What is hypnosis? |
Hypnosis is something
that occurs naturally in daily life, some day to day examples
are; being in a daze and when someone calls you may jump with
fright, on a car journey reaching your destination and not
remembering the journey. Hypnosis is a natural state of consciousness
that can be induced by suggestion. When hypnotised, a person
can have increased openness and response to suggestions. The
persons subconscious is amplified and aware, while their critical
factor (the part of the brain that worries and analysis) is
bypassed. The clients self belief system can be altered for
the benefit and request of the client. |
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Can anyone be hypnotised? |
Yes, everybody can be
hypnotised to some extent - some more than others. Susceptibility
to hypnosis can be measured with a hypnotic susceptibility
scale. Approximately 10% of the population is considered highly
hypnotisable - meaning that they can readily experience quite
dramatic changes in sensation and perception with hypnosis.
Roughly 10% are classified as 'low' - meaning that they have
not responded strongly to hypnosis. |
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Is hypnosis dangerous? |
Hypnosis is not in itself
a dangerous procedure but there are concerns that if it is
not used properly then it could lead to negative reactions.
The risks associated with hypnosis (for example, participants
very occasionally experience a mild headache) have been shown
not to differ from those associated with attending a lecture. |
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Can hypnosis make me do things
I don't want to do? |
The simple answer is
no. You keep full power of your actions when under hypnosis.
You cannot be made to do anything you don't want to do in
hypnosis. You will retain power over your ability to act upon
suggestions, although if you do allow yourself to act upon
a suggestion you may feel as though the effects are happening
by themselves. |
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Is hypnosis like sleep? |
The short answer is
no. Hypnotised people are in a state similar to wakefulness
however you could say that the part of mind that worries and
analysis (critical faculty) is asleep. Because the critical
faculty is asleep it is not doing its job assessing and analysing
any information or suggestions being received which means
that the subconscious mind is able to directly download the
desired information more quickly and easily. |
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What does hypnosis feel like? |
The answer is that hypnosis
probably feels different for everybody. You cannot really
feel hypnosis. Many hypnotists (researchers & clinicians)
use elements of relaxation procedures so people commonly associate
a feeling of relaxation with hypnosis. Different people have
all sorts of bodily responses to relaxation instructions.
Some feel as though their body is very heavy whereas some
can feel very light almost as if they were floating. Mentally,
again people have all sorts of responses. People typically
report feeling very focussed or absorbed, often effortlessly
so. You might remember things long ago forgotten. Some people
feel numb and other people tingle. Your conscious mind might
wander. Your eyelids might water or flutter. Since instructions
for imagery are often used people can have very vivid imaginative
experiences - many report feeling 'as if they were there'.
It is worthy bearing in mind that hypnosis is a totally normal
state of mind and for many of us the hypnotic state is a common
occurrence. |
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Can I get 'stuck' in hypnosis? |
There is no evidence
that anybody can become stuck in hypnosis. The worst that
might happen could be that you fall asleep - and wake up unhypnotised!
Studies have been conducted where participants have been hypnotised
and the experimenter leaves the room under the pretence that
there is a problem he has to attend to, the participant is
then observed (without his knowledge) to see what happens.
The result in all cases was that participants spontaneously
woke up, the high hypnotisables taking slightly longer to
do so. |
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Is NLP like hypnosis? |
Nuero Linguistic Programming
is a set of techniques that are intended to promote personal
development. Some of these techniques were developed from
the work of successful hypnotherapists. |
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