Hypnosis Defined...
Hypnosis is not something one person "does" to another. It is your inborn
talent and its use varies from person to person. Developing this skill can be enhanced with the guidance of an experienced hypnotist.
The talent can be even more useful and enjoyable when you have learned to
practice it on your own. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis because it is the client who uses his or her abilities, including concentration and imagination, to produce what we recognize as "hypnotic" effects.
Among practitioners the most common view of hypnosis is that it is an altered state of consciousness; your awareness differs somehow to your everyday sense of reality. This is often referred to as being in a trance.
For most people being in hypnosis does not seem much different to how they feel at other times.
One difference people do usually note is that they feel relaxed. Often more deeply relaxed than they've ever felt before. This has led to claims that hypnosis is nothing more than profound relaxation.
However, laboratory tests prove hypnosis is something more than relaxation.
After hypnosis the heart rate remains lower longer than after relaxation alone.
Another definition holds that hypnosis is a heightened state of suggestibility.
Meaning that persons in hypnosis will accept suggestions more readily than if not in
hypnosis. However people are readily suggestible without hypnosis -- the advertising industry
is proof of this. People in hypnosis want to cooperate so of course they
readily accept suggestions. They suspend their disbelief as they would while reading a novel. But suggest something that is distasteful to them and
they will quickly stop cooperating, just as they would drop a novel which offended them.
Hypnosis is like guided daydreaming: a form of relaxed concentration. What is relaxed is first is the body and second the conscious part of the mind. Therein lies its value as a tool of therapy.
Excerpt from:
Bryan M. Knight, MSW, PhD.
Dr Knight can be reached by e-mail at drknight@hypnosis.org, by regular mail at 7306 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, Canada, H4B 1R7, and by phone at (514) 332-7902.
www.hypnosis.org
Disclaimer: The preceding is to provide information about Hypnosis and the benefits that may be derived. It is not intended to claim a cure for any disease or condition.