Page 37 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - Jan-Feb 2018, Vol 27, No 1

Hypnosis: Fact or Fiction 37

Hypnosis: Fact or Fiction

Continued from Page 36

Certifiable

In ads for hypnotism weight-loss treatments,
you often see the words "Certified Hypnotist!"
in big, bold letters. What does this actually
mean?
As it turns out, there is no single, official
certification process and no regulating body for
hypnotists. If you take a two-day course on
hypnotism, that's enough to claim you are a
certified hypnotist. Some certification
programs, the one run by the National Guild of
Hypnotists for example, hold their students to
strict standards, but many do not.
Doctors and psychiatrists who are
members of professional organizations are well
regulated, however. The American Psychiatric
Association (APA) and the American Medical
Association (AMA) both have strict standards
for the professional practice of hypnotherapy. breaking negative patterns of behavior, as with hypnotism, there have been dozens of hypnotic
But these demonstrations only scratch mass habit-control programs. This can be techniques and a wide range of explanations of
the surface of what hypnotism can do -- all the particularly effective in addressing phobias, the phenomenon. The only constant through all
suggestions are intentionally frivolous, to unreasonable fears of particular objects or of this has been the hypnotic subjects
ensure that nobody gets hurt. The hypnotist uses situations. Another form of psychiatric themselves. No matter how you view the art of
his or her access to the unconscious mind only hypnotherapy involves bringing underlying the hypnotist, it is undeniable that people do
to play with the subject. More involved psychiatric problems up to the conscious level. enter a special state in which they are
hypnotism uses this access to affect long-term Accessing fears, memories and repressed abnormally suggestible and uninhibited.
changes in the subject. emotions can help to clarify difficult issues and Modern skeptics have a sound and
The most widespread example of this bring resolution to persistent problems. convincing explanation of this unusual state.
hypnotic behavioral modification is habit- Hypnotists may also tap dormant Hypnotic subjects aren't actually in a trance
control hypnotic treatment. In this application, a memories to aid in law enforcement. In this state, they argue, they only think they are.
hypnotist focuses on one particular habit that is practice, called forensic hypnotism, Social pressure and the influence of the
embedded in your unconscious (smoking or investigators access a subject's deep, repressed hypnotist are often enough to convince people
overeating, for example). With the "control memories of a past crime to help identify a that they should act a certain way. When they
panel" to your mind open, the hypnotist may be suspect or fill in details of the case. Since find themselves heeding the suggestions, they
able to reprogram your subconscious to reverse hypnotists may lead subjects to form false think they must be in a hypnotic trance.
the behavior. Some hypnotists do this by memories, this technique is still very Proponents of this theory contend that this
connecting a negative response with the bad controversial in the forensics world. belief alone may be powerful enough to bring
habit. For example, the hypnotist might suggest Another controversial form of about remarkable changes in a person. If you
to your subconscious that smoking will cause hypnotism is medical hypnotherapy. Doctors think someone is compelling you to act a certain
nausea. If this association is programmed and spiritual leaders all over the world claim way, you will act that way. If you think hypnotic
effectively, you will feel sick every time you that hypnotic suggestion can ease pain and even suggestion will ease your pain, your mind will
think about smoking a cigarette. Alternatively, cure illness in some patients. The underlying bring about this feeling.
the hypnotist may build up your willpower, idea behind this is that the mind and body are In this view, an effective hypnotist isn't
suggesting to your subconscious that you don't inextricably intertwined. When you suggest to one that can probe the hidden reaches of your
need cigarettes, and you don't want them. the subconscious that the body does not feel mind, but one with strong enough authority and
Habit-control hypnotism is commonly pain, or that the body is free of disease, the charisma to convince you to go along.
practiced on a mass scale, in day-long seminars subconscious may actually bring about the In the general sense, this phenomenon is
held in hotel suites, or through audio tapes or change. known as the placebo effect. In numerous
CDs. Since the treatment is not specifically There is a great deal of anecdotal studies, people who were given ordinary sugar
tailored to each subject, and the treatment is evidence to support this idea. Using only pills behaved and felt differently only because
rapid, these programs are often ineffective. hypnotic suggestion as an anesthetic, thousands they thought they should. It's clear that the mind
Even if the treatment does yield positive results of women have made it through childbirth with can influence all aspects of the physical body, so
in the short term, there's a good chance that the minimal pain and discomfort. Countless cancer it makes sense that a firmly held belief can
subject will relapse eventually. patients swear by hypnosis, claiming that it reduce pain or even help treat a disease.
Directed, one-on-one hypnotism helps to manage the pain of chemotherapy, and But in the end, this explanation of
sessions tend to yield better results. In the next some former patients credit their recovery to hypnosis amounts to pretty much the same thing
section, we'll explore this therapeutic form of hypnotherapy. as the trance theory. When you absolutely
hypnotism. The success of hypnotherapy is convince somebody that you've brought about a
undeniable, but many doctors argue that the change in their subconscious, they register this
I'm Healed! hypnotic trance is not actually responsible for information as a fact. Like any fact, this
the positive results. In the next section, we'll see information will take root in the subconscious
In the last section, we looked at hypnosis as a how many skeptics explain hypnotic mind. So, even if the hypnotic state is nothing
means of reversing bad habits. A related phenomena. more than a figment of the subject's
application of hypnotism is psychiatric imagination, hypnotic suggestions can still
hypnotherapy. In a therapy session, a The Magic Feather reform their deeply held beliefs. The end result
psychiatrist may hypnotize his or her subject in is the same!
order to work with deep, entrenched personal In the relatively short history of modern Is Hypnosis Fact or Fiction? You be the
problems. The therapy may take the form of judge. []