What is Hypnosis?

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Surprisingly, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) does not include hypnosis as an alternative therapy.  NIH defines hypnosis as a traditional therapy and lists it as a psychological intervention.   In 1958 hypnosis was endorsed by the American Medical Association  (AMA) as a legitimate tool in health care.  The British (circa 1955) and the Pope (circa 1956) supported the use of hypnosis as a standard medicine.

The word hypnosis is from the Greek word ‘hypnos’ meaning sleep. During hypnosis most people have their eyes closed and are very relaxed so they look as though they are asleep.   However, people are not asleep when they are in hypnosis.  During hypnosis, awareness increases. The potential for sleep during hypnosis exists, but by definition hypnosis is not a state of sleep.

Many people still think hypnosis is a form of Voodoo or Hocus Pocus, but hypnosis is not black magic or magic of any kind.  There is absolutely nothing I can do as the hypnotist that is an imposition on a person’s will during hypnosis. If they do not want to quit smoking, they are not going to quit. If they are not willing to give up all of their discomfort, they are not going to give it up. They can only achieve what they are willing to take in through self-hypnosis and through their own thought process.

Some people are concerned about whether hypnosis allows abuse over an individual’s desires or capabilities.  As an example, I had a hairdresser come to me requesting hypnosis for her smoking addiction. She smoked back in the day when you could sit and smoke while working on people’s hair.  With all of that hair spay, I am surprise their client’s hair didn’t flame up like Michael Jackson’s on stage.  She was very hypnotizable and went into hypnosis very quickly and very deeply. She was so hypnotizable that upon her follow one week up appointment, I learned she had not had a cigarette nor had she wanted one.  She was the perfect success story.

However, about three weeks later I received a telephone call from her.  Her co-workers at the beauty parlor told her they could not believe that she allowed some one to take control of her mind. So what do you think she does? She calls me up and says she wants me to hypnotize her again to give her smoking back.  She did not want me controlling her mind any more. For some reason, she did not mind going back into hypnosis to become a smoker again.  Unfortunately, this is the kind of logic we face sometimes.  She reasoned, as long as she was a non-smoker, she was safe from mind control. She did not understand that the suggestive influence of her friends hypnotized her into believing I was controlling her mind.

To be continued