Hypnosis

[Khandro]

Not sure where to put this question, but has anyone here been hypnotised, and if so can you describe it, was it 'real'?

[Buenchico]

Possibly worth a read . . .
http://www.positive-hypnosis.info/under-hypnosis.html

but be wary of stage hypnotists on ships . . .
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1k34ue/people_that_have_been_hypnotized_what_was_your/

;-)

[naomi24]

I haven't, but I know several people who have been hypnotised and all assure me it is real.

[beso]

I consider myself to have a low susceptibility to such things but I accidentally hypnotised myself once while looking at my hands. It was weird because I was accepting things that were just crazy.

I told my wife and she said that she had become hypnotised by my hand movements more than once before.

[murraymints]

I was by a stage hypnotist..but my last thoughts were ..this man is evil..and I did nothing while under..obviously my sub conscience was protecting me...I came too but felt terrible for ages, had to go see a therapist who put me under and brought me out again properly..would NEVER do it again

[ummmm]

My cousin was. She used it to give up drinking. She didn't and never has had an alcohol issue except being able to say no when offered a drink :-) anyway....she hasn't touched a drink in over 4 years. Lost loads of weight as well....

She said it was like a normal conversation where he was doing the talking and she was just listening but what he was saying was intensely interesting...

[tamaris]

Yes I have. It is a nice relaxed state. I have to say that the actual work they did did not work for me though.

[Khandro]

I'm reading a biography of the German filmmaker, Werner Herzog. He made film called 'Heart of Glass' (great film), at one point he wanted his actors to move as in a dream "as walking through water" and having learned how to hypnotize, put them all in a trance. He told one actress she would be able to speak, but with difficulty, as if she couldn't find her words, which she did. When he awakened her, she still spoke indistinctly, so he put her back in a trance and told her when she woke she would speak with great eloquence, he woke her and she spoke with unusual clarity, expressing herself better than she did normally.

It seems like an enormous mystery. I wonder if I dare try it.

[andy-hughes]

I was hypnotised to give up chocolate, and avoid sugar in drinks and on cereal.

I wore headphones, and my therapist played ambient music through them and spoke to me, along with several other voices which drifted in and out.

He advised me that I could listen to any of the voices, or none of them, as my subconscious was hearing them without my being aware of it.

The session lasted for about half an hour, I was aware and conscious throughout. The session was simultaneously recorded onto a CD which I took home and played once every night for three weeks to embed the messages.

From that day forward - it was eighteen months ago - I have not touched chocolate, having lost all desire to taste it, and even a vague feeling of nausea when I see large displays of it in supermarkets.

I have also stopped having sugar in tea and coffee because the taste is horrible, but sadly, I don't enjoy the taste of tea or coffee without sugar, so my consumption is down to maybe two coffees a day now.

[237SJ]

I tried it when I used to smoke. I was talking to someone at work who had been to see him and never touched a cigarette again after just one session even though he was told to have three sessions. The hypnotherapist was a nice old guy who used to be a clinical psychiatrist. I sat in the chair while he said all the usual things but I just didn`t switch off from the outside world (traffic outside etc) so it didn`t work for me. I never went back for the other sessions because my Dad died two days later and I had other priorities.

[andy-hughes]

237SJ - //I just didn`t switch off from the outside world (traffic outside etc) so it didn`t work for me.//

It is not possible to hypnotise someone who does not wish to be hypnotised.

This applies to someone like yourself who is nominally accepting of the procedure, but something in your subconscious rejected the method of putting you into a light trance, and so it failed.

[Barmaid]

I went to see a hynotherapist for various things. Whilst I was completely up for this, I dont think it worked at all. I found his voice truly irritating and he only ever read from pre-prepared scripts. After a few sessions I ditched him and sorted the issue out by giving myself a kick up the ****.

[Khandro]

Checking out Chris' links, the first one is to a guy with a lot of letters after his name, none of which sounded familiar, 'Dip H' - nothing, 'Dip NLP likewise (but maybe), all I got for 'HPD' was, Histrionic Personality Disorder, HC - zilch, and FDAP is a federation of Drug and Alcohol Practitioners, whether they are curers or users I'm not certain.

The second link leads to a chap who in front of an audience started to masturbate on stage - though he hadn't actually been asked to do so.

[237SJ]

I presume Dip H is a diploma in hypnotherapy. NLP is neuro linquistic programming (or something like that) which has been discredited by science but is still being practiced by some hynotherapists. Its a whacky theory dreamed up by a couple of Americans I think.

[237SJ]

*wacky*

[mibn2cweus]

I hypnotised a chicken once . . . or was it the other way round? I've never been quite sure.

[naomi24]

^Haaaaaaaaa!

[birdie1971]

Andy-hughes - “... It is not possible to hypnotise someone who does not wish to be hypnotised...”


I've heard this said many times before and I've always found it to be a rather contradictory statement. On the one hand we have the notion that if hypnosis is a genuine 'thing' then it presupposes that the subconscious mind can and does overrule the conscious mind. The unavoidable conclusion therefore is that the subconscious mind is superior to the conscious mind insofar that it is ultimately in control of the individual. That being so, the conscious mind of the person being 'hypnotised' would ultimately be irrelevant since the subconscious mind would not require the consent of the inferior conscious mind for it (the subconscious mind) to step in and take centre stage. If we accept the premise that the subconscious mind can and does override the conscious mind then the statement is paradoxical.

It probably goes without saying that I am deeply sceptical about the voracity of hypnosis. I do however believe in the very real human condition of constantly being in need of some form of validation. Humans, as deeply ingrained social animals, crave recognition and acceptance with their peers. In extreme forms this manifests itself as a craving for fame or even infamy. In lesser forms, it takes the guise of bragging/exaggerating to friends and acquaintances about life experiences and conversations. Who amongst us hasn't exaggerated a story when chatting to friends and family in order to make it more exciting, interesting or amusing? We've all done it to a greater or lesser degree.

I don't think that hypnosis is a genuine condition (for want of a better word). I think that some people like to think that it is because it helps them explain to themselves decisions, thoughts and actions that they would otherwise struggle with. By explaining it away as the actions of their uncontrollable subconscious mind, they exonerate themselves from taking any real responsibility for their actions and/or more disturbing thoughts.

That's just my opinion of course. Other opinions are available

:-)

[mibn2cweus]

Understanding the relationship between the conscious and subconscious mind, how they interface with, effect and control each other is of profound interest to me . . . another topic perhaps.