Does Hypnosis Work? Personal Experience

By Christopher A. Hernandez


When you know that hypnosis works, you may start wondering how it works. As several hypnotists and hypnotherapists out there say about hypnosis, "There is no 'it.'" What does that mean? That simply means hypnosis is a natural state of mind people experience everyday several times a day. This state of mind is common. You experience it when you daydream or watch a movie. Then you're left to wonder how does hypnosis work.In Your Mind: What's Going On Here?

There are two viewpoints based on the works of Dave Elman and Milton Erickson. Followers of Milton Erickson believe that hypnosis is a process of communication with the "unconscious" mind. The suggestions which the client hears or sees get internalized within the unconscious mind which finds meanings from the past or present experiences and are acted upon unconsciously. Dave Elman taught about the "subconscious" mind as a part of the mind where suggestions work along with beliefs based on past experiences. Both describe what you could call models of learning that bypasses the conscious mind. Both models are useful for creating the change you want.

Is Relaxation Hypnosis Effective? Yes, hypnotherapy does help with increasing relaxation.Several scientific studies have investigated relaxation hypnosis, and have found it to be effective.In summary, the British Medical Journal's article "Does Hypnosis Work for Relaxation?" states that there is good evidence that hypnosis can help promote relaxation and reduce anxiety.Can Hypnotherapy be Used to Treat Depression? Maybe, but more research is needed.In a 1998 study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry to research the effectiveness of complementary therapies for depression, researchers found no conclusive evidence that hypnotherapy helps with depression. Those researchers did note that there was limited evidence that relaxation therapies (which include hypnosis) can help with depression, but more research is needed for conclusive results.

How does the body and mind work together to achieve the remarkable effects we hear stories about? Just what magic occurs in our bodies and minds when we heal or accomplish seemingly miraculous feats? Scientists are still puzzling over these questions, yet they have shown that hypnosis, guided imagery, meditation/prayer and what we eat affects our immune systems, our resistance to cancer and our recovery from surgery. Other research shows how hypnosis activates the same brain centers that block our perception of pain. It is well known that hypnosis helps people change unwanted behaviors and establish new habits. How should we explain the placebo effect when inert ingredients and the power of suggestion cause recovery and cures? What about its opposite, the nocebo effect, when pessimistic expectations and pronouncements by professionals can result in ill health?

More correctly, the human system is a "body-mind" connection rather than the "mind-body" connection. You are a body first and a mind second. So many highly intelligent people forget that. Why do we claim you have a body-mind connection? Your body controls your mind. As a quick test to prove this to yourself, just take a deep breath in and hold it. Hold it as long as you can. After a few minutes your body will override your conscious will to hold your breath and force you to exhale and take another breath.

If 10 minutes later they think to themselves "well that did nothing, I'm going to go have a smoke" then they are as stubborn as the person who refuses to let a hypnotist have 'power' over them. If they go to the bus stop and have to wait 15 minutes for a bus where they start thinking "oh I use to smoke here... what am I supposed to do now?" then they really want to use smoking as a crutch in their lives - they smoke when they're bored, stressed, upset, etc., and that's not likely to stop now.

Suppose that the mind and body are one system, and that what happens in the mind has a corresponding result in the body and vice versa. We can easily notice that what happens with the body affects the mind when we consider that our experience of the world is conducted through the five senses of the body. Our emotions and thoughts can change when we experience pleasurable or painful sensations.

Now this is just my personal experience with people who have come to me for help. For this next section I'm going to look at articles and studies that have been conducted on the effectiveness of hypnosis. On the topic of smoking, there was a 2010 study(2010 Jan;52(3):177-81) looking at the effectiveness of previous hypnosis studies for the cessation of smoking. They strongly critiqued the claim of many hypnotherapists that hypnosis was the most effective method for quitting smoking. They did however conclude that hypnosis was just as effective as any number of methods smokers could use to quit.

What's Inner Mind? If you want to get more specific, the inner mind uses the parts of your brain beneath the cerebral cortex where neuroscientists have identified structures that are responsible for feeling emotion, normal body movement you know so well they become automatic like walking and processes necessary for survival such as breathing. Because the subconscious mind both influences what you perceive and changes as a result of your perceptions, it involves the rest of the nervous system beyond the brain. This subconscious or inner mind is the seat of your emotions, habits and beliefs, and it involves your memories and experiences in creating your wellness.That principle of the body and mind affecting each other in one system is one of the presuppositions of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), a method of reproducing excellence based on observing others. It includes strategies of changing oneself, helping others, selling and communicating.The earliest work on NLP was based on studying the work of the hypnotherapist Dr. Milton Erickson and other excellent therapists in order to teach their colleagues how to achieve remarkable results more quickly and easily. Because NLP and hypnotism are intimately related and have various applications, many people study and use both in their clinics.




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