What is Hypnosis and is it Effective?

Most people think they know what hypnosis is, even most practitioners. Merriam Webster Dictionary says this:

“Hypnosis (from the Greek hypnos, "sleep") is often thought to be "a trance-like state that resembles sleep but is induced by a person whose suggestions are readily accepted by the subject."

Notice the part that says “is often thought to be.” The simple truth is that there is no one universally accepted definition for hypnosis. Terms like altered state of consciousness, heightened suggestibility, dissociation, trance, auto-suggestion, even role playing have been used and fiercely defended. Perhaps the broadest definition and the one I find most helpful comes from The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis's web site, which says " Hypnosis is a state of inner absorption, concentration and focused attention.

While this definition of hypnosis pretty well describes what most of us think of as hypnosis, it also describes states caused by various forms of meditation, drugs, ritual, rhythmic percussion and dancing, even intense concentration induced by competition and involvement in movies, music, dancing or other forms of entertainment, or deep conversation. Even driving can alter our awareness. Have you ever passed the turn-off you wanted only to realize later that you missed it, or had driven safely for long distances with no memory of having done so? That’s termed highway hypnosis.

So with all these varying ideas about hypnosis, is it real? Scientific American believes so. The Truth and Hype of Hypnosis, cites positive clinical evidence for the use of hypnosis in the management of pain and finds that hypnosis can boost the effectiveness of psychotherapy for obesity, insomnia and anxiety. A compilation of clinical studies by the Institute of Noetic Sciences suggest that similar benefits can be achieved through the use on non-religious meditation, which also induces an altered state of consciousness. I’ve had excellent personal results using meditation based Stress Reduction Program developed by the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

Hypnosis is Real and Effective

Yes, hypnosis is real and effective for use in a wide range of situations: from pain management to removal of warts - especially with children - to enhanced sports performance. However, as you would expect with anything as shrouded in mystery and urban myth as hypnosis, there is also an awful lot of misinformation floating around. This misinformation ranges from marketing BS to misunderstanding, to wishful thinking, to superstition, to anti-medical establishment rants, and the list goes on.

Self-hypnosis

Some people claim that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. That statement is unprovable either way. What we do know is that self-hypnosis, practiced regularly can provide many of the benefits offered by hypnotherapy and is also useful in helping to achieve peak performance, focused attention and relaxation.

While the ability to be hypnotized seems to be innate and follows a bell curve, skill with self-hypnosis needs to be learned and practiced. Just because you can be easily hypnotized does not mean that you will achieve immediate results. It’s the age old difference between talent and skill. A less talented person who practices regularly will out perform the more talented but less practiced one. Self-hypnosis, meditation, or auto-suggestion works best when used regularly.

There are two basic methods for practicing self-hypnosis. You may maintain active control of your state and use imagery or auto-suggestion. This works for many people. Others prefer to record their suggestions and play them back for their hypnosis sessions. As I tend to go quickly into a pretty deep trance the latter method works best for me. By the time I’ve achieved trance my mind has trouble focusing enough to do what I intended to do while in hypnosis.

Some things to watch out for when considering hypnosis

Hypnosis is not a substitute for professional medical or psychological care. If you have a serious problem see a professional. That does not mean a “Certified Hypnotherapist.” It means finding somebody who can treat your problem without hypnosis but who can use hypnosis as an extra tool. Used in combination with other therapies, by a qualified practitioner, hypnosis often improves or speeds positive outcomes.

Hypnosis training is not standardized

As helpful as hypnosis can be as a therapeutic or self-help tool, we have to be very careful what claims we listen to. With a field in which anybody with a couple hundred dollars can attend a weekend workshop and come out a “Certified Hypnotherapist”, we have to expect a lack of critical thinking and exaggerated claims. Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) which is partly based on the hypno-therapeutic work of Milton Erickson has, in particular, contributed to a great deal of controversy and accusations of exaggerated claims. A Google search of “NLP controversy returns almost seventy three thousand pages. I suppose in our instant-on world any person promising quick and easy solutions to life’s problems will attract a lot of interest. It’s not that hypnosis and hypnotherapy aren’t useful tools, we just need to examine self-promoting claims. As with most things in life, if it seems too-good-to-be-true, it probably is.

The Problems with Regressions

One particular use of hypnosis is especially controversial, memory retrieval. Hypnosis can be used to uncover repressed memories. It can also be used to implant false memories. It takes a clinical practitioner of great skill who maintains great ongoing awareness to cleanly expose memories. Even then there is still a question of the validity of those memories. False Memory Syndrome is real. Recollections “uncovered” by hypnosis can be very vivid. They can also be induced by suggestion.  Unless recovered with the help of a skilled forensic hypnotist, such memories should be treated as therapeutic metaphors, not facts. They may be useful metaphors within the context of therapy but the likelihood of those memories being historically accurate is small.

Past Life Regressions

Another controversial use of hypnosis is for past life regressions. Past life regression (PLR) is the alleged journeying into one's past lives while hypnotized. This practice is at least fifty years old and has been used both therapeutically and for self-exploration. Popularized by Brian Weiss M.D. in his book Many Lives, Many Masters, PLR is something that every hypnotherapist gets asked about. Again, considering how easily supposed memories can be induced by the phrasing of the hypnotist, the “truth” of most PLRs is questionable, at best, though they may seem very real when experienced.

”A marked emotional experience during the hypnotic regression provides no assurance that memories of a real previous life were recovered. The subjective experience of reliving a previous life may be impressive to the person having the experience, and yet the "previous life" may be a fantasy, like most of our dreams.”

Ian Stevenson, M.D., University of Virginia

That said, there are therapists, like Dr. Weiss, who do achieve positive outcomes using the technique. Whether the benefits are a side effect of a good therapist being a good therapist or PLR specifically is responsible is unknown. It might be helpful to consider that there are many schools of psychotherapy, but statistical surveys show similar positive client outcomes, regardless of the type of therapy the therapists use. PLR outcomes fall into low end of the standard outcomes range.

PLR can be entertaining, though. Whether we live multiple incarnations or not is a religious question that I’m not remotely qualified to address. It is interesting to note that in an extremely small number of cases people undergoing PLR, such as the woman recorded in the Bloxham Tapes, do seem to recall accurate historical details. And their recollections cannot be adequately written off as due to cryptomnesia (you learned something previously but forgot you know