Much in modern hypnotherapy is owed to Milton H. Erickson, who believed that subjects could be put into a state of trance through conversational storytelling, rather than using the old Freudian “You are getting sleepy” method. Ericksonian hypnosis believed that certain words could trigger the mind and have an impact on a person’s behavior, whether they were in a trance or not. This notion is at the heart of NLP hypnosis (Neuro Linguistic Programming), which is used in hypnosis sessions to help people overcome a number of mental and physical ailments.
Patients undergoing hypnotherapy/stage hypnosis move from their normal waking state to a stage of deep relaxation, where they breathe deeper, their body feels heavier and their mind begins to become more attentive. Next in the state of trance, the subject will feel deeply engaged in the words or images the therapist presents and there is dissociation from critical thoughts. The patient is then open to suggestion and will respond and comply with the hypnotherapist’s suggestions. Following the experience, patients often report feeling euphoric and as though they had had the best night of sleep ever, even if the session only lasted a few minutes.
Hypnosis therapy is used to treat a wide host of ailments from mental to physical. Most recently, researchers discovered that the mind plays an important role in pain management, particularly with cancer patients or those undergoing surgery. Studies show that hypnosis meditation can lessen one’s need for medication and shorten recovery time. Thinking negative thoughts can lead to stress, which has powerful ramifications on the body.
It can disrupt a woman’s menstrual cycle, create a cold sore, make a person ill with a cold, disrupt sleep patterns, generate ulcers, facilitate hair loss, exacerbate psoriasis, lead to heart disease and contribute to obesity. Today, hypnosis sessions are used in treating obesity, asthma, anxiety, pain, sleep walking, thumb sucking, nail biting, smoking, inflammatory bowel disease, insomnia, addiction, warts, bedwetting, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, eczema, psoriasis, acne, migraines, stress, tinnitus, cancer pain, obesity, anorexia, bulimia, indigestion, phobias, depression and the pain of childbirth.
The problem with hypnotherapy is that not everyone is susceptible to hypnotic suggestion. The subject must be an open-minded, willing participant who pledges to remain attentive, suspend disbelief and go along with what the therapist is saying. A common misconception is that hypnotists can mesmerize someone against his or her will, plant suggestions and cause the subject to act against his or her free will. The process itself is mysterious, although there must be a certain level of agreeableness before healing can occur.
