What is hypnosis and how is it used

What is hypnosis

Hypnosis Hypnosis for Quitting Smoking is an altered state of consciousness. The one who is hypnotized finds himself on the thin border between wakefulness and sleep - in the so-called trance.

In this state, a person's attention is so focused that he temporarily ceases to notice everything that is happening around him - and even some of the processes taking place with his body. The task of the hypnotist is to direct this focus of attention to this or that information. Since in a trance a person is not distracted and cannot think critically, he will perceive this information as fact. Believe in her sincerely. This process is called Are You Suggesting That’s My Hand? The Relation Between Hypnotic Suggestibility and the Rubber Hand Illusion.

Suggestibility - that is, how strongly a person believes in such information - is an individual concept. This is due to the peculiarities of the brain.

Why do some people succumb to hypnosis and others do not?

Scientists have long been trying to understand Hypnosis and Imaging of the Living Human Brain, what happens to the brain during a hypnosis session. But so far there is no complete clarity. There is only fragmentary data.

Thus, researchers from Stanford University, led by Dr. David Spiegel, scanned the brains of 36 volunteers put into a trance, and found Study identifies brain areas altered during hypnotic trances in it three key changes:

Decreased activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (cingulate gyrus). This part of the brain allows us to shift our attention from one object to another. The reduced activity of the cingulate gyrus leads to the fact that a person under hypnosis focuses on one thought and cannot jump from it.
The connection between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the insular lobe (Reil's islet) has increased. This suggests that the brain gains more control over physiological processes. For example, the suggested thought "Nothing hurts for me" actually leads to a decrease in physical pain.
The connection between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the so-called passive mode network of the brain has weakened. Because of this, a hypnotized person, without analyzing and sometimes even not realizing the process, can perform actions, the need for which was suggested to him by the hypnotist.

Curiously, not everyone has such changes in the brain. And if there is, then they are expressed in different ways.

Only 10% of people are easily hypnotized. The rest of the trance is more difficult. There are people whose brains do not react at all to such an impact.

What is the reason for this difference is not entirely clear. Nevertheless, hypnotherapy, that is, hypnosis treatment, is a fairly popular method of Hypnosis psychotherapy. Therapists use it to help the patient relax and focus on solving a problem.

How hypnosis is used

Let's say right away that hypnotherapy does not always work.

Hypnosis is not used as the main method of treatment - it acts only as an auxiliary procedure.

For it to be as effective as possible, sessions should be conducted only by a certified specialist - a psychologist or psychotherapist who has the necessary training.

If all the conditions are met, and the patient belongs to people with hypnotic suggestibility (that is, those whose brain knows how to enter a trance), Hypnosis hypnotherapy helps to do this:

Control pain. Suggestion can relieve suffering from persistent headaches and migraines, toothaches, irritable bowel syndrome, burns, childbirth, cancer. Hypnosis is used when standard pain relievers are undesirable or ineffective for some reason.
Correct a variety of behavioral disorders. Hypnotherapy is successfully used in the treatment of insomnia, bedwetting, smoking, eating disorders - anorexia and bulimia.
Cope with mental health problems. Suggestion helps in the treatment of anxiety and PTSD, as well as a variety of phobias.
Reduce hot flashes during menopause.
Alleviate the side effects of cancer treatments associated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

What Happens During a Hypnosis Session

First, the patient and the doctor discuss the possibilities and risks of hypnotherapy, determine what result they want to get after the procedures.

The treatment takes place in several sessions: the preparatory stage and the hypnotherapy itself. The preparatory part takes one session. It is needed for a person to get an idea of hypnosis, as well as the first practical experience of trance. Only then should the patient make a decision on treatment.

A hypnosis session can take place in any position convenient for the patient, sitting or lying down. The psychotherapist uses one of the techniques - usually the one that he knows best. There are many hypnosis techniques, here are just a few of the most common:

Hypnotizing with a glance. Helps bring a person into a state of relaxation. Usually used in conjunction with other techniques.
Suggestion by words. The psychotherapist puts the patient into a state of relaxation, and then repeats certain attitudes.
Levitation method. This is self-hypnosis, during which a person connects his own imagination. The technique allows you to experience a feeling of lightness, get rid of heavy thoughts and experiences.
Directive hypnosis. Instilling in a person, introduced into a deep trance, certain settings-orders. For example, a ban on drinking alcohol, aversion to smoking, ignoring a phobia.
Ericksonian hypnosis. Aims at finding the source of the problem and fixing it. In this case, a person focuses on the options for solving the problem, independently chooses the one that seems to him the most correct, and takes it as a guide to action.
Transbegleitung. It is based not on the suggestion of attitudes and orders, but on accompanying the patient according to his own subconsciousness. The person himself finds a solution to the problem or changes his attitude to some events from the past.

However, hypnotherapy also has a serious disadvantage: it is not able to rid the patient of anxiety or bad habits forever.

Boris Bogomyslov

Hypnosis has no long-term effect. Any information that the doctor suggests using various techniques is erased over time. Therefore, the sessions need to be repeated periodically.

What are the side effects of hypnosis

Hypnotherapy is considered absolutely safe Mental Health and Hypnosis if it is performed by a qualified psychotherapist or psychologist. However, for people with severe mental illness, hallucinations, delusions, alcohol or drug addiction, this method may not work.

Hypnosis side effects are rare, but it is best to know about them beforehand. Here's what you might feel after leaving your therapist:

headache and dizziness;
drowsiness;
anxiety or fatigue.

Another possible consequence of hypnosis is false memories. Most often, memory fails in cases where stressful events from early childhood are worked through in hypnotherapy. This point must also be taken into account if you do not want to erase real memories, replacing them with fantasies.