What constitutes Hypnosis?

Hypnosis generally occurs when there is a heightened state of suggestibility during a state of trance. Trance is one of many states of consciousness, from coma to extreme focus. Supposedly one’s brain is lead to “an altered state of consciousness” from a ‘normal’ waking state, through certain verbal and non-verbal behaviours by the person [who can be the self, in self-hypnosis] leading one to a trance state.

The term Hypnosis is used when one is using a trance state consciously to bring about change [hopefully for the better!] in the person who is being hypnotised.

There are many forms of trance states / altered states of consciousness: Some forms of trance, like certain types of (Eastern) meditation, do not rely on suggestions, and would probably not be classified as hypnosis, but most trance states are: prayer, group prayer or praise, meditation on a text or image (such a the Stations of the Cross in the Catholic religion), “subliminal” programming, neurolinguistic programming [NLP], tribal dance and the many forms of ritual dance with non-verbal symbolism, “hearing” TV, music or radio broadcasts while drifting in and out of sleep, or while focussing attention on one event/stimulus [like winning a race], etc.

Researchers believe we drift in and out of “hypnosis” about one hundred times each day! So whether you’re focussing exclusively on negative thoughts like “I can’t make it” or positive ones like “This is an exciting challenge”, the outcome is likely to support the thought, because the trance state promotes suggestibility.

The Unconscious [ucs] vs the Conscious [cs]

Consciousness seems to be integrated with some form of language functioning. When we name, address, interpret our inner or outer world, that is cs. When we are unaware of it (for instance how you just took that breath), it is not conscious, or ucs. Neuroscientists believe that 99% of our actions (incl thinking) and motivation to act, is unconscious!

The main difference is that the ucs appears to function at a primitive level:

[1] it interprets suggestion and information literally, compared to the cs mind that can acquire some ability to think and understand abstractions. If I tell you in waking state “you are a duck” [in a play], you may choose to quack and walk like a duck, but know you are a human being, acting duck-like; if you are told in trance “you are a duck” you may believe you are a duck.

[2] The ucs tends to accept indiscriminately/un-critically suggestions and act according to those “beliefs”, whether positive or negative: Thus, repeating to yourself “I’m too busy”, “I’m a lousy cook” or ”I’m God’s gift to womankind” can and will dramatically alter your behaviour accordingly over time, because you will often be in trance during such statements “in the back” of your mind! This acceptance is so indiscriminate – similar to during dreaming – that we even create a special trance logic to accommodate illogical statements or images. So, we can believe we are “floating gently down a stream” when in fact we are sitting in a chair in an office!

Conversely, when we imagine [note that means 'to create an image'!] that we are going to be in trouble in a relationship or at work, we will probably behave subtly in ways to support the suggested situation, and people will react unpleasantly towards us… And then we repeat the trauma by suggesting to ourselves things like “I am unlovable” or “I can never get it right” etc.!

[3] The ucs is “unlimited” in its power (Robbins); whereas the cs is limited by “reality” that it is continually evaluating. The ucs has memory where it is directed and can be controlled to “forget” episodes as well as surrounding stimuli, whereas the cs appears to assess and incorporate what it interprets as pertinent or real into its reality assessment and judgement calls.

There are also theories about a Preconscious [pcs], but the term tends to be used to refer to the imminent recovery of specific memory that has been too scary for the cs and thus “repressed”.

Is hypnosis dangerous?

It can be. That’s why practitioners of hypnosis have to be licensed. Even stage hypnotists are very carefully trained, and have to limit their activities to those approved by the licensing board. [That's why you never get to hear the actual full induction patters on television hypnosis shows… If a problem occurred in an auditorium - and I've witnessed this happen - the hypnotist can move into the audience and correct the situation, but on TV you can't know how individuals may react, e.g. 2 years later, in another country.]

Benefits of hypnosis

As an adjunct to other forms of psychotherapy, hypnosis can help us to achieve immense, lasting and positive changes to our state of mental and physical well-being. Early in the 20th-century already it was found that, for instance, terminally ill patients in a clinic setting would experience vast benefits, ranging from a marked decrease in pain, absence of pain, decrease in side-effects of treatment like chemotherapy, increased cell repair and immune functioning, peacefulness, and often complete remission from the illness, as well as essential psychological effects for healing, like the removal of negative beliefs, such as helplessness & hopelessness. The conclusion still is that both life expectancy and quality of life are greatly improved by the regular practice of hypnosis and other forms of trance.

There are many terms that various people use to describe the state of hypnosis: visualisation, right brain visualisation, autogenic training, imaging, directed day dreaming, trance journeys, focus exercises, etc.

As we know from the field of Sports Psychology, changing one’s self talk that occurs repeatedly in one’s waking hours, from negative suggestions such as “I can’t do this” to positive suggestions such as “I’m a champion” is the difference between winning or losing at local or international level. When we add the positive suggestions during hypnotic trance, the influence on the mind and body is phenomenal.

In medical and psychological terms therefore, Hypnosis implies a state of relaxation of the body and parts of the mind that allows the brain to focus on single areas of awareness suggested by the hypnotist (or by the person self in self hypnosis). In this state, it seems as if our critical, conscious, analytical abilities (associated with the neo-cortex of sophisticated developmental stages) are suspended, while our primitive, unconscious mind responds in a very concrete manner to the suggestions. For example, if I told you in a waking state that your right arm is in a bucket of ice and is going numb so that it can feel no pain, you might try as hard as you can to achieve this numbness but it is unlikely that you will succeed. If however, you are in trance and experience that same suggestion, it is likely that your arm will become numb and you will feel no pain if I, for instance, prick your arm with a pin.

Some people in fact, respond so well to hypnotic suggestion, that they can undergo surgery without anaesthetic other than the hypnotic suggestions. This facility is often used, for instance for Caesarian birth deliveries… provided, of course, that the hypnotist does not faint when s/he sees the mother’s belly being cut open!

The same powerful effects can be noticed when hypnosis is applied to psychological healing. Most forms of even severe mental illness, such as severe depression, can be improved dramatically when hypnosis is added to the treatment. That is why I often use the term “acceleration technique” to describe psychotherapy techniques like Hypnosis or Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Types of hypnosis

In South Africa four types of hypnosis are specified by SASCH (the South African Society for Clinical Hypnosis):

Traditional Hypnosis comprises many of hypnotic techniques we can observe in movies or in stage hypnosis. It forms the basis for other types of hypnosis. It is directive and suggestions are generally uncamouflaged and direct, for instance, when the client is told, “The next time you light a cigarette, you will experience the most horrible foul taste in your mouth, the worst taste you have ever experienced in your life…”

Medical Hypno-Analysis is often used for the process known as Regression. This means that the client is taken back in time to earlier stages in his/her life during hypnosis, so that incidents in the past that have affected the client’s well-being, can be revisited and re-processed so that they no longer have a negative influence on him/her. It is common to regress the client even to pre-birth and allow him/her to re-experience the birth process in a more positive manner (called re-birthing). Commonly used protective techniques to access the unconscious mind in order to become aware of what has happened in the past or what we are really thinking, like a Sentence-Completion Test, have been streamlined to make access to the unconscious more effective in hypnosis.

Ericksonian Hypnosis is based on the work of Milton Erickson (the basis for the development later of a specific school of influence techniques called NLP, Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and the hypnotist will use permissive language, metaphors, stories, confusional techniques, and elements of language (like rhyme, assonance, etc.), rather than direct suggestions, to induce trance and create change.

Dramatic changes in personal, marital, work, social, and situational functioning can be achieved in a very short time. Without a client even closing his/her eyes or explicitly going “into hypnosis”, he or she can experience profound improvement of states of depression, anxiety, fear, anger, and even physical health.

Ego State Hypnosis conceptualises the personality of comprising various Ego States that are formed at different times in our lives, for instance when we acquire a new skill, or experience trauma, or start behaving in a similar manner as someone who has a lot of influence on our lives. In Ego State hypnosis the various ego states in a personality are invited to communicate with the therapist and with each other in order to achieve better unity of the personality and to change negative or destructive habits. For instance, if someone has a headache, one possible technique is to ask the part of the personality that needs a headache to be there, why this is so, what it needs to change, and request that it will change so that the headache lifts immediately.

Many hypnotherapists use more than one type of hypnosis and often integrate hypnosis with other forms of psychotherapy such as Gestalt, cognitive-behavioral, or even psychoanalytic therapy. Similarly, psychotherapists working predominantly in other types of psychotherapy may use hypnosis from time to time to achieve specific results.

Applications of hypnosis in medicine and in psychotherapy

Because our capacity to tell stories and create new ideas is unlimited, because our ability these days to access information about which techniques have been designed and have worked in all the other parts of the world, the application of hypnosis is virtually unlimited.

When a new client asks me, “Can hypnosis help for X?” my answer usually is “Yes, of course” – although I may further qualify that by describing the length of time it might take, or by suggesting another method (like EMDR) to be used as well.

Typical uses of hypnosis in dentistry include pain control, anaesthesia (so that you don’t need injections or gas), increased healing, for instance of infections, decreased fear of procedures or visits, decreased bleeding, de-briefing of previous traumatic visits and consequent removal of phobias, etc… Some dentists are specifically trained in hypnosis to facilitate these effects: if you can imagine the relief this brings to adult patients, just think how wonderful it is when your child can go to the dentist without fear or pain!

Typical uses of hypnosis in medicine and psychiatry include pain control (even for severe pain such as experienced in burns or cancer), improved immune functioning, correction of hormonal states (for instance in regulation of periods, or improved ability to conceive a child, or mood swings due to for instance impaired thyroid functioning), increased healing of tissue after surgery, healing of skin problems like rashes or eczema, decreased cough response during infections, decreased symptoms of treatment such as chemotherapy, anaesthesia, improved sleep functioning, decrease of tension with resultant decrease of stress symptoms like back pain or neck pain, control of tics and compulsions, balancing of neurochemical states with resultant improvement in disorders like Bipolar Disorder or chronic depression, removal of various kinds of “psychological” pain or impairment, etc..

Typical uses of hypnosis in psychotherapy include improved general well-being and motivation; decrease of depression, anxiety, panic, phobias, impulse control problems, compulsions, addictions, mood swings, habits like self-pity or self-deprication, fears, insomnia; increased energy, ability to focus, ability to lead a balanced life, ability to recover from loss and rejection, self-confidence, self esteem, joy, happiness, resourcefulness, problem-solving, creativity, communication skills, etc.!

In South Africa, clinical training in hypnosis is offered through organisations like SASCH (the South African Society for Clinical Hypnosis) or MEISA (Milton Erickson Institute of South Africa) and candidates for such training have to be pre-registered with organisations such as the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). You have the right to ask anyone who claims to be a hypnotist who can solve your psychological or medical problems for his/her credentials or registration number.

Who can be hypnotised?

Virtually every one can be hypnotised (unless for instance, there is severe brain damage). We all drift in and out of hypnotic trance many times a day. It is the task of the hypnotist to access the best path to contact and utilise this ability for specific goals that the client has. Most people respond well to variety of standard techniques but some people may have resistance to these techniques or to being hypnotised — even if their conscious mind appears to want to go into hypnosis; but even they can be hypnotised: it might just take a little bit longer to find the right technique.

Unless you are brain-damaged, it is probably incorrect to say “I can’t be hypnotised”: The fact is that we actually put ourselves in hypnosis, so you can hypnotise yourself with the help of an informed and knowledgeable hypnotist! You probably have been hypnotised, but you may not have realised it, because you may have an incorrect idea of what hypnosis should be like: read the next section to correct this.

Milton Erickson, for instance, was famous for being able to induce hypnosis to a deep trance level in so-called resistant clients who had seen many other hypnotists before. The developers of NLP used Erickson’s techniques effectively in the commercial world to train, for instance, salesmen to exert hypnotic influence on clients without the clients knowing the extent of the influence.

What is it like to be hypnotised?

While experiences in hypnosis differ, the best answer is similar to what stage hypnotist Max Caan says at the beginning of each of his television shows (called Nowhereland): At no time will you feel any different to what you of feeling right now; you will just feel “a pleasant sensation of deep relaxation”. Of course, after this state of relaxation, or hypnosis, is induced, you can be lead to feel many different emotions and sensations or alterations of sensations, alterations of beliefs and convictions, etc.. But people in hypnosis generally do not feel that they are hypnotised, rather that they are fully in the moment that they are busy accessing. Usually, memories are thus re-lived rather than re-called.

Hypnotists generally describe different levels of trance. The lay person often assumes that you have to be un-conscious during the process of hypnosis, un-aware of what is happening and completely under the control of the hypnotist. Sometimes this is a fantasy of clients who ask to be hypnotised so that they won’t be aware of anything while the hypnotist changes their state or instantly removes their symptoms without their input or awareness. It is generally thought that only one of ten people can access a so-called somnambulistic (or sleep-walking trance); while I believe this is an under-estimation, the fact is that a somnambulistic trance is not essential for virtually all medical psychological work to be done in hypnosis. All you need to access, is a light to medium trance for profound work to be done.

Personal experience

I’ve experienced many kinds of psychotherapy and the most wonderful ego-strengthening and mood-stabilising effects have come from hypnosis sessions. This kind of hypnosis is really a wonderful and strengthening experience that clients tend to look forward to. So are the sessions in which one helps the client to access a state of relief and recovery similar to that achieved by being on a relaxing holiday.

However, sessions of hypnosis can also be very disrupting and upsetting when the client is invited to access traumatic memories or events from the past. The good news is that in hypnosis – as in EMDR – the distressed feelings can also quickly be dampened and stabilised so that the client does not have to live and function in a highly distressed state for too long.

What does it cost?

Sessions in acceleration techniques like hypnosis are often not limited to the so-called 50 minute hour of other types of psychotherapy. I prefer to book a longer session for the first and sometimes subsequent sessions of hypnosis, so that adequate work and sufficient stabilisation of the emotional state can occur before the client leaves. Medical aids these days cover the cost of double sessions. I also ask clients to buy and bring along an audio cassette tape or any other recording device, such as a Digital Voice Recorder as I record all sessions so that the clients can re-listen to the tape or practise techniques that worked in the session.

Depending on the problem a client might have to commit to shorter or longer term hypnotherapy. To stop smoking might take four to six sessions whereas to correct a serious eating disorder might take years.

Some clients can achieve remarkable results in a single session whereas others may take longer to find similar relief or change. Some therapists offer discounts for cash payment or for regular visits: Fees need to be negotiated with the specific therapist you wish to consult.

AUTOGENIC TRAINING

[A fancy term for self-hypnosis…which should only be attempted after a professional hypnotist has given you Priming and Protective suggestions in trance!]

Typical exercises:

1] Five senses focus; Three senses focus…
2] Going into a warm pool of water
3] Healing light or other symbol infusion
4] Stories {e.g. Chicken Soup selections or some fairy tales)
5] Garden / forest journeys
6] Third eye infusion

There are many books on Autogenic Training, Relaxation Exercises, Right-Brain Visualisation, Meditations, etc, that have many suggestions of useful images we can use to heal/grow/integrte/motivate/stabilise [etc] ourselves.  It is strongly recommende though first to visit a properly trained and licenced Hypnotist who can guide you through pitfalls, give you necessary protective suggestions, and answer any questions you may have.