Reassuring Reasons Why Hypnosis is your Friend
Posted by on Mar 10, 2010
Believe the hype or think for yourself
For too long hypnosis has had a bad or ‘difficult’ press. If a person doesn’t understand something they have 3 options open to them.
1) They might be sceptical and therefore save the trouble of looking further and possibly benefiting.
2) They may conclude it is dangerous and to be avoided at all costs.
3) They may spend time discovering the truth behind the hype.
If you don’t know much about a topic it’s easy to be suspicious. Some people assume hypnosis is akin to a carnival side show, others consider it mystic mumbo jumbo or ‘mind control.’ For those who look beyond the hype the truth is far more illuminating.
The most powerful tool you possess
There are potentially huge benefits for those who use hypnosis as part of everyday life. When you understand hypnosis you start to see its potential to improve human performance in the physical, emotional and intellectual realms. For me, rumour, gossip and suspicion weren’t good enough.
I determined to learn all I could about hypnosis – I learned every fact and practised every technique under the sun. I took several training courses – some good, some terrible. I invested thousands of hours of devoted study to hypnosis and discovered just what is possible. I hypnotised friends, neighbours and work colleagues. Hypnosis greatly changed things for me on a personal level.
How hypnosis helped me
I used to be shy. Thanks to hypnosis I can now talk to thousands at a time and can approach anybody calmly and confidently.
I used to have poor concentration and procrastinate; thanks to hypnosis I can instantly motivate myself.
I used to find physical work outs and exercise exhausting but because of hypnosis I am now in the best shape of my life.
Incidentally I also stopped myself blushing with hypnosis. Now if ever I have a difficult call or conversation coming up, something I may naturally feel reluctant to do (you know the kind of thing) I spontaneously self hypnotise and rehearse the upcoming situation feeling good, with myself remaining calm. In this way I habitually set my own emotional ‘blue prints’ for up coming situations. Having said that it’s naturally that some people have concerns or half digested ‘hand me down’ ideas regarding hypnosis. A common one is the one about ‘mind control.’ However what does this really mean?
Why you are more in control of yourself in hypnosis
If someone expresses concerns about being ‘controlled’ in hypnosis what they mean is they don’t want to be like a robot, an automaton that is forced to obey the every whim of the hypnotist. We can’t help but influence others but we don’t control them. To understand why you need to understand hypnosis better.
So what is hypnosis like?
Hypnosis isn’t like a coma. It’s not unconsciousness – more a subtle shifting of consciousness. In hypnosis, you can still think logically but you also have access to the ’software’ of your mind so that you can update instinctive emotional and physical responses. In fact the hypnotised subject (not the hypnotist) calls the shots. When I hypnotise someone I need to go at their speed and respond to their needs and expectations. Hypnosis will give you more control in your own life because of what it enables you to do.
How can I be so sure?
Because over the decades I’ve seen all kinds of people, all ages and from all backgrounds turn their lives around thanks to hypnosis. When you use hypnosis for yourself it improves confidence in all kinds of ways. When you use it to change other’s lives it just blows you away. This is what I mean.
When I first hypnotised someone to feel no sensation in a painful arthritic arm it was an incredible feeling. When I first cured life long phobias quickly and comfortably I was astounded. When I stopped hardened alcoholics from drinking and even got a heroin addict off the stuff and back into mainstream life again I started to feel angry that people could just associate hypnosis with entertainment.
With the aid of hypnosis I (and many people I have trained and worked with) have helped severely depressed people feel strong and positive again. The rewards and satisfactions are hard to describe. I’m going to take a stand against ignorance and short sightedness around hypnosis and here’s why.
Why you need to reclaim hypnosis for yourself
Hypnosis is your birthright. It’s nature’s optimum learning tool. In fact to learn and perform anything well you need to experience a natural focussing of attention, a natural kind of hypnosis. To be successful hypnosis needs to be your companion and friend.
Successful people use it naturally all the time because hypnosis is natural. It’s the way we learn new responses. Unlike medications its side effects are purely positive – one expectant mother I worked with to feel relaxed during child birth later reported that she was also more relaxed when flying!
Hypnosis is easy to learn and every body can benefit. Hypnosis is a safe environment to ‘try out’ new behaviours and emotional patterns before you experience them for real. So the young man can ask a woman out for a date many times in calm relaxed hypnosis so that by the time he does it for real it feels real and natural and relaxed. Sports people who use hypnosis learn new quicker and more accurately. So hypnosis gives you more control of yourself and your life, it’s natural and gives you instant benefits and it’s a way of ‘trying on’ and establishing new patterns of emotional response and behaviour, Hypnosis enables you to develop yourself as a human being.
Copyright 2005 Uncommon Knowledge Ltd
Mark Tyrrell is Creative Director of Uncommon Knowledge, the UK’s leading hypnotherapy school. You can learn hypnosis free from Uncommon Knowledge at: http://www.hypnosisdownloads.com/learn_hypnosis.html
Author: Mark Tyrrell
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Does Hypnosis Work For Weight Loss?
Posted by on Mar 8, 2010
Hypnosis conjures up images of a bearded man with piercing black eyes and a mesmerizing deep voice swinging a pendulum back and forth, chanting, “You are getting very sleeeeepy.” Hypnosis is terribly misunderstood and the only exposure to hypnosis most people will ever have is a Las Vegas stage show. But stage hypnosis for entertainment and hypnotherapy for behavior change are completely different animals. Could “real” hypnotherapy help you get leaner?
I’ve wondered the same thing myself for decades, since I first started bodybuilding.
In the late 1980’s, Dr. Judd Biasiotto published numerous books about the mind in sports including one called, “Hypnotize Me And Make Me Great.”
That 70-page book, which has long since gone out of print (but still holds a hallowed place on my shelf), was one of the books that sparked my interest in mind power and hypnosis.
In case you’re not familiar with strength sports, Dr. Judd is the guy who squatted 605 pounds at a body weight of 132 pounds – a staggering feat, as any powerlifter will tell you. When a world class lifter who also holds a PhD in sports psychology says there’s something to hypnosis, and that his mental training regimen was instrumental in his success, a teenage wannabe bodybuilder, desperate for muscle, listens!
All these years later, my interest in hypnosis and the powers of the mind have never waned. I’ve used self hypnosis as well as hypnosis CD’s, which were directed at improving performance in the gym, generating maximum intensity during workouts and pushing through the pain barrier. While I don’t see hypnosis as anything magical, I do believe it has been helpful. I also believe that a comprehensive mental training program, which may include hypnosis, can make or break your weight loss program success and give athletes a competitive advantage.
Any seasoned coach can tell you that which diet or training program you follow is irrelevant if you can’t follow it consistently. Many of the problems such as non-compliance, self-sabotage, inconsistency and lack of motivation are mind problems, not body problems.
One misconception about hypnosis is the fear that you’ll lose command of your faculties during a session or that it’s some kind of “mind control.” This is not true to any greater degree than your family, friends, peers or culture have “controlled” your mind.
The fact is, the mind is amenable to suggestion, (especially the mind of a very young child), and in that sense everything is hypnosis. Reading the newspaper or watching TV is hypnosis or “mental programming” in one sense. You get “programmed” by societal norms to become one of the masses, unless you make a choice to be different and become what you want to be.
Another source of misconceptions about hypnosis comes from stage hypnosis, which has virtually nothing to do with hypnotherapy for personal change. The stage hypnotist intentionally ferrets out the most susceptible individuals in his audience – who happen to be willing participants – and then induces some hypnotic phenomenon for entertainment value.
Hypnosis, as used in personal change work, is simply a relaxed state of altered consciousness and heightened focus where the conscious mind gets out of the way, allowing a message from the hypnotherapist to reach your subconscious more easily. When your subconscious gets the message, it stimulates positive behaviors, so hypnosis is simply a tool for behavior change.
Self hypnosis (by yourself), is as simple as taking long, deep breaths, getting relaxed (sometimes using progressive muscle relaxation techniques), then doing your visualization or repeating affirmations, or even listening to your own home-made affirmations tape.
Many people report great success with hypnosis, but others do not. The mixed results probably have to do with the practitioner, and some with the subject. What kind of results can you expect from hypnosis? Could hypnosis help you lose weight or change your body in other ways?
I believe that there is a mind-body link and that it’s entirely possible that the brain, central nervous system and subconscious mind can literally “talk” to the various cells of your body and that this may be a factor in healing from illnesses. I believe that the body is a remarkable self-healing machine and its own natural pharmacy.
I think it’s pretty difficult to prove, but being that a legitimate science exists on this subject (it’s called psychoneuroimmunology), the scientific community seems to think enough of the mind-body connection to spend time, money and resources to formally investigate it. There are many exciting and plausible theories. We also have the placebo effect to consider, where a belief can affect biology in truly amazing ways.
That said, when it comes to hypnosis, I think you should view it with an eye of caution as well as interest. First and foremost, and perhaps exclusively, you should see hypnosis as a tool to change behavior. When you look at a claim made for hypnosis, you should ask yourself whether that claim is a result that can be achieved through a change in your behavior.
For example, if someone promotes hypnosis for muscle growth, is it possible that your behavior might change in a way that you gain more muscle? The answer is yes. The hypnosis might help you change your eating habits, and you might just push yourself harder in the gym. Therefore, the muscle growth occurs as a result of behavior change – eating better and training harder – rather than the hypnosis itself.
It’s the same with body fat reduction: Will hypnosis magically increase your metabolism from a mind body connection? While I like to keep an open mind, I seriously doubt it and I’m not too enthused about hypnotherapists who say they will hypnotize you and your metabolism will speed up. If it can happen, I’m not sure it will ever be provable using the scientific method, so it may ultimately come down to your will to believe the claims.
So, could hypnosis help with breast enlargement? Well, maybe. A thought might bubble up from your subconscious mind that it’s a good idea to save up your money, go visit the doctor, and fork over the three grand for implants (sarcasm intended).
Guys, I could give the same warning about hypnosis for enlargement of your…. uh… your amount of hair… yeah, hair growth, that’s it… watch out for those hair growth hypnosis claims. I’m not so sure I believe them (grin).
What about weight loss?
Although the results are not definitive, there’s some clinical psychology research that’s been published in peer reviewed journals which shows successful results from hypnosis for weight loss. In part 2 of this series, you’ll hear more about what those studies found.
Even more eye-opening in my view are some of the documented cases of medical hypnosis, which range from simple pain relief from dental work to surgery without anesthesia (which is pretty freaky if you think about it). The mind does affect the body.
In my opinion, hypnosis sessions or hypnosis CD’s can be a valuable adjunct to a comprehensive fitness, nutrition and lifestyle program for some people, if you get them from a reputable and skilled hypnotherapist.
Even better, I believe the ideal type of session would include conscious coaching and education as well as traditional hypnosis, not just a passive situation where you listen and expect your mind to be positively “programmed.”
Then again, I think this is why weight loss hypnosis CDs sell like gangbusters, because they’re often sold under the pretense that you do absolutely nothing. Just listen and get slim – the perfect “quick fix.”
I don’t think it’s that simple or easy. You have to accept responsibility for change, take an active role in creating change and have a bias for action if you really want to be successful. You have to work on the physical and mental plane simultaneously not just “think positive” or rely on self help CD’s of any kind.
So while I DO believe hypnosis can be a valuable tool, at the end of the day, programming your mind for success all boils down to what you say to yourself (and see/read/listen to), most of the time. You can’t work with a hypnotherapist every day for the rest of your life, but you do talk to yourself non stop every single day, and repetition is a proven way to condition the mind.
The way you talk to yourself, most of the time, IS “hypnosis” if you think about it… it’s self-hypnosis.
If you already have a structured training and nutrition plan, but you’re having challenges with the behavior change side of things, I hypnosis or positive mental programming CD’s might be worth trying as an additional tool in your “mental training” took kit.
Just remember that in the long run, you are your own best hypnotherapist and when it comes to the claims, let the buyer beware.
Tom Venuto is a natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, fat loss expert and author of the best seller, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat without drugs or supplements by visiting http://www.BurnTheFat.com or http://www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.Com
Author: Tom Venuto
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A History of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy
Posted by on Mar 6, 2010
Hypnosis, the oldest form of psychotherapy (Ellenberger, 1970) If we examine the religious and healing ceremonies of primitive people we can find the basic elements required to induce the hypnotic trance. It is possible from this to extrapolate that these ceremonial behaviors existed before written histories and that the use of rhythmic chanting, monotonous drum beats, together with strained fixations of the eyes accompanied by catalepsy of the rest of the body are of their selves trance inductions. If we accept this hypothesis, we might deduce that hypnosis as we call it existed as a method of accessing the unconscious and allowing the unconscious to help the conscious achieve the changes and benefits desired, as long as we have wanted to change our behavior. These behaviors would not have been called hypnosis, although hypnotic in behavior until Braid in 1842.
The oldest written record of cures by ‘hypnosis’ was obtained from the Ebers Papyrus which gives us an idea about some of the theory and practice of Egyptian medicine before 1552 BC. In the Ebers Papyrus, a treatment was described in which the physician placed his hands on the head of the patient and claiming superhuman therapeutic powers gave forth with strange remedial utterances which were suggested to the patients and which resulted in cures. Both the Greeks and the Romans followed the practices of inducing sleep or relaxation state, Hippocrates, discussed the phenomenon saying, “the affliction suffered by the body, the soul sees quite well with the eyes shut.” Unfortunately early Christianity saw the practice as being unholy and linked with non Christian and banned religious practices and ultimately witchcraft.
In the 18th century the most influential figure in the development of hypnosis was Dr Frantz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), an Austrian physician who used magnets and metal frames to perform “passes” over the patient to remove “blockages” (as he saw them the causes of diseases) in the magnetic forces in the body and to induce a trance-like state. In 1775 he discovered that he could reach equally successful results by passing his hands over the patient, this he would do for hours at times and he named this method “animal magnetism”. In 1784, the Marquis de Puysegur a student of Dr Mesmer, discovered how to lead a client in to a deep trance state called “somnambulism”, using relaxation and calming techniques. The term “somnambulism” is still widely used among hypnotherapists today in reference to a deep hypnotic trance state and sleep-walking. This technique was used for many following decades by surgeons in France including Dr. Recamier who performed the first recorded operation without anesthesia in 1821. The Marquis de Puysegur described three cardinal features of this deep trance state or somnambulism. These were: Concentration of the senses on the operator, Acceptance of suggestion from the therapist, Amnesia for events in a trance. Over two hundred years later these three theories of Puysegur still stand.
These uses of mesmerism to facilitate pain free medical procedures were most famously employed by John Elliotson (1791 – 1868) in England and James Esdaile (1808 – 1859) in India.
In 1841 a Scottish optometrist, Dr James Braid (1775 – 1860) discovered by accident that a person fixating on an object could easily reach a trance state without the help of the mesmeric passes advocated by Dr Mesmer. He published his findings, refuted Mesmer’s work and inaccurately named his discovery “hypnotism” based on the Greek word “Hypnos” which means “sleep”. This was an unfortunately choice as hypnosis is not sleep, however the name has remained and mesmerism became hypnotism.
During Braid’s research into hypnosis he formed the following ideas, most of which still stand today:
1) That in skilled hands there is no great danger associated with hypnotic treatment and neither is there pain or discomfort.
2) That a good deal more study and research would be necessary to thoroughly understand a number of theoretical concepts regarding hypnosis.
3) That hypnosis is a powerful tool which should be limited entirely to trained professionals.
4) That although hypnotism was capable of curing many diseases for which there had formally been no remedy, it nevertheless was no panacea and was only a medical tool which should be used in combination with other medical information, drugs, remedies, etc., in order to properly treat the patient.
Auguste Ambrose Liebeault (1823 – 1904), and Hippolyte Bernheim (1840 – l919) founded the ‘Nancy School’, which was of great significance in the establishment of a hypnotherapy acceptable in many quarters. Liebeault is often described as a ’simple country doctor’, but by offering to treat the peasants of Nancy without charge, he was able to amass a considerable experience and expertise with hypnosis. His first study of hypnosis began in 1860. In 1882 he obtained a cure for sciatica in a patient long treated without success by others.
Bernheim was a fashionable doctor in Paris, who began making regular visits to Nancy, and the two men became good friends and colleagues. Bernheim published the first part of his book, De la Suggestion, in 1884. The second part, La Therapeutic Suggestive, followed in 1886. The publication of these two books raised interest in Liebeault’s own book which had been published twenty years earlier and which at the time had only sold one copy.
In 1882 Jean-Martin Charcot (1835-1893) presented his findings on hypnotism to the French Academy of Sciences. Charcot believed that hypnosis was essentially hysteria and, being a neurologist, he was listened to. However Charcot had obtained much of his knowledge of hypnotism from his work with twelve hysterics at the Saltpetriere, and most of his conclusions on the subject was based on that tiny sample. The Nancy school opposed Charcot’s conclusion and won acceptance of hypnosis as an essentially normal consequence of suggestion.
Pierre Marie Félix Janet (1859 – 1947) a French neurologist and psychologist studied under Jean-Martin Charcot at the Psychological Laboratory in Pitié- Salpêtrière Hospital, in Paris. In several ways, he preceded Sigmund Freud. Many consider Janet, rather than Freud, the true founder of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. He first published the results of his research in his philosophy thesis in 1889 and in his medical thesis, L’état mental des hystériques, in 1892. He was one of the first persons to draw a connection between earlier events in the subject’s life and their present day trauma, and coined the words ‘dissociation’ and ‘’subconscious’s’. It was he who was largely responsible for the ‘dissociation’ theory of hypnosis. This initially opposed to the use of hypnosis until he discovered its relaxing effects and promotion of healing.
In 1898 Janet was appointed lecturer in psychology at the Sorbonne, and in 1902 he attained the chair of experimental and comparative psychology at the Collège de France, a position he held until 1936. He was a member of the Institut de France from 1913. In 1923 he wrote a definitive text, La médecine psychologique, on suggestion and in 1928-32, he published several definitive papers on memory. Whilst he did not publish much in English, his Harvard University lectures in 1908 were published as The Major Symptoms of Hysteria and he received an honorary doctorate from Harvard in 1936.
Josef Breuer (1842 – 1925) was an Austrian physician, born in Vienna whose works lay the foundation of psychoanalysis. He graduated from the Akademisches Gymnasium of Vienna in 1858 and then studied at the university for one year, before enrolling in the medical school of the University of Vienna. He passed his medical exams in 1867 and went to work as assistant to the internist Johann Oppolzer at the university. Josef Breuer discovered that, while hypnotised, some people could recall past events which seemed to help cure ailments they may have. He called this a “talking cure”. This was put to use by the German army in the First World War who treated shell shock through hypnosis.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the father of psycho-analysis, used hypnosis in his early work but became disillusioned by the concept. There is a belief that he did not have the patience necessary for hypnosis and was not a good hypnotist. He became involved in hypnosis between1883-1887 and practiced for some time and in 1885 Freud spent some time with Charcot, and was very impressed. He also translated into German Bernheim’s De la Suggestion.
In Vienna, Freud and his friend Joseph Breuer used hypnosis successfully in psychotherapy and in 1895, they produced their classic ‘Studies in Hysteria’ Freud had visited Nancy in 1889, and this visit had convinced him of the ‘powerful mental processes which nevertheless remain hidden from the consciousness of men’. He discovered the ‘positive transference’ when a female patient he had awakened from hypnosis threw her arms around his neck. On this Freud wrote ‘I was modest enough not to attribute the event to my own irresistible personal attraction, and I felt that I had now grasped the nature of the mysterious element that was at work behind hypnotism’.
Later however, he was to abandon hypnosis saying that it was ineffective, and concentrated on developing psychoanalysis. He focused his attention on analysis and free association, this “defection” was damaging to hypnosis particularly in the context of psychology as it created enduring prejudices and misconceptions which have only started to fade in recent times. With the development of psychoanalysis and the use of anesthetics, the interest in hypnosis declined.
Another precursor of modern hypnosis and self development was Dr. Emile Coué (1857 – 1926) who, at the end of the 19th century, was a believer in auto-suggestion and in the role of the hypnotist as a facilitator of change and healing by involving the total participation of the client in the hypnosis process. By 1887 Coué was developing the theory of auto-suggestion, which is perhaps the first time ego-strengthening (a mainstay of traditional occult and shamanistic practices) was used by the modern scientific community. He believed in the importance of the imagination in directing the will of the person, and performed experiments to study how making suggestions to people changed their actions. His well known self-help statement: “Day by day in every way I am getting better and better”, is still used in most self-improvement therapies.
1. Coue’s Laws of Suggestion: The Law of Concentrated Attention – “Whenever attention is concentrated on an idea over and over again, it spontaneously tends to realize itself”
2. The Law of Reverse Action – “The harder one tries to do something, the less chance one has of success”
3. The Law of Dominant Effect – “A stronger emotion tends to replace a weaker one”
Coue believed that he did not heal people himself but merely facilitated their own self-healing and he understood the importance of the subject’s participation in hypnosis, a forerunner of the belief that ‘There is no such thing as hypnosis, only self-hypnosis.’ Perhaps his most famous idea was that the imagination is always more powerful than the will. For example, if you ask someone to walk along a plank of wood on the floor, they can usually do it without wobbling. However, if you tell them to close their eyes and imagine the plank is suspended between two buildings hundreds of feet above the ground, they will always start to sway. It could be said that Coue also anticipated the placebo effect; a treatment of no intrinsic value, the power of which lies in suggestion (patients are told that they are being given a drug that will cure them).
Dr. Oskar Vogt developed the induction method of fractionation, and one of his students, Johannes Schultz, was later to introduce Autogenic Training considered by many to be a form of auto-hypnosis.
Ivan P. Pavlov (1849 – 1936), a Russian scientist, worked on the concepts and mechanisms of hypnosis. He is best known for his discovery of the conditioned reflex, known the Pavlovian Response. After World War 1, hypnosis and its therapeutic uses experienced a revival when psychiatrists realized that soldiers suffering traumas such as paralysis and amnesia, of a psychological rather than physical origin, responded well to hypnosis and were rapidly cured.
Milton Erickson (1932-1974) was a psychologist and psychiatrist who pioneered the art of indirect suggestion in hypnosis. He is considered by many to be the father of modern hypnosis. His methods bypassed the conscious mind through the use of both verbal and nonverbal pacing techniques including metaphor, confusion, imagery, surprise and humour; all were part of his arsenal of therapeutic tools. Erickson used hypnosis throughout his career to aid his clients’ progression and recovery. He was a great and fast observer of people and could rapidly build rapport with his clients. His hypnotic methods, nowadays called Ericksonian Hypnosis, added another dimension to modern hypnotherapy. His work, combined with the work of Satir and Perls, was the basis for Bandler and Grinder’s Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).
In 1952 Albert Mason was a young anaesthetist based at a hospital in East Grinstead, Sussex, England, which had, after World War II become a specialist hospital for plastic surgery. One day the surgeon he was working with, a Mr. Moore, had been upset when the skin graft that he had carried out on a teenage boy hadn’t worked, and indeed had made matters worse. The boy was suffering with an extremely bad case of ichthyosis. This is usually a hereditary condition in which the patient has fewer sweat and sebaceous glands than usual, which causes the skin to become dry and scaly. The boy’s body was almost covered in a thick, smelly, black layer of hard, dried skin which often oozed with a bloody serum. The youth, nicknamed “the boy with elephant skin” had suffered from this condition since birth and conventional medicine had failed to help him. This was the second time he had been given a skin graft operation but each time the new skin flared up like the rest of his body.
Possibly unaware of the medic thinking of the time, that hypnosis was not intended to be used to heal congenital diseases, Dr. Mason offered to help the boy. In front of a dozen skeptical doctors, he hypnotized the boy and gave him suggestions that his left arm would become clear. Five days later the blackened skin became crumbly and fell off to reveal underneath, reddened but otherwise normal skin. Ten days later the boy’s arm was clear. Dr. Mason proceeded to use hypnosis on the other parts of the boy’s body, achieving remarkable results and the case was reported in the British Medical Journal for 1952. Three years later Dr. Mason wrote a follow up article reporting that the results appeared to be permanent. Albert was besieged with people suffering from Ichthyosis, they came from miles around, but he was never able to reproduce the success he had had with the boy. Albert’s reasoning for this was that by then he ‘knew’ that Ichthyosis could not be treated with hypnotism and this was either being communicated to the patient somehow, or the belief was inhibiting his success.
In 1952, the British Parliament passed the ‘The Hypnotism Act’. It was intended to protect the public against potentially dangerous practices in stage hypnotism. Hypnotism is a powerful tool in the hands of properly trained doctors and therapists by many believe it is far too potent to mess around with for entertainment. Throughout history there have been public demonstrations of hypnosis, with the presenters often following their shows with private consultations. However, the reputation of hypnotism was eventually compromised by numerous fakes employing crude routines and paid stooges.
Interest in hypnotism was revived with the success of an American stage hypnotist, Ormond McGill. As well as pioneering hypnosis as TV entertainment, McGill wrote what is now known as the bible of stage hypnosis, his books The New Encyclopaedia of Stage Hypnotism and Professional Stage Hypnotism. In the UK, the revival of stage hypnotism was accompanied by a heightened concern about the possible dangers of stage hypnosis, and the 1952 Hypnotism Act was brought in.
In 1994 a panel of experts was set up by the Home Office to examine any evidence of possible harm to people taking part in public entertainments involving hypnotism, and to review the effectiveness of the law governing hypnotism for entertainment. Publication of the expert panel’s report was announced in parliament in 1995, which concluded that “there was no evidence of serious risk to participants in stage hypnosis, and that any risk which does exist is much less significant than that involved in many other activities.”
Hypnosis was officially approved as a tool in medicine by the British Medical Association (BMA) in 1955.
In the USA the Council on Medical health of the American Medical Association accepted the use of hypnotherapy in 1958.
William J. Bryan Jr. (1924 – 1977) a medical doctor, a minister of religion, and an attorney, founded the American Institute of Hypnosis and became its first president, on May 4, 1955. It was founded to be an educational body devoted to promoting all the phases of hypnosis in field of medicine and dentistry. In so doing, the Institute was founded to fill a gap that existed in that area. The Institute had members from the field of medicine, dentistry, psychology, psychiatry, theology and other professional people. Its growth was rapid and it become the world’s most respected educational institution devoted solely to teaching hypnosis in medicine and dentistry to physicians and dentists all over the world.
In the 1970’s a discovery was made in the field of self improvement and the harnessing of inner resources. Although it is not directly related to hypnosis, many of its techniques can be used with hypnosis or as an aid to hypnotic therapy. This technique was created by Richard Brandler, an information scientist, and John Grindler, a linguistic professor. They named it Neuro-Linguistic Programming. It came about, in large part, by its two founders studying, understanding and developing the methods used by Milton H. Erickson in psychotherapy. NLP is a tool for improvement, using our neurology and thinking patterns (neuro), our way of expressing our thoughts and their influence on us (linguistic) and our patterns of behavior and goals setting (programming). It has been described as the ultimate software for the brain.
Angela Partoon is a practicing Hypnotherapist and Psychotherapist based in the West Midlands. Angela is an Ericksonian Hypnotherapist who specializes in sleep disorders and PTSD. If you want to know more visit http://www.anewyouatbeingyou.co.uk
Author: Angela Partoon
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Hypnosis – The Simple Truth Revealed
Posted by on Mar 4, 2010
THE DEFINITION OF HYPNOSIS Hypnosis is a state of hyper-suggestibility where the conscious and subconscious (unconscious) minds dissociate. It is a state of mind where the subject is more likely to accept the operator’s suggestions.
You have been in hypnosis many times without even realizing it. If you have ever watched a sad T.V. show and reacted with a tear in your eye, you have been hypnotized by the television. You entered a state of increased suggestibility where you uncritically accepted the suggestion of sadness on the TV screen and reacted with a sad emotion, your tear. In other words your reasoning ability, which is contained in your conscious mind, was bypassed. You did not reason that the show was just a play; you accepted the action as being real. So you reacted with real emotion.
WHO CAN BE HYPNOTIZED? It has been found that all normal people are hypnotizable to a greater or lesser extent. People with less than a 70 I.Q., those of the moron level or lower, generally are not hypnotizable. People who are in an active state of psychosis generally are not hypnotizable. Most senile people are difficult or impossible to hypnotize. I have found in my own private practice dealing with a large number of retired people as old as 85 years of age, that hypnosis is a potent and beneficial method for most people. The person’s motivation is the key to success.
DO I HAVE TO BE A “DEEP” SUBJECT FOR SUCCESS? For the therapeutic applications of hypnosis we most often deal with, depth of any kind is not required. You can be the lightest possible subject and still receive all of the benefits from hypnosis that the deepest subjects will obtain. I strongly feel that over the years, far too much importance has been placed on how deep a subject is. If the subject is deep, it could be beneficial. This however, is not necessarily the case. Actually, with the latest hypnotic techniques like Ericksonian Hypnosis and state of the art “NLP” (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), depth is one of the least important aspects, which contribute to success.
ARE THERE ANY DANGERS IN HYPNOSIS AND SELF-HYPNOSIS? There are basically no dangers to the practice of self hypnosis. It is impossible to “get stuck” in hypnosis. The worst thing that could possibly happen while a subject is in hypnosis is that she might fall into a natural state of sleep for 20 or 30 minutes. She would awaken rested and out of the state of hypnosis.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HYPNOSIS There are many misconceptions about hypnosis. Most of them are due to the stage and television acts. Ironically, it is because of the fact that the television can hypnotize you that these misconceptions are so strongly entrenched in people’s mind.
IS HYPNOSIS SLEEP? The largest misconception about hypnosis is that it is sleep. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are asleep, you are unconscious. If you are unconscious, you cannot hear anything. If you cannot hear anything, then the hypnotist cannot help you. Hypnosis is a state of keen awareness. The subject is wide-awake and aware of everything around her. This misconception stems from the stage hypnotist’s use of the word “sleep” as analogous to the hypnotic state. When the old time hypnotist swung the watch in front of the subject’s face, he told the subject that she was getting “sleepy.” He then told the subject to go to sleep. What he meant was to go into a hypnotic sleep; not a natural sleep.
IS THERE A HYPNOTIZED FEELING? The second largest misconception is that there is a hypnotized feeling. There is no hypnotized feeling. I repeat, there is no hypnotized feeling. Most people feel very relaxed when in hypnosis, as relaxation seems to be the essence of hypnosis. Some people feel heavy. Some people feel light. Some people have other sensations and feelings. Other people have absolutely no feeling that they are in hypnosis, and believe they have not been hypnotized when they most definitely have.
CAN THE HYPNOTIST CONTROL ME? NO! The hypnotist cannot make you do anything against your will. There is always an observing ego state. Should the hypnotist make an offensive suggestion; this ego state would reject the suggestion. You will probably come out of hypnosis if the hypnotist makes an offensive suggestion.
CAN THE HYPNOTIST MAKE ME DIVULGE MY SECRETS? You will not divulge any secrets while in hypnosis unless you want to do so. The hypnotist does not have any control over the subject. Quite the contrary, the subject has more control over herself since at this time she has control over her own subconscious mind. The subject can easily reject any suggestion the hypnotist makes, no matter how simple or complicated the suggestion might be. The subject can open her eyes, emerge from the state of hypnosis, and walk out of the room at any time she chooses.
MUST PEOPLE TELL THE TRUTH WHEN IN HYPNOSIS? NO! People can lie when in hypnosis.
DO HYPNOTISTS HAVE SPECIAL POWERS AND VIBRATIONS? This is a common misconception. The hypnotist does not have any special powers, nor does he have any special vibrations with which to hypnotize you. Actually, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The hypnotist leads the subject into a state of hypnosis. In other words, the ability of hypnosis is in the subject.
WHY DO PEOPLE FAIL TO REACH THEIR GOALS USING HYPNOSIS? Perhaps the biggest reason for the inability to reach one’s goals through hypnosis is an inadequate amount of practice where self-hypnosis is concerned. The greatest reason for the return of a symptom or “relapse” is the premature discontinuance of hypnosis with the Hypno-therapist or recorded program. While self-hypnosis is important, it is generally the hetero-hypnosis with the hypnotist or recording which has the greatest impact upon the subconscious mind. This is because of the training and experience of the hypnotist vs. the lack of training and experience of the client. Some people are penny wise and pound-foolish. They mentally set an amount of time or money that they are willing to spend for help. And then they prematurely discontinue their sessions because, “I can’t afford it.” Or, “I didn’t lose 50 Lbs. in two days.” If a person or method is really helping one to make their desired changes, then it is priceless and it should be continued. It is for this reason that follow up hypnosis is generally recommended even after a symptom seems to have disappeared completely.
Self-hypnosis should be an ongoing affair on a daily basis. Ultimately, YOUR SUCCESS IS UP TO YOU!
WILL I BE BETTER OFF HIRING A HYPNOTIST, OR WILL PURCHASING A RECORDED PROGRAM WORK BETTER? That is an excellent question. Normally I would recommend that you utilize the services of a reputable hypnotist. The reason is that by meeting with you, a good hypnotist / NLP’er will be able to customize his approach to your personality and your favored representational system — the way you favor taking in information through the senses to make sense out of it and react to it. In my opinion, 99% of the recorded hypnosis programs available today are strictly Traditional Hypnosis, and consist of only one or maybe two sessions of it at that. Traditional Hypnosis is nothing more than a set of direct commands: “If you eat a brownie you’ll barf.” “You won’t have cravings,” etc. This technology has an exceptionally poor track record of success because everyone of our generation has been taught to question everything. That’s why you, your friends, and your kids usually do the opposite of what they are told to do.
That being said, having private sessions with any Hypnotist / NLP’er who has enough experience to be able to actually help you can be very expensive. There are some pre-recorded hypnotic programs based on Ericksonian Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) that have overcome those shortcomings. They’ve done this by utilizing a mix of Traditional Hypnosis, Ericksonian Hypnosis, NLP, and the highly regarded Video Hypnosis technology. These are all technologies that are designed to eliminate the resistance factor. In fact, Video Hypnosis and the NLP technology that it’s based on, do not utilize suggestion at all. They rely on using the thought processes that have created a problem, to eliminate it! Look for vendors who offer these technologies in multi-session products. These are programs that generally have six to eight different sessions, so you are exposed to a broad range of methodology. It takes a lot of work to make this type of program, but the high success rates are well worth it.
Stay away from the “one size fits all” — “do-or-die” hypnosis CDs and downloads. Many people are attracted to these programs because they are cheap, usually under $10.00. But is it cheap if it just wastes your valuable time and doesn’t work? If you try something and it doesn’t work, then you get wary and start to expect the next approach to fail. And you get what you expect. Do you really think that the same exact commands will work for everyone? Do you think that they will work for you? Do you usually do exactly as you are told? Or do you feel the desire to do the opposite of what you are told to do?
COMMON USES OF HYPNOSIS Bedwetting; Facial tics; Alcoholism; Asthma; Concentration, retention, and recall; Test anxiety; Appetite control/Weight Loss; Quit Smoking; Phobias; Pain elimination; Dental pain & anxiety; Depression; Stress & Relaxation; Insomnia and sleep disturbances; Nail biting; Increase concentration & learning ability; Self-confidence; Migraines & Headache
© 2006 By Alan B. Densky. This document may be re-printed as long as it is not altered and the author’s name and web address are retained.
Alan B. Densky, CH is certified by the NGH. He authored four books and dozens of articles on hypnotherapy and NLP. He is the developer of the Video Self Hypnosis Technology, which was perfected for weight loss and smoke cessation. Visit his Neuro-VISION Self Hypnosis website for FREE hypnosis articles, newsletters, and MP3s.
Author: Alan B. Densky
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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