Hypnotic trance is significantly different from physical sleep. During exposure, partial or complete blocking of consciousness occurs. Part of the cerebral cortex functions in an inhibited mode, perceiving mainly signals coming from the hypnotist. He not only puts the client into a trance, but also gives certain instructions, conducting therapy through suggestion.
What is hypnosis
A hypnologist is a person who has special skills and knowledge, the use of which makes it possible to influence the subconscious of another individual. Suggestion is carried out in several ways. You can simply win over your interlocutor by arousing his sympathy. This allows the object to perceive the supplied information as deeply as possible. A similar scheme is practiced in NLP (neurolinguistic programming).
The main purpose of hypnosis is to directly address the subconscious of a person who is temporarily in a trance and completely uncontrollable over his actions. The purpose of suggestion is to open the necessary areas of the brain to obtain information about events in the client’s life that caused the disorder or phobia.
Having identified the source of fear, the hypnotist carefully adjusts some biological or physical indicators (pain threshold, pulse rate, muscle strength, passion for bad habits). Many experts are convinced of the safety and effectiveness of hypnotherapy in the treatment of psychosomatic diseases.
Hypnosis and cognitive processes
Many studies link it specifically to cognitive processes and describe it as a phenomenon involving attentiveness, receptivity and concentration. Some evidence suggests a role in the control of selective attention.
The relationship between hypnosis and attention is supported by the results of experiments in which hypnotic suggestion was used to change various types of perception.
For example, suggestion has been used to induce agnosia, which is a condition in which the brain can perceive, but is unable to recognize, various external stimuli. Other experiments have used proposals to manipulate visuospatial processing, that is, the brain's ability to recognize objects in space and recognize shapes.
Such effects often make it attractive to show business, and when treated as a magic trick, it causes laughter and delight. However, the practice has sometimes attracted attention when the tricks of amateur hypnotists have had tragic consequences.
One person at the end of one such dubious experiment described his experience and feelings of anxiety afterwards.
“I was in a trance. I was told that I would not be able to find my hotel room because all the rooms would be changed to Chinese. I lost about 20-25 minutes searching. I saw Chinese letters instead of numbers."
How does hypnosis work?
Immersion in trance is based on the ability of the brain to transform into an inhibited state. This happens with the help of monotonous, monotonous stimuli (calm speech, stroking, rhythmic music, fixation of gaze on a specific object). A hypnotist is a specialist who knows several or one technique of suggestion. He directs his impulses to reduce the flow of external information, concentrating the client’s attention on the problem and the given attitude. The client falls into a hypnotic sleep. Suggestibility works more effectively if the hypnologist has sufficient experience and confidence, and the client trusts him, is highly suggestible, and does not resist the manipulations being carried out.
After completing a hypnotic session, all clients remember absolutely exactly what happened to them. Like most other myths, many believe that they will not remember anything and their consciousness will be turned off. This is wrong. A person under hypnosis will remember and understand everything that happens to him.
Internet hypnosis
A psychotherapist-hypnologist can also provide his services online. The patient agrees with the doctor on the time of the sessions. One lesson takes 1–2 hours. At this time, there should be complete silence in the room so that neither the doctor nor the patient is distracted.
With the help of a doctor, you will be able to achieve complete relaxation. Many diseases develop due to dysfunction of the nervous system. When a person is constantly exposed to stress, neural connections are disrupted. Part of the nervous system is not functioning. The body malfunctions, some muscles begin to spasm.
With the help of hypnosis, you can identify blocked points in the nervous system.
Full concentration allows you to achieve harmony of thoughts and body. Negative emotions go away, consciousness is freed from complexes and prejudices, and lightness comes.
Hypnosis abstracts a person from reality and immerses him in himself. The patient gets the opportunity to observe his own actions from the outside, identify mistakes and see the root causes of his behavior and reactions to certain events.
Who is a hypnologist
In short: this is a specialist who treats people by putting them into a trance. When choosing a professional, pay attention to his work techniques, user reviews and relevant experience. Nikita Valerievich Baturin has been practicing hypnotherapy for a long time, his courses are known to many, their effectiveness has been proven in practice. There are several methods of suggestion.
Erickson technique
This type of hypnosis is perceived by many experts as insufficiently effective. It is based on a conversational impact on the client. A person got rid of problems not so much as a result of suggestion, but by activating internal resources, activated after receiving the appropriate instructions. For successful treatment, it is necessary to initially win over the client.
The operating technique consists of a series of simple procedures:
- The hypnotist is placed opposite the client.
- The gaze is directed towards the bridge of the nose.
- A conversation is conducted in a calm, measured voice, the essence of which depends on the problem being solved.
- After finding the source of the disorder, instructions are given to overcome fear or addiction.
Some experts compare Erickson's technique to the placebo effect.
What is hypnology of the Soviet period
The techniques of the post-Soviet space contain the developments of Dovzhenko and Bekhterev, who specialize in coding (direct suggestion). Statistics show that this method is very effective; complete recovery of clients without additional sessions is recorded in 20–25% of cases.
Among the disadvantages of the approach, a narrow range of applications is noted. Coding is suitable for the treatment of alcoholism, gambling addiction, nicotine addiction, and obesity. This is where the areas of effective influence of this hypnotherapy end. Along with good performance, the technique is not stable. Some disorders and diseases returned after several months or years.
Modern hypnosis
Who is a hypnotist who has chosen modern hypnosis for himself? This direction in Russia began to be actively used several years ago. This is an in-depth study aimed at eliminating the root cause of a mental disorder or other disease. The effectiveness of the technique exceeds 90% with subsequent sustainable results.
When comparing modern hypnosis with traditional psychotherapeutic treatment, it turned out that hypnosis eliminated the problem in 5 sessions. It took a psychiatrist five times longer to level out a similar disease. Among modern techniques of suggestion, this direction is considered the fastest and most effective.
You can see how modern hypnosis works for stuttering in this video.
Is hypnosis real and how does it work?
Since the 18th century, the topic has been on the border between magic and therapy, but recently it has been gaining momentum as an alternative treatment for many diseases. What is it, does it work, and if so, how?
From the very beginning he was surrounded by an aura of mystery. The term itself comes from the ancient Greek word for “sleep”.
Research shows that it was first invented in the early 19th century by Etienne Félix d'Haenin de Cuvillers, a Frenchman who was interested in the effects of suggestion on the brain and the mental and behavioral processes that occurred when someone went into a hypnotic trance. Other sources suggest that it was Scottish surgeon Dr. James Braid who coined the term hypnosis.
However, the concept of hypnotic trance was born earlier, in the 18th century, by the well-known German scientist Franz Mesmer. Mesmer claimed that he could demonstrate the existence of a phenomenon he called "animal magnetism", which is an invisible fluid that "flows" between people, animals, plants and things, and which can be manipulated to influence people's behavior.
The exposure of Mesmer's practices gave hypnotherapy a rocky start, but interest in its potential continued in the medical field. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the phenomenon continued to be studied, and experts began to better understand what it is and how it can be used to improve health.
Hypnosis in the practice of a psychologist
To determine whether you and your loved ones need the help of a hypnologist or hypnotist, you need to take into account the symptoms that indicate certain disorders:
- Situations that cause timidity or shyness. If there is a strong fear that does not allow you to overcome it on your own, there is a clear mental disorder. It is expressed in the fear of starting a conversation with an unfamiliar person or speaking in public.
- An emerging feeling of resentment or guilt when discussing certain topics or subjects. All people are subject to stress, but some individuals experience it so much that a certain breakdown occurs in the head. Suggestion and a good hypnotherapist will help you cope with this problem.
- Physical involuntary manifestations (sneezing, muscle spasms, nervous tics). Reflex reactions indicate the presence of mental disorders or phobias.
A person has unconditioned and conditioned reflexes. The first ones are needed to automatically perform certain actions. Phobias belong to the second group (they are activated regardless of the individual’s consciousness). In this regard, attacks often occur in harmless situations. The stimulus is not the main cause of fear, it simply serves to comprehend it. As a result, a psychosomatic disorder and inadequate reactions appear. Hypnotherapy makes it possible to put everything in its place, to find the necessary points of influence on problem areas of the subconscious.
Reasons to visit a hypnologist
Society imposes that a person who is treated by a shrink is inferior. There are many cases where timely prevention helped to avoid serious problems. When a person has pain in his arms, legs, heart, he goes to the doctor and takes a prescription, a sick leave. In the case of consciousness, everything is much more complicated. Untreated stress or depression can result in a number of diseases.
When to go to a psychologist-hypnologist:
- for severe headaches caused by a nervous breakdown;
- with muscle spasms;
- for communication problems;
- with pathological fatigue that does not go away even after prolonged sleep.
Complete relaxation of the body will allow you to quickly come to your senses, restore strength and see solutions to problems. You need to get over yourself and understand that there is a problem, accept it and try to eliminate it by interacting with a doctor.
What is the help of a hypnologist?
Intervention in a person’s subconscious represents a transformation of a chain of neural connections. A hypnologist helps neutralize the influence of atavism (irrational reaction) on the return of adequate behavior. The main goal is to adjust the brain so that there is a meaningful response to the stimulus. Typically hypnotherapy includes three stages:
- Finding the root cause of the problem in the subconscious.
- Putting the client into a trance in order to re-experience exciting events.
- Returning the client to the present with reprogrammed behavior.
A simple test will help you check for phobias. It is necessary to simulate a situation in which a psychosomatic disorder may manifest itself. If there is a panic attack, feelings of fear, shame, guilt, or physical discomfort, a phobia is present. Depending on the stimulus, the excess of one or another sensation is determined.
Identification of reflex reactions
To determine the basic feelings present in psychological fears, you can do the following:
- Shame and embarrassment. Call the number of an agency offering intimate services, visit a sex shop, bargain in a lingerie store. Behavior will indicate the degree of shame.
- Take part in a competition where the winner is determined by the audience, talk to a stranger about a personal meeting. This will let you know the level of resentment.
- Definition of fear. Ask a noisy group for directions to some place, jump into the pool from a diving board upside down.
- Guilt. When on public transport, place your luggage on the seat next to you, without removing it until another passenger asks to do so.
Regression: forgotten or false memories?
Another controversial use of hypnotherapy is hypnotic regression. Therapeutic regression, which is a method by which a person's repressed memories are revealed - often of early abuse and trauma - is sometimes used in hypnoanalysis, which is a form of psychoanalysis combined with hypnosis techniques.
Some even claim that hypnosis can help achieve past life regression by retrieving memories from past lives.
Existing research suggests that hypnotic suggestion may be effective in creating false memories and convincing people of the veracity of these fictitious memories. Such results cast a negative light on claims of past life regression.
However, there is research that supports the idea that hypnosis can improve memory, but the level of improvement may depend on individual expectations.
Differences between a hypnotist and a hypnologist
A specialist who uses the treatment technique of therapy and suggestion is called a hypnologist (hypnotherapist). He practices a different set of techniques to get rid of neuroses, fears, addictions, and other mental disorders. The hypnologist's task is to help the client fall into a trance and enter his own subconscious.
Hypnotic sleep is valuable because it allows you to gain access to the body's internal resources and their special abilities. Activation of these components is aimed at eliminating the identified problem and changing lifestyle for the better.
Hypnotist, who is it? In short, he is characterized as a person with certain abilities, specializing in mass performances with show elements. After such numbers, some people develop stereotyped ideas about the art of hypnotic suggestion. The main goal of a specialist is to impress the public.
Techniques for inducing hypnosis
There are several well-known trance induction techniques that are widely used in practice.
Fixing an item
The hypnologist invites the person to completely focus on the proposed object, which is in a suspended state. Such an object can be anything: a pen, a ruler, a coin.
The distance from the client’s eyes to the object must be at least 25 centimeters. While fixating a person on an object, the hypnotist begins to say certain phrases, and pronounces them in a monotonous voice, inspiring states of relaxation, heaviness, and then sleep. The therapist may use direct counting from 1 to 10 until the patient closes his eyes.
Emphasis on hands and verbal suggestions
Instead of an object, the hypnologist uses his own hands. He runs his palm along the client's face, repeating: “Look at my palm, like this, down, up, down, up.” At the same time, the desire to sleep is verbally suggested to the person.
Induction into a trance is also possible by repeating special phrases that are suggested to a person lying or half-sitting in a relaxed state. Usually these are words that instill a feeling of heaviness in the body, warmth spread throughout it, and the assurance that a person cannot move his arms and legs.
Shock methods
Hypnosis occurs due to a sharp and deep stimulus that a person does not expect. This may be an unexpected command “Sleep”, which is accompanied by a gong strike or a flash of light.
For a successful session, it is necessary that the person is sufficiently suggestible (hypnotizable) and, at a minimum, trusts the therapist.
The described technique was used by the famous psychiatrist Dovzhenko, who invented a method of getting rid of alcohol addiction that was widespread in the USSR.
Myths and realities about hypnosis
Below are several true and false statements related to hypnotic suggestion:
- Hypnosis is sleep. The information is not entirely correct. Despite the similarities, the trance state has little in common with physiological sleep. The human brain is active, tuned in to solving a problem, and processes information received from the hypnologist.
- The hypnologist is the one who makes the client lose control of himself. In fact, a person in a state of trance continues to control himself without crossing the line limited by moral principles. It is impossible to make a biorobot out of a person through hypnosis.
- Not everyone comes out of trance safely. Hypnosis is more related to self-hypnosis. A specialist simply helps direct this process in the right direction. In fact, only the person himself puts himself into a trance and comes out of it.
- Hypnosis is dangerous. This is fundamentally wrong; this method of exposure is completely harmless. It is not recommended only in cases where the client is mentally ill or his problem cannot be treated by adjusting the subconscious.
Indications and contraindications for the use of hypnosis
The hypnologist prescribes treatment:
- in the presence of phobias, OCD;
- if addiction is detected at the initial stage or after substitution therapy;
- with low self-esteem, complexes that significantly reduce the patient’s quality of life;
- when establishing certain mental disorders that distort the perception of reality.
The hypnotist only delivers certain images into the client's subconscious. A hypnologist determines the reasons, and then corrects reactions to specific events, behavioral lines, character traits, perception of certain realities (alcohol, tobacco, drugs, food, etc.).
Hypnosis is used as an independent therapy or as an additional method in combination with a number of other activities.
It is not a panacea and has several contraindications:
- the last stage of addiction, when personality degradation is obvious;
- replacement therapy (medication) during addiction treatment;
- schizophrenia.
Hypnosis and meditation
Some researchers have also made various connections between hypnosis and meditation techniques. Research shows that meditation and hypnosis are closely related, as both play a role in regulating the mind and body.
However, some researchers argue that hypnosis and meditation are completely separate processes, as they are based on different mechanisms. They argue that hypnosis is essentially a process by which subjects "fool" their own perceptions, while meditation is a means of increasing, rather than deceiving, levels of awareness.
Despite the fact that the practice of hypnosis has existed for more than 200 years, many of its mechanisms remain mysterious. The effects may seem to border on the supernatural.
