All Things Hypnosis
Dr. Kathleen Donaghy
HYPNOSIS
I have been working on this article for a while as an attempt to make hypnosis less mysterious and more accessible. When you move into your unconscious mind via hypnosis, you’re able to “rewrite your program/story” in the same modality in which it was originally created and stored. The conscious mind merely directs you to think about certain things; the unconscious is all the underlying automatic programs that you use for 95% of your day. Thus, the unconscious programs are rewritten by you while in trance to better reflect your adult world.
As a child, you may have lived in fear, trying to be invisible, or rebelled against everything, or engaged in some coping pattern that no longer is effective for you as an adult. Regardless of how you reacted, the program you adopted for the unconscious is a reflection of how you attempted to manage an unsafe or unpredictable childhood. Maybe you learned to never ask for anything, managing everything yourself. Now as an adult, that’s no longer appropriate, but you automatically keep using the childhood program. This makes you push people away as an adult. So hypnosis can help you rewrite your unconscious mind’s story of how you view the world more effectively than the willpower of the conscious mind can.
Is hypnosis real?
Hypnosis is a genuine psychological phenomenon that has valid uses in clinical practice. Simply put, hypnosis is a state of heightened internally focused attention or concentration, often associated with relaxation and heightened suggestibility.
What does being hypnotized feel like?
The way people typically describe the feeling of being hypnotized, (i.e., in a trance state), is to be in a physically and mentally calm and relaxed state in which they are able to focus deeply on what they are thinking about. ... That said, there is no right way to feel when undergoing hypnosis.
Can everyone be hypnotized?
It is easy to hypnotize a person who wants to be hypnotized because all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. Contrary to popular misconceptions, hypnosis does not involve mind-control over another person. The hypnotist guides the patient to help them relax and fall into a trance-state in which the attention is focused inwardly.
How do I know if I can be hypnotized?
Most people who find themselves able to watch a movie and become absorbed in its effects can also find themselves able to be absorbed in the process of hypnosis. This allows a new processing or reorganizing of the person’s inner experiences which they can then use as resources for managing life. Some people go into a very deep trance state, and others experience only a light trance, but this does not limit the effectiveness of trance.
What’s the difference between hypnosis and meditation and guided imagery?
Each are slightly different. The focus of meditation is usually to slow down the thoughts or even empty the mind, and to attain a sense of relaxation and perhaps establish a connection to God.
The main focus of guided imagery is similar, but usually involves relaxation as you listen to a description of a relaxing scene, and the goal is stress management.
Hypnosis is similar to both, but typically has a therapeutic goal involved along with retrieval of resources aimed at assisting the person with managing their presenting concern more effectively. In the context of therapy, I use hypnosis to facilitate pain management, anxiety management, to treat headaches, to teach relaxation, to assist patients in reframing their situations, to generate create resources for managing in a new way, and so forth.
Can hypnosis help me remember something I’ve forgotten?
Hypnosis is sometimes used to attempt to recover memories, but there is no guarantee of success. Permanent memory is the realm of the subconscious mind. The whole point of hypnosis is to access the resources of the unconscious mind. ... However, memories are extremely fragile, and not necessarily a representation of the “truth.” False memories (or rewritten versions of the past) can easily occur during a hypnosis session. Just as in conscious awareness, sometimes we review something from the past and it’s rewritten in our minds once we think about things from a new perspective. Children are especially suspectible to this effect. For this reason, hypnosis is not considered useful in helping people provide court testimony.
What are the side effects of hypnosis?
Most people feel more relaxed and rested after hypnosis, but for some people, the idea of relaxation heightens their distress. For these patients, I utilize a myriad of alternate techniques and approaches for their therapy.
Can hypnosis hurt you?
There are interesting sensations a person can have during a trance which typically only happen under hypnosis; none of these can cause you any harm or pain. Remember, that you cannot be hypnotized against your will; it works to the extent that you allow it to happen.
How is hypnosis induced?
Hypnotic induction is the process undertaken by a hypnotist to establish the state or conditions required for hypnosis to occur. It’s a process of moving your attention from “out there” to “in here”. There are a number of ways of moving the person’s attention inward, and they often resemble the beginnings of a pleasant guided imagery or meditation.
Can I hypnotize myself?
All hypnosis is self-hypnosis, but most people find that being guided through the process is the most effective way for them to resolve their concern. When I guided you through hypnosis, I am able to customize my approach to your precise concern, and to time the length of induction and intervention to your responses in live time. Sometimes listening to a tape can be tedious because it doesn’t quite cater to your particular concern, and with repetition, it becomes boring and leads you to fall asleep rather than being involved in the process.
Self-hypnosis is attained during which a subject listens to a recorded induction or plays the roles of both hypnotist and subject. Once people have experienced hypnosis, they may be able to learn to replicate the process on their own and I encourage my patients to practice trancework on their own. However, most of my patients find their trance goes deeper with my assistance.
For what type of concerns is hypnosis effective?
Hypnosis is described as a trance-like state during which a person has a heightened focus and concentration. It has been shown to help with control over sensation and behavior, and has been used clinically to help patients with a wide variety of concerns. In my practice, I mainly suggest hypnosis for helping my patients manage pain, control stress and anxiety and combat phobias such as fear of flying.