Nowadays, with the popularity of psychotherapy and counseling in social life, various methods of psychotherapy are gradually becoming known to the public. Among them, the most mysterious one is the ancient hypnotherapy.
During hypnosis, under the induction of the hypnotherapist, the consciousness of the hypnotized person changes from wakefulness to trance and then to intoxication, and his or her body is either as soft as a bone and limp on the ground, or as firm as wood and stone and strong enough to carry a person (Figure 1). Under the instructions of the hypnotist, the hypnotized person does as he or she is told, without distraction. At the end of the hypnosis, the hypnotized person gradually regains consciousness from the chaotic state, as if waking up from a dream, with a vague memory of what just happened, as if it were a lifetime ago. The common experience after being hypnotized is: “It’s like a big sleep, it’s so comfortable!”
Such a mysterious hypnosis has gradually aroused the curiosity of the public in today’s society, and hypnosis performances of all kinds are frequently presented in various media, training courses/workshops of various schools of hypnotherapy have quietly emerged in the field of counseling room training, and hypnotherapy clinics have been opened in medical and health institutions and counseling centers at all levels. The term “hypnosis” seems to be used more and more frequently. As a psychologist practicing hypnotherapy, I often face questions from professionals and non-professionals alike.
What is hypnosis?
The answer to this question requires an objective and scientific approach. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the following concepts: hypnosis, hypnotism, hypnotic state, hypnotherapy.
Hypnosis is an old concept, which is still in use today because there is no better term to replace it. Hypnosis in a broad sense refers to all cultural phenomena related to the phenomenon of hypnosis in human activities, including witchcraft, qigong, yoga, meditation, meditation, religion, human supernormal capabilities, various mystical phenomena, etc. Hypnosis in a narrow sense refers to the entire process of hypnosis implementation. Both being hypnotized and self-hypnosis are one of the instincts of living beings, who can avoid danger, preserve themselves, maintain health and extend their lives through hypnosis.
Hypnosis is a special method used by hypnotists to make the hypnotized person enter and stay in the hypnotic state and achieve predetermined goals, such as treating illnesses, communicating emotions, deciphering secrets, performing stunts, developing potential, etc.
The hypnotic state is a special state of consciousness that the hypnotized person enters in hypnosis. In this state, the hypnotized person is significantly more suggestible, can maintain a close inductive relationship with the hypnotist, and will accept his or her suggestive instructions uncritically; the hypnotist, on the other hand, can systematically regulate the perception threshold and tolerance threshold of the hypnotized person, causing him or her to show incredible functions in the waking state (Figure 2).
Hypnotherapy, the application of hypnosis in clinical work, is one of the many methods of psychotherapy. Psychologists who master hypnotherapy can cure many difficult diseases and disorders without drugs, including psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, fear, compulsion, and hysteria, and somatic disorders such as sleep disorders, eating disorders, sexual dysfunction, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and chronic fatigue syndrome, as well as behavioral disorders such as anorexia, impulsivity, stuttering, various addictive behaviors, and bad habits.
The relationship between hypnosis and sleep seems to be so close that it is often difficult for the public to distinguish between them. As a result, people tend to take hypnosis literally, thinking that hypnosis means “to induce sleep”, and treat hypnotherapy as a method of treating sleep disorders. In fact, the indications for hypnotherapy are far from limited to sleep disorders. So, I have often explained to the public the question.
What exactly is the difference between hypnosis and sleep?
While the concepts related to hypnosis have been introduced earlier, it is also necessary to have an understanding of the two concepts of sleep and sleep disorders.
Sleep, a basic physiological and psychological process of human beings, constitutes a basic human need together with eating and sexuality. Sleep and wakefulness constitute the basic physiological rhythm of human beings, just like the alternation of breathing and day and night. During sleep, people can recover their strength, rest their spirits, accumulate energy and build up momentum. If sleep is forcibly deprived, it can cause different degrees of physiological rhythm disorders in the human body, and even lead to physical and mental disorders.
Sleep disorders, including organic sleep disorders and non-organic sleep disorders, the latter is more common. Among the non-organic sleep disorders, insomnia is the representative. Insomnia is a symptom of dissatisfaction with the quality and quantity of sleep that lasts for a considerable period of time, including difficulty falling asleep, light sleep and early awakening. Insomnia can be treated either as a symptom accompanying various somatic and psychological disorders or independently as a disease. Therefore, treating insomnia is a comprehensive task, not only to treat the “symptoms” of insomnia, but also to treat the “root” of the cause of insomnia.
I can visually distinguish between hypnosis and sleep by the duties of a hypnotherapist. In short, the task of a hypnotherapist is to relieve the pain of the hypnotized person, bring relaxation and happiness, and restore physical and mental health, not just to help him/her sleep.
As you can imagine, the body is not necessarily relaxed during sleep. For example, the sleeping position may lead to localized pressure on the torso and tension, and the change of breathing rhythm may cause the body to lack oxygen, and sometimes the more you sleep, the more tired you are. At the same time, the mental state during sleep is not necessarily stable, such as the brain is still active during sleep, manifested as dreaming. Bad dreams make people nervous, chaotic dreams make people dazed, and beautiful dreams make people lose their mind. In the process of hypnotherapy, the person’s body is relaxed, breathing is calm, the mind is focused, and distractions are reduced, which is actually more effective than sleep and can be interpreted as a way to rest with half the effort. It is no wonder that after receiving hypnosis treatment, some people lamented, “Unfortunately, time passes too quickly, and I really don’t want to wake up!”
With such an explanation, it seems that the concept of hypnosis is so complex that lay people cannot help but exclaim: “It seems that hypnosis seems to be very profound!” Then a new question arises.
Is hypnosis really that magical?
Yes, it is and it isn’t. At the same time, the less magical it is, the more magical it is.
I am used to answering such questions. I do not want to make a fuss, but I always emphasize that hypnosis can be studied by scientific methods, it can be mastered by professional training, and it can be used for people’s daily life. Therefore, for scientific researchers, for trainers and learners, and for therapists and patients, it is important to face the subject or topic of hypnosis in a realistic way.
Someone who has seen some hypnosis performances will tell me excitedly, “The performance of a master hypnotist is really amazing!”
On the one hand, I tell him that I work in therapy, not in performance, and on the other hand, I can also draw an analogy with magic shows or qigong performances. As far as these performances are concerned, I can only say that “amateurs look at the show, but insiders look at the doorway”. If you are willing to learn from me, I am very welcome. Of course, I sincerely appreciate the success of the hypnosis master’s performance, which was breathtaking.
There is a popular notion that hypnosis is related to the suggestibility and suggestibility of people. This is indisputable. Then, a similar question arises.
What kind of people can be hypnotized?
My answer is simple: all people are capable of being hypnotized.
Some people think that this statement is too absolute, and I have an even more absolute statement: even animals can be hypnotized.
As mentioned before, being hypnotized and self-hypnosis is one of the instincts of living creatures. In seasons of harsh environment, animals will take hibernation or summer sleep to reduce consumption and get through the difficult times. In a serious threatening scenario, animals will suddenly fake death to avoid harm to their lives. These are all phenomena of animal self-hypnosis. Experts who understand the habits of animals can also put them into hypnosis by specific methods (Figures 3 and 4). As the spirits of all living things, being hypnotized is naturally an innate instinct that has just been neglected by ourselves for a long time. During the Five Dynasties period in China, the famous Taoist figure Chen Tuan (known as “Chen Tuan Laozu”) used to “lie down” in Mount Huashan in Xiyue for a long time, apparently in a state similar to hibernation, but in fact he was practicing a Taoist method of self-hypnosis. The practice of self-hypnosis is actually a Taoist method.
Sometimes in the middle of a lecture, someone comes forward and tells me, “I am very difficult to be hypnotized.” I often choose him as the hypnotized person for the hypnosis demonstration, and it is successful. This phenomenon is not surprising. My explanation is that he was a very self-referential person, but he was only suggesting that he was “hard to hypnotize.” Whatever the content of the self-suggestion, it can be used by the hypnotist as a resource for manipulation. This is perhaps one of the attractions of hypnosis.
Of course, for the sake of understanding, one can add after “all people can be hypnotized” that the difficulty of being hypnotized varies from person to person. This is because it is necessary to match and cooperate with the hypnotist.
After having a certain understanding of hypnosis, people are often eager to ask me to do some hypnosis demonstration and experience. I usually introduce some simple self-hypnosis methods.