According to MacKenzie (2011), “Hypnosis has been perceived as clouding people’s imaginations while they undergo relaxation, both internally and externally. While under hypnosis we experience a heightened sense of imagination and are open to suggestions and changes.” Coker (2010) found Pseudoscience to encourage people to believe anything they want. “It supplies specious "arguments" for fooling yourself into thinking that any and all beliefs are equally valid...
In the article “The Altered States of Hypnosis” the author, Irving Kirsch, takes one on a journey through where hypnosis comes from, what it used to be, what it is now, and what it can become. She also talks about what hypnosis is in the eyes of scholars who have researched hypnotic states of mind and concluded that the effects of hypnosis are not due to an altered state of consciousness, but are instead a product of normal psychological processes. Furthermore, Irving Kirsch makes compelling observations about the reality of hypnotic experiences. For example, there was a hypnotic test can at an university with volunteers participants where they were hypnotized by someone in the same room as them, but then hypnotized by a video recording. Also
Hypnosis has many practical uses, and these days it is becoming increasingly popular as a method of behavior modification. The Internet contains many advertisements for self-help programs that use hypnosis to reduce stress, quit smoking, or lose weight. In the area of hypnosis and weight loss, there are many web sites for both products and services for sale that promise to help anyone lose weight. Hypnosis uses suggestions to change a person's behavior and eating habits in order to facilitate weight loss. What are the expected outcomes? There are many different outcomes expected from this type of hypnotic treatment. Most vendors of hypnosis specify that it's purpose is not only lose weight but to also maintain that ideal weight. Some companies also promise that hypnosis will stop cravings for unhealthy foods, such as foods high in salt or fat and also fried foods. http://www.clauser.com/announce3.html Through hypnotic suggestion, the person will learn how to eat healthy and may also become physically fit. Basically, the person becomes subconsciously motivated to eat better food and to become physically active. http://www.biocentrix.com/hypnosis/wghtplan.htm How Does Hypnosis work? There are many different forms of hypnosis used to control weight. A very popular method is the use of hypnotizing tapes. DreamLab, a web site selling these tapes, describes the procedure, and advises customers to start the tape when they go to bed. They claim that the tape contains both music and instructions that "lull you into the right mood." http://www.dream-lab.com/noweight.html While a person is in this mood, they are open to changes in their attitudes about eating habits and exercise through the suggestion of dream i...
Stealth hypnosis secrets can prepare the learner for the complete inside look into the human mind only doctors and therapists usually get. The learner of stealth hypnosis secrets can better their own lives by simply grasping a few basic techniques. Better lives are waiting for everyone. Any person learning the stealth hypnosis secrets, will have their friends and family members all noticing their confidence and self esteem levels improve drastically. In this article, you will learn how to guide people safely to a destination that they desire, a greater self improvement awareness state of being is what stealth hypnosis is about. Understanding how to talk to people in a suggestive manner is why great conversationalists are great. They have the artistic approach and a suggestive tone when speaking. Moreover, understanding body language and how important it is to gain the trust of the individual you are hypnotizing is essential.
Hypnosis Hypnosis is like guided daydreaming, a form of relaxed concentration. What is relaxed is first, the body and second, the conscious part of the mind. Hypnosis can be helpful at any age. Getting a good night's sleep, or conquering a phobia, are just two of the benefits you can bring to yourself with hypnosis, whereas other benefits include controlling pain, dealing with disease, positive idea about illness or serous diseases, reduction of medications, getting a good night’s sleep, overcoming guilt, resisting disturbing memories, improving relationships with family members and those around you are some of the benefits and positive uses of Hypnosis. Hypnosis has also been defined as a form of conditioning. A person learns, through direct experience or the media, how to behave 'hypnotized.' Another way to see hypnosis as something learned is to assert that a person becomes conditioned to a word stimulus such as "Relax." Once having allowed himself to relax, the client is thereafter conditioned to repeat the experience of relaxing upon hearing the stimulus-word. Yet another definition of hypnosis, one that has wide support among researchers, is that it is a form of dissociation. That is, that in some as yet unexplained way, the mental functioning of a person is compartmentalized and one part can be isolated from the others. The art and science of hypnosis is at once both old and new. Old, because it was used in ancient times and has a pedigree that stretches back to the beginning of mankind’s conscious development. New, because only over the past 100 years has it been subject to the full force of scientific scrutiny, after the discovery (re-discovery) that the unconscious mind, emotions and personal history directly affect ...
Sleep teaching and mind control: hypnotism techniques used for manipulation and power over the individual. Hypnotism is not widely promoted in our society as formal education; yet, it lingers on the horizon. In Huxley's Brave New World, hypnopaedia is used to promote economic stability and control emotions of the inhabitants living in England.
The concept of hypnosis produces an enigmatic figure rhythmical swaying a pocket watch to control a subject. Ominous hypnotists and surreal perceptions of hypnotism are fanciful ideas constructed by television, movies, and comics. Hypnotism has become widely popular in mainstream culture because of absurd renditions that bear no resemblance to actual hypnotism; in consequence the therapeutic effects of hypnotism are questioned by a great deal of psychologists and doctors. Hypnotherapy, hypnosis as a medical intervention, should be an acceptable and extensively used treatment of subjective symptoms because it is proven to be effective and does not encompass severe side effects.
The fruit of the Spirit is self-control. As we follow the Spirit’s lead, He will give us the power to better control our own selves. Hypnosis involves the transfer of control away from ourselves to another person. Hypnosis leads to an altered state of consciousness in which the mind is very susceptible to outside suggestion. That susceptibility is what the hypnotist needs in order to modify the behavior of his subject. However, the word susceptible should concern us. Scripture says to be watchful and “self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The hypnotist is not the only one who wants to modify our behavior; Satan also wants to do some modifying, and we should be wary of giving him any opportunity to make his
First, self-made change is necessary in order to break an old habit. Maude Muse, a professor at a graduate school of education, health, and psychology in New York, emphasized to her students, “It takes time and numerous repetitions with a well defined goal, to fix a desirable habit” (Muse). Before one can take action to change a habit, he or she must set a specific, realistic goal and be willing to work towards that goal persistently. Once the goal is created and a pledge of commitment is formed, one must alter their environment to successfully alter their habits. Specifically, in an NPR interview with Charles Duhigg’s, Duhigg recommends, "If you want to quit smoking, you should stop smoking while you're on a vacation--because all your old cues and all your old rewards aren't there anymore. So you have this ability to form a new pattern and hopefully be able to carry it over into your life" (Duhigg). To relate the simplicity of the actions needed to discontinue a standard addiction, Duhigg illustrates a behavioral habit common to an “estimated 36.5 million adults in the United States” (“Current Cigarette Smoking”). Due to this example, it is easy to see how environment directly causes the repetition of habits in one’s life and how a change of environment allows for a smoother alteration of unconscious behavioral habits. Additionally, habit reversal therapy, a form of therapeutic habit reversal “helps people become more aware of the cues that set their habits in motion and develop competing responses” (Glasofer and Steinglass). With this approach, individuals can identify the trigger and change their routine, exemplifying that recognition and alteration of bad habits results in obtainable success. Whether a neurological, individual, or therapeutic method is employed, bad habits can successfully be broken and altered to