They further note that historically elements of hypnosis have been an integral part of pagan religious practices and world religions including Assyro-Babylonian exorcism, Egyptian soothsaying, Jewish mysticism, Byzantine Catholicism, Chinese Taoism, Sufism, Hinduism, Shintoism, forms of Buddhism (Tibetan and Zen), and Yoga.
The modern practice of hypnosis in Europe and America can be traced to the controversial practice of German physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) who developed a technique known as Mesmerism. His practice was based on a theory called ‘Animal Magnetism’ which held that the human body contains an invisible ‘fluid’ that is affected by the planets and stars or by magnets. Blockage of the fluid was thought to be the cause of much disease and Mesmer believed that he could release the blockage through a crisis event that consisted of a trance state utilizing iron rods and ‘magnetic fluid’. As part of his treatment, Mesmer walked around, touched the patients; they fell into convulsions, sweated, vomited, cried - and were healed’.
Milton Erickson (1932-1974), a psychologist and psychiatrist pioneered the art of indirect suggestions in hypnosis, and is considered the
father of modern hypnosis. His methods bypassed the conscious mind through the use of both verbal and non-verbal pacing techniques including metaphor confusion. He has immensely influenced the practice of contemporary hypnotherapy.
Experimentation with hypnosis played an important part in the early development of Psychiatry and Psychology. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) used hypnotic suggestion as an integral part of his therapy until it was gradually replaced by his ‘free association’ psychoanalytic technique. Freud never rejected hypnosis. Indeed, he claimed that it was the future of analysis, seeing his ‘free association’ as a natural outgrowth of hypnosis.
Brain Wave Activity
There are four different levels of brain waves and hypnosis can occur in two out of the four different brain wave patterns. The different levels are Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta. Beta is the fastest of the brain wave patterns and has a variant of 14 - 30 cycles per second. A person will be in this wave cycle in times of concentration or stressful periods; they will be feeling awake and conscious of everything. Next is Alpha, which has a variant of 9 - 13 cycles per second. This is a light trance like state and will occur when you are bored or have nothing to stimulate the subconscious mind. This can also be an extremely creative pattern for some people as it is a time when the mind wanders and allows things to come naturally and easily. The next is Theta, which has a variant of 4-8 cycles per second and occurs when one is sleeping. In this state people will be able to achieve R.E.M (rapid eye movement) sleep and will be able to dream and sleep comfortably. The last cycle is Delta, and has a variant of 1-3 cycles per second. This is a deep sleep and no dreaming will occur.
This is the reason some clients are more suggestible than others. It can be safely said that at some point everyday a person is in a hypnotic state or altered state of awareness. We all go through the different brain wave cycles and in a specific order, this is because they fluctuate in accordance with what we are doing. For example we will go from Delta (a deep sleep) through Theta and into Alpha when we wake up. We will notice that we feel awake but not quite fully functioning yet. This is the brain waking up and ‘going through gears’ as it were.
Myths & Positive Aspects
In the early part of the 20th Century hypnosis was used almost exclusively by stage hypnotists, thereby projecting a hopelessly distorted view of the very powerful therapeutic tool. In 1955 the British Medical Association endorsed the practice of hypnosis in Medical School education, since then it has become a valuable addition to conventional medical treatment.
Hypnosis is a mental state of heightened suggestibility, characterised by trance like sleep. During hypnosis, the conscious mind is distracted, so that new, positive suggestions are more readily accepted. The intention is that these new constructive ideas substitute negative old ones, and thereby creating permanent beneficial life changes.
Hypnosis is not in any way harmful but it is understandable for those new to the subject to have reservations: -
“If I am in a trance can you make me do what you want?”
“Will you make me bark like a dog?”
“Will I tell you my secrets, or discuss private details?”
“What if I don’t come back?”
“Will you empty my mind?”
“Can you make me harm myself?”
“Will I be different afterwards?”
A hypnotist cannot make you do anything that you yourself would not find acceptable. You cannot be made to violate your own values. A trance state is safe territory and can be terminated by you at anytime. It is a voluntary state and if you were to be left in it you would either return to consciousness on your own or wake up enter a natural sleep and wake after a pleasant nap.
Every human being who is mentally sound can be hypnotised to some degree. You can use hypnosis for a variety of things: - Improve sleep; control weight; reduce stress; help with self-esteem and motivation; raise self-confidence. You can also use it as a way to quit smoking, develop higher concentration levels, memory, and even pass exams.
These are but a few of the areas as no matter how special the problem is, it can be successfully reduced or eliminated by the thoughtful application of hypnosis.
Personal Experience
I have found that it is quite natural to enter this commonly occurring state of mind, unknowingly, all the time. As an example, I have been watching a television programme, a movie, or reading a book and become so totally absorbed in it that I have failed to hear my partner speaking to me or calling me to dinner.
Another common instance of this naturally occurring state of mind is when I am driving. All too often my mind is focused on some other task, and when I arrive at your destination I cannot remember the journey. Quite often I find myself on the motorway not having any idea of what number the next junction is! In this instance my sub conscious mind, which already knows how to drive the car, has ‘taken over’ and I have driven on ‘auto pilot’.
I normally find it difficult to relax, but the more I read and study hypnotherapy the better I understand different degrees of relaxation. Listening to music, watching television, cooking and reading are just a few of the ways I can put myself in a relaxed state of mind which takes away the stress of my daily job.
Hypnosis Portrayed in Books
The book ‘False Memory’ by Dean Koontz was quite informative as there is a lot of text dealing with phobias and disorders. The story is mainly about people who have major psychiatric disorders, and they all visit a hypnotist, a deeply disturbed man, who uses their own feelings and memories against them.
Hypnosis is portrayed badly in this book and adds fuel to the myths and fears raised earlier.
‘The Mask’ by Dean Koontz also deals with hypnosis. In this, a child psychiatrist uses hypnotherapy to help a young girl recover from her amnesia. Whilst under hypnosis the girl speaks in abnormal voices, sometimes becomes vile, and claims to have more than one past.
Once again Hypnosis / Hypnotherapy is portrayed badly in this book and can easily add fear of the practice to those people who are misinformed.
In the book ‘Just After Sunset’ by Stephen King, there is a passage, which reflects that everyone practises self-hypnosis every day. It discuss how we may use it to enter a work orientated frame of mind in the morning, to ‘get into the story’ when reading novels or watching films, or we may use it to get to sleep at night.
This was my favourite example as in particular, it looked at the patterns successful sleepers follow each night. Sometimes checking locks on doors / windows; having a glass of water or a hot drink; or maybe saying a little prayer. I believe these can be likened to the Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) a Hypnotherapist may use to induce a state of relaxation with a patient before beginning treatment.
Conclusion
From my experiences, I have formed the opinion that there are far too many myths that surround the subject of hypnosis, and these are often compounded in films, books and ‘entertaining’ stage shows. Hypnosis is not in the least bit mysterious or supernatural and the hypnotic state is natural for all human beings. It has numerous positive aspects that can be used to improve general functioning – to make people feel better mentally or physically.
It can be used for medical purposes such as pain control, and to resolve many psychological issues. It is often successful when other, more conventional methods of treatment have failed. It is safe and there are no harmful side effects, and when administered by a professionally trained and skilled therapist it can offer long lasting and often permanent benefits.
I believe that this practise can help me with weight loss and also as an aid to controlling my blood pressure. In fact, I believe that you can use hypnotherapy for anything that is dependant on one’s own efforts.
Bibliography
Hill P. and Benner D. Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology & Counselling (Baker Reference Library May 1999)
Chrysalis From Past to Present - An Introduction to Basic Techniques (Counselling Psychotherapy) -Year one – Module One 1- 0307SC) -
Hadley J & Staudacher C. Hypnosis for Change (Third Edition 1996)
King S. Just After Sunset (Hodder & Stoughton 2008)
Koontz. D. False Memory (BCA edition 2000)
Koontz. D. The Mask (Berkeley Edition December 1988)
Kroger W.S. and Fezler W.D. Hypnosis and Behaviour Modification: Imagery Conditioning (October 1976)
Spence L. An Encyclopedia of Occultism (28 Aug 2003)
Websites
www.wikipedia.org
