My daughter came home from college and happily announced that she had solved one of life's mysteries. During her last semester, she volunteered to be hypnotized on stage. "It's a total fake," she proclaimed. "I clucked on command and spoke in a phony foreign language."
Suzanne's brush with hypnosis was typical of many people's experience. Stage and street magicians feed the misconception that they can put people in an altered state of consciousness. They promise to show their unusual powers or supernatural abilities.
The Simple Truth
The truth is, hypnosis isn't a mystery. You can do the same things with hypnosis that you can do without it. Hypnotized people don't surrender their will, they simply comply with the hypnotist's suggestions and direct their attention inward, entering a relaxed state.
Nothing strange or abnormal happens during hypnosis. People display normal reactions, based on their individual attitudes, motivations, and expectations. Hypnosis isn't dangerous, doesn't cause psychosis, and doesn't require the use of a swinging pendulum. It's merely a state of extreme relaxation and concentration, similar to yoga, meditation, and tai chi. 1
Concentrate, Choose, and Comply
Hypnotic amnesia and the power of posthypnotic suggestion may have clinical value because some people, after hypnosis, choose to act or think in a certain way. Ultimately, hypnosis involves self-hypnosis. People direct their own mental processes. Legendary psychotherapist Milton Erickson summarized hypnosis as a concentration on one's thoughts, values, memories, and beliefs about life.
We're all capable of complying with hypnotists by relaxing and turning our thoughts inward, and we can all learn to hypnotize others or hypnotize ourselves. Fantasy-rich, extroverted people with vivid imaginations make the best hypnotic candidates. Literal-minded people who dislike domination by others or who have trouble relaxing are less successful.
NPs can help patients demystify and normalize the natural psychological responses of hypnosis and, thus, spread its usefulness. I've taught self-hypnosis to nervous athletes, 2 stressed-out students, anxious adults, overeaters, and patients with painful memories or physical complaints. Regardless of your specialty, you can introduce your patients to hypnosis concepts and encourage them to use the power of relaxation, suggestion, and guided imagery.
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