Hypnotism : A
scientific approach
Hypnotism is the
scientific and clinical use of hypnosis. Hypnosis, or a hypnotic state, is
a temporary condition of altered attention in an individual. A hypnotist
is a person who uses hypnotism. Scientific evidence suggests that
hypnotism is useful when it is practised by qualified professionals. For
example, some professionals use hypnotism to treat patients who have
certain medical or psychological problems.
People have used hypnotic techniques since ancient times. But the practice
of hypnotism has been condemned at times because of its misuse or because
of ignorance, mistaken beliefs, and overstated claims. Today, professional
organizations accept hypnotism when it is used for valid medical or
scientific purposes.
What hypnotism is
Scientists have shown that hypnosis is a natural part of human behaviour
that affects psychological, social, and physical experience. There is no
magic connected with hypnotism, and the hypnotist has no special power.
The effects of hypnotism depend on the willingness and motivation of the
person being hypnotized. In hypnosis, a change in the quality and focus of
a person's attention alters his or her internal and external experience.
Hypnosis has been compared to dreaming and sleepwalking. The term hypnosis
comes from the Greek word hypnos, which means sleep. However, hypnosis is
not actually related to sleep. It involves a more active and intense
mental concentration. Hypnotized people can talk, write, and walk about.
They are usually fully aware of what is said and done.
A hypnotist uses certain methods to induce (guide) hypnosis in another
person. As the person responds to the methods, the person's state of
attention changes. This altered state often leads to various other changes
or phenomena. For example, the person may experience different levels of
awareness, consciousness, imagination, memory, and reasoning or become
more responsive to suggestions. Additional phenomena may be produced or
eliminated. Such phenomena may include sensations, blushing, sweating,
paralysis, tensing of muscles, and anaesthesia (loss of pain sensation).
Scientists have shown that changes in almost every body function and
system may occur with hypnosis.
None of the experiences of hypnosis are unique. Some or all of the
phenomena can occur without the use of hypnotic techniques. For example,
people who are very responsive to hypnosis show an increased
responsiveness to suggestions before they are hypnotized. This
responsiveness increases during hypnotism.
People once believed that hypnotists could force their subjects to perform
criminal acts or other actions against the subjects' will. There is no
clear evidence to show that hypnosis causes such behaviour. Hypnotized
people can and do resist suggestions. They do not lose control of their
actions and can distinguish between right and wrong.
[Karl Note: This is not totally
true. When you combine pain, drug and hypnosis you can implant
suggestions that will last for decades, and make a person perform any act
that may have been against his will previously.
Click here
for that story.
Public performances of hypnotism are responsible for many popular
misconceptions about hypnosis. Many people are first exposed to hypnotism
through a magic show or a film. Such presentations often make hypnotism
appear simple. They may tempt untrained people to try to perform hypnotism
on themselves or on other people.
The hypnotic experience
Some people can go
into hypnosis within a few seconds or minutes. Others cannot be hypnotized
easily. There are various levels of hypnosis. For example, with light
hypnosis, the person becomes rested and follows simple directions easily.
In deep hypnosis, complete anaesthesia may be experienced. In the
treatment of medical or psychological problems, the level of hypnosis is
not usually related to the effectiveness of treatment.
Inducing hypnosis in another person can be achieved through several
techniques. Perhaps the best-known techniques use direct commands. These
commands consist of simple suggestions repeated continuously in much the
same tone of voice. The hypnotist instructs the subject to focus his or
her attention on an object or fixed point, such as a spot on the ceiling.
Then the hypnotist tells the subject to relax, breathe deeply, and allow
the eyelids to grow heavy and to close.
Many professionals use verbal and nonverbal techniques known as indirect
inductions. Such procedures usually omit the use of a focal object. The
subject responds to a story or a mental puzzle presented by the hypnotist.
The hypnotist does not tell the patient to relax or to close the eyes.
Instead, the hypnotist suggests these actions indirectly through the story
or puzzle. The hypnosis treatment remains much the same.
Some hypnotists give their subjects a challenge suggestion to test for
hypnosis. For example, the hypnotist may say, "You will have difficulty
moving your right hand." The person may then find the movement difficult
or impossible to perform. Such tests do not necessarily indicate a
hypnotic state. They may merely demonstrate a person's response to
suggestion.
Historically, various drugs occasionally have been used to help induce
hypnosis. However, drugs and special tools or other gimmicks are rarely
necessary for inducing hypnosis. Most professionals do not make use of
them.
Hypnotic phenomena.
There are many
individual differences in what a person experiences with hypnosis. A
hypnotized person may experience changes in awareness, creative
imagination, reasoning, and wakefulness. Physical changes within the body
also may be produced by suggestion. These phenomena include changes in
blood flow, blood pressure, heart rate, and sensations of cold and heat.
Professionals sometimes concentrate on a certain phenomenon of hypnosis to
help treat their patients. One useful phenomenon is the ability of some
hypnotized people to remember forgotten experiences. After people have a
shocking or painful experience, they often repress (block) memories
associated with the experience from their conscious thoughts. Sometimes,
the repressed memories influence the individual's normal behaviour and may
result in certain forms of mental illness. For example, during World War
II (1939-1945), soldiers occasionally developed amnesia (loss of memory)
as a result of some of their experiences. By hypnotizing these patients,
doctors were able to help the patients remember their experiences and
relieve the emotional tensions that had built up. This treatment helped
the patients regain their health.
Another hypnotic phenomenon is called age regression. The doctor or
therapist suggests that the hypnotized patient is a certain age. The
patient may then recall or "relive" incidents in his or her life. If the
hypnotist suggests that the patient is 7 years old, for example, the
patient may appear to talk, act, and even think much as a 7-year-old. In
this way, patients may remember events and feelings that may have had some
bearing on their present illness. The patient can then reinterpret the
situation with additional information, new insights, and increased coping
skills.
Sometimes, at the hypnotist's command, subjects may believe they are
living in some past or future time. They may feel that they have travelled
back to the Middle Ages or on to the next century. Untrained hypnotists
may look upon such changes as proof that the individual was or will be
reincarnated. Most professionals consider these fantasies to be much the
same as dreams and unrelated to past or future reality.
Ending the hypnosis session is generally not difficult. A person usually
remains in hypnosis until given a signal by the hypnotist. The hypnotist
may count to five, make an indirect suggestion, or produce some type of
sound. Sometimes the subject ends the experience even when no signal is
given. Occasionally a hypnotist may have difficulty ending the hypnosis.
This problem is one of the reasons why only trained professionals should
practise hypnotism.
Uses of hypnotism
Modern methods of hypnotism have helped scientists increase their
understanding of the human mind and body, and normal and abnormal
behaviour. Hypnotism is used in research; in medicine, particularly
surgery and dentistry; and in psychotherapy. Hypnosis has occasionally
been used in legal cases.
Hypnotism has been the subject and a tool in many studies. Tests have been
developed to measure a person's hypnosis experience. Research into
people's susceptibility to hypnosis has shown that children can usually be
hypnotized more easily than adults and that males and females can be
hypnotized.
Some doctors use hypnosis as a sedative to soothe patients who are nervous
or in pain. Some patients become less aware of pain with hypnosis, while
others report no pain at all. Doctors may use deep hypnosis as a form of
anaesthesia, so that patients will feel no pain while undergoing surgery
or childbirth. Hypnotism has also been used to lessen the discomfort of
patients recovering from surgery or other medical procedures.
Doctors also have made use of the ability of a hypnotized person to remain
in a given position for long periods of time. In one case, doctors had to
graft skin onto a patient's badly damaged foot. First, skin from the
person's abdomen was grafted onto his arm. Then the graft was transferred
to his foot. With hypnosis, the patient held his arm tightly in position
over his abdomen for three weeks, then over his foot for four weeks. Even
though these positions were unusual, the patient at no time felt
uncomfortable.
Some dentists may use hypnotism as an anaesthetic. After the patient has
been hypnotized, the dentist drills the tooth and fills the cavity. The
patient remains relaxed and feels comfortable throughout the procedure.
Mental health professionals who may use hypnotism include psychiatrists,
psychologists, and clinical social workers. Therapists may use hypnosis as
the main focus or as a part of the treatment. Hypnotism may be used to
calm disturbed patients. This treatment may help the patients to become
more aware of their feelings, modify their behaviour, and learn new ways
of thinking and solving problems. Psychological conditions that have been
treated through hypnosis include anxiety, depression, phobias, stress, and
problem solving.
Hypnosis helps some people control or stop such problem habits as eating
disorders and smoking. Hypnotism has been used to improve learning,
reading, sleep, speech problems, sports performance, and behavioural
problems.
Hypnotism can also be effective in controlling certain physical problems
that are linked to psychological factors. These so-called
psychophysiological problems include certain conditions in the nervous
system, as well as some ailments of the heart, stomach, and lungs.
Hypnotism occasionally has aided in the treatment of patients with chronic
illnesses like arthritis, cancer, multiple sclerosis, pain, and stroke.
Hypnosis occasionally has been used with witnesses and victims of crime.
In hypnosis, people may remember important clues, such as a criminal's
physical appearance or another significant detail that might help in
solving the crime. Care must be taken to also obtain independent
information as people can lie and make mistakes while hypnotized. Hypnosis
cannot make a person give away a secret.
Dangers of hypnotism
Hypnotism can only be dangerous if it is abused. Only a qualified
professional should practise hypnotism. Although many people can learn to
hypnotize, the skill is not a substitute for training in medicine and
psychology. People who practise hypnotism need sufficient education and
experience to be able to analyse a condition, determine that hypnosis is
an appropriate treatment, and evaluate the results.
An untrained person cannot deal with the difficulties that might occur as
the result of inappropriately hypnotizing an individual. For example, an
unqualified hypnotist may give treatment for the wrong condition or may
overlook significant details. An inappropriate suggestion may mask or
cover an illness or symptom. If the hypnotist uses an incorrect method or
approach, a symptom may be interpreted as a completely different problem.
The symptom may remain undetected, and the subject may not learn the
proper skills for solving the real problem. In addition, alternative
treatment techniques may be ignored or may not be used effectively.
Some people learn self-hypnosis, also called autohypnosis. Self-hypnosis
should be used only after an expert has determined that it is the
appropriate treatment for the particular problem. A person learning
self-hypnosis should have professional instruction. Complications may
arise if self-hypnosis is practised incorrectly.
History
Throughout history, various cultures and groups have used rituals and
techniques that can best be described as hypnotism. Hypnotic experiences
have been described by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks and by tribal
cultures. References to deep sleep and anaesthesia have been found in the
Old Testament and in the Talmud, a collection of sacred writings of
Judaism.
Mesmerism. The scientific development of hypnotism can be traced to the
efforts of Franz Anton Mesmer, an Austrian doctor who became prominent
during the 1770's. Mesmer called his work animal magnetism.
Some people believed that disease developed when invisible magnetic fluids
were cut off or improperly distributed. Mesmer used water tubs and
magnetic wands to direct the supposed fluids to his patients. Many
patients claimed that this treatment cured them.
In 1784, a French commission was formed to study the claims of Mesmer and
his followers. The commission reported that the magnetic fluids did not
exist. It explained the cures as a product of the patients' imaginations.
Many of Mesmer's patients and students helped spread the belief in animal
magnetism, which became known as mesmerism. Students of mesmerism
continued to experiment with some of his methods. Some of these people
soon found that magnets or fluids were unnecessary.
Scientific studies. The term hypnotism was used by James Braid, a British
doctor who studied suggestion and hypnosis in the mid-1800's. Braid
pointed out that hypnosis differed from sleep and that hypnotism was a
physiological response in the subject, not the result of secret powers.
Perhaps Braid's most valuable contribution was his attempt to define
hypnotism as a phenomenon that could be scientifically studied. During
this same period, James Esdaile, a Scottish doctor working in India, began
to use hypnotism as an anaesthetic in major surgery, including leg
amputations. He performed about 200 operations with the aid of hypnosis.
During the late 1800's, the French neurologist Jean Martin Charcot
performed landmark experiments involving hypnosis. He found that hypnosis
relieved many nervous conditions. His clinic for nervous disorders
achieved a widespread reputation among scientists of the time, including
the French psychologist Alfred Binet and the Austrian doctor Sigmund
Freud. Also in the late 1800's, the French doctors Hippolyte Bernheim and
Ambroise Auguste Liebeault explored the role of suggestibility in
hypnosis. These two scientists used hypnosis to treat more than 12,000
patients.
Freud was especially interested in the work of Charcot and Bernheim. He
used hypnotized people in his early studies of the unconscious state. For
various reasons, Freud abandoned the use of hypnosis in his clinical
practice. However, he continued to view hypnosis as an important research
phenomenon. Late in his life, Freud modified his once negative views on
hypnotism.
During the early 1900's, the Russian physiologist and psychologist Ivan
Pavlov sought to discover a physiological basis of hypnosis. Pavlov
maintained that hypnosis is based on inhibition (blockage) of certain
nerve impulses in the brain.
Hypnotism became widely used by doctors and psychologists during World War
I and World War II. Hypnosis was used to treat battle fatigue and mental
disorders resulting from war. After the wars, scientists found additional
uses of hypnotism in clinical treatment.
Additional resources
Berger, Melvin. Mind Control. Crowell, New York, 1985.
Kirby, Vivian. Hypnotism. Hocus Pocus or Science? Simon and Schuster, New
York, 1985.
Atkinson, William W. Mental Fascination. Kessinger, Kila, Montana, U.S.A.,
1996. Reprint of a book exploring hypnotism in 1907.
Durbin, Paul. Kissing Frogs: The Practical Use of Hypnotherapy.
Kendall/Hunt, Dubuque, Iowa, U.S.A., 1996.
Evangelista, Anita. Dictionary of Hypnotism. Greenwood Press, London,
1991.
Lawson, Mike. Hypnosis, The Entrancing Art. Helketh, Ormskirk, Lancashire,
U.K., 1986.
