Hypnosis

[debit]

Dear Dr. Steve,

How does hypnosis work? I've never been hypnotized, but I've seen enough people go under to believe it. Apparently you can't be hypnotized against your will or to do anything dangerous. Is it similar to sleep walking?


Thanks!

[Dr Steve]

Dear Dr. Steve,

How does hypnosis work? I've never been hypnotized, but I've seen enough people go under to believe it. Apparently you can't be hypnotized against your will or to do anything dangerous. Is it similar to sleep walking?


Thanks!

I knew just tossing my opinion around on this one would result in my just getting bashed by either pro-hypnosis or anti-hypnosis partisans on this site (:smile:) so I cribbed some stuff of Penn State's research website (which basically just means I'm out of my depth but I know where to go to get good info):

The hypnotized person is not sleeping or unconscious—quite the contrary. Hypnosis (most often induced by a hypnotherapist's verbal guidance, not a swinging pocket watch) creates a hyper-attentive and hyper-responsive mental state, in which the subject's subconscious mind is highly open to suggestion. "This doesn't mean you become a submissive robot when hypnotized," Ray asserts. "Studies have shown us that good hypnotic subjects are active problem solvers. While it's true that the subconscious mind is more open to suggestion during hypnosis, that doesn't mean that the subject's free will or moral judgment is turned off."

also:

In the late 1950s, Stanford University was the first to establish a reliable "yardstick" of susceptibility (aptly called the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales). Through subsequent studies, researchers learned that 95 percent of people can be hypnotized to some extent (with most scoring in the midrange on the Stanford Scale) and that "an individual's score—reflecting the ability to respond to hypnosis—remains remarkably stable over time. Even twenty-five years after their initial Stanford Scale tests, retested subjects were getting almost the same scores, the same level of hypnotic responsiveness."

Here are a couple of interesting and good articles about hypnosis:

http://www.rps.psu.edu/probing/hypnosis.html
http://www.apa.org/divisions/div30/define_hypnosis.html

[Furtherman]

Cluck... cluck..... BOK! BOK! BOK!!

[debit]

Thanks Doc.

I hoped I would stump you on this one.

I should have known better.

[joethebartender]

Cluck... cluck..... BOK! BOK! BOK!!

:lol::lol::lol:

[Misteriosa]

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f298/Misteriosa_NYC/smilies/Hypnosis.gif

[Dr Steve]

Thanks Doc.

I hoped I would stump you on this one.

I should have known better.

No, you totally did...I know just enough to be dangerous (yecch) re: hypnosis. I was at work and totally copped out by just posting something someone else said about it for time's sake.

I'll do better next time!


your pal,


steve

[HypnoDude]

I think Dr. Steve gave a good description of hypnosis and I thought I would ad to it. Most of us in the hypnosis field describe hypnosis as a heightened state of awareness. When in this state of mind, the subconscious mind (the part of us that creates automatic behavior) moves closer to the front of our perception and tends to accept the suggestions that are given, while your conscious mind checks out.

The Stanford scale is a good one to use when trying to determine how deep a person is, but in the over 15yrs I have been hypnotizing people I have found it is not an absolute.

In reference to sleep walking, which is called a "somnambulist" in the dictionary, studies have shown that if you were or still are a sleepwalker that you are often times an excellent candidate for hypnosis.

Now will somebody do something against there will? My experience has shown that it depends on a persons morals. Example: If you were a practising nudest and while under hypnosis you were told to remove your clothes you probably would because you feel comfortable running around in the buff, however most people would not feel comfortable about doing that and probably not do it. Again, its not an absolute.

Same goes for whether or not you would tell the truth under hypnosis. People will and can lie under hypnosis, That's why in most cases its not admissable in court. If asked to divulge something that is personable or mentally painful enough you may make up a story or not say anything at all.

What I have learned over the years is that the mind is very powerful....

Cheers,

[HBox]

Well I think that time has proven one thing; that people............








SLEEP!!!!!!!!

[Dr Steve]

I think Dr. Steve gave a good description of hypnosis and I thought I would ad to it. Most of us in the hypnosis field describe hypnosis as a heightened state of awareness. When in this state of mind, the subconscious mind (the part of us that creates automatic behavior) moves closer to the front of our perception and tends to accept the suggestions that are given, while your conscious mind checks out.

The Stanford scale is a good one to use when trying to determine how deep a person is, but in the over 15yrs I have been hypnotizing people I have found it is not an absolute.

In reference to sleep walking, which is called a "somnambulist" in the dictionary, studies have shown that if you were or still are a sleepwalker that you are often times an excellent candidate for hypnosis.

Now will somebody do something against there will? My experience has shown that it depends on a persons morals. Example: If you were a practising nudest and while under hypnosis you were told to remove your clothes you probably would because you feel comfortable running around in the buff, however most people would not feel comfortable about doing that and probably not do it. Again, its not an absolute.

Same goes for whether or not you would tell the truth under hypnosis. People will and can lie under hypnosis, That's why in most cases its not admissable in court. If asked to divulge something that is personable or mentally painful enough you may make up a story or not say anything at all.

What I have learned over the years is that the mind is very powerful....

Cheers,


very cool, and thanks for jumping in!