Does the word 'hypnosis' evoke an image of someone waving a pocket watch back and forth in front of you, guiding you into some sort of zombie-like state in which you are compelled to obey, no matter how strange or immoral the request, doing the hypnotist's evil bidding which of course includes squawking like a chicken? :)

If you’re genuinely interested in learning about hypnosis, this explanation, while not complete or definitive, may explode such myths and clarify some points about hypnosis.

The situation I described above was in humour and bears little resemblance to actual hypnotism. No matter what those stage hypnosis suggest, clients in a ‘hypnotic trance’ or state of relaxation as I call it, are not slaves to the hypnotist -- they have absolute free will at all times and they’re not half-asleep – they’re relaxing, as if daydreaming. And if at any time, anything said offends your values or is just something you wouldn’t want to do, guess what? You’ll be fully alert again!

What is Hypnosis?
People have been pondering and arguing over hypnosis for more than 200 years, but science has yet to fully explain how it actually happens. Psychiatrists do however understand the general characteristics of hypnosis, and they have some model of how it works: it is a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination. Contrary to what you might imagine, it's not really like sleep, because the subject is alert the whole time. It is most often compared to daydreaming, or the feeling of "losing yourself" in a book or movie. You are fully conscious while you’re watching that movie or engrossed in that rollercoaster of a novel, but you’re tuning out most of what’s going on around you. This ‘trance state’ is a form of self-hypnosis created by intentional relaxation and focusing exercises. It is often compared to the relaxed mental state between wakefulness and sleep.

Let’s take the example of a movie, the fictional world on the screen engages your emotions. Depending on the movie genre, the fictitious events you’re watching can evoke emotions such as joy, sadness or happiness, and you may even jump when something scary happens in the movie even though it’s not actually real.

In conventional hypnosis, you approach the suggestions of the hypnotist, or your own ideas, as if they were reality. If the hypnotist suggests that you’re sweltering in the sun on a hot summer’s day, you may start to perspire; if s/he suggests biting into a lemon slice, feeling your teeth meet the waxy skin of the fruit and the burst of zesty lemon juice on your tongue, you'll feel a sensation in your mouth and you may swallow. The entire time, you know that it's all imaginary. Essentially, you're "playing pretend" on an intense level, as kids do.

In this mental state, people feel uninhibited and relaxed. This is most likely because they tune out any anxieties or doubts that would usually keep their actions in check. How many of us feel a sense of escapism when watching a movie? As you get engrossed in the plot of a movie you enjoy, worries about your job, the annoying thing your colleague said to you today, family aggravations, etc, evaporate until all you're thinking about is what's up on the screen.

In this relaxed mental state, you are highly suggestible. What does this mean? Well, it means that when you’re in this state and the hypnotist tells you do something, you'll likely embrace the idea completely. As proven repeatedly during hypnosis sessions over the years, a client’s sense of safety and morality remain entrenched throughout the experience, however. If you don’t want to do something, you won’t – no matter what a hypnotist says to you.

What's going on when you become hypnotised?

I’ll explain a little about the most widely accepted theory: the predominant school of thought is that hypnosis is a way to communicate directly with a person's subconscious mind. Normally, you are only aware of the thought processes in your conscious mind. You consciously think over the problems that are right in front of you, consciously choose words as you speak, consciously try to remember where you left your keys…But in doing all these things, your conscious mind is working hand-in-hand with your subconscious mind, the unconscious part of your mind that does your "behind the scenes" thinking.

Your subconscious mind accesses the vast reservoir of information that lets you solve problems, construct sentences or locate your keys. It puts together plans and ideas and runs them by your conscious mind. When a new idea comes to you out of the blue, it's because you already thought through the process unconsciously.

Your subconscious also takes care of all the stuff you do automatically. You don't actively work through the steps of breathing minute to minute -- your subconscious mind does that. You don't think through every little thing you do while driving a car -- a lot of the small stuff is thought out in your subconscious mind. Your subconscious also processes the physical information your body receives. In short, your subconscious mind is the real brains behind the operation -- it does most of your thinking, and it decides a lot of what you do.

When you're awake, your conscious mind works to evaluate a lot of these thoughts, make decisions and put certain ideas into action. It also processes new information and relays it to the subconscious mind.
The conscious mind is the main inhibitive component in your makeup -- it's in charge of putting on the brakes -- while the subconscious mind is the place of imagination and impulse. When you're asleep though, the conscious mind gets out of the way, and your subconscious has free reign.

Psychiatrists theorise that the deep relaxation and focusing exercises of hypnotism relax the conscious mind so that it takes a less active role in your thinking process. In this state, you know what's happening, but your conscious mind takes a backseat to your subconscious mind. It doesn't have to filter through everything. You and the hypnotist can work directly with the subconscious while you’re in this state.

It seems like the hypnotist's suggestions are coming directly from the subconscious, rather than from another person. You react automatically to these impulses and suggestions, just as you would to your own thoughts. Of course, your subconscious mind does have a conscience, a survival instinct and its own ideas, so it won't agree to anything that is against your values.

The subconscious regulates your bodily sensations, such as taste, touch and sight, as well as your emotional feelings. When the hypnotist can speak to your subconscious directly, he or she can trigger all these feelings so just as you can experience the taste of a fresh lemon, you can also feel satisfaction, pleasure, motivation, confidence and any number of other feelings as is your want.

Do you need a hypnotist?

Some hypnotism experts hold that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. Whether a trance state is brought on by a long, boring drive down the highway you’ve travelled many times before, or by a skilled hypnotist, you initiate the trance. With the right relaxation and focusing techniques, almost anyone who wishes to do so can enter a hypnotic state by themselves and make their own suggestions to the unconscious mind. In this view, the hypnotist is only a guide who facilitates the process.

Waves and Hemispheres

Some studies suggest that there’s no significant physical change associated with the trance state of hypnosis. The subject's heart rate and breathing may slow down, but this is due to the relaxation involved in the hypnotism process, not the hypnotic state itself.

There does seem to be changed activity in the brain, however. The most notable data comes from electroencephalographs (EEGs), measurements of the electrical activity of the brain. According to some sources, EEG research has demonstrated that brains produce different brain waves, rhythms of electrical voltage, depending on their mental state. Deep sleep has a different rhythm than dreaming, for example, and full alertness has a different rhythm than relaxation.
In some studies, EEGs from subjects under hypnosis showed a boost in the lower frequency waves associated with dreaming and sleep, and a drop in the higher frequency waves associated with full wakefulness. Brain-wave information is not a definitive indicator of how the mind is operating, but this pattern does fit the hypothesis that the conscious mind ‘quiets’ during hypnosis and the subconscious mind takes a more active role.

Researchers have also studied patterns in the brain's cerebral cortex that occur during hypnosis. In these studies, hypnotic subjects showed reduced activity in the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex, while activity in the right hemisphere often increased. Neurologists believe that the left hemisphere of the cortex is the logical control centre of the brain; it operates on deduction, reasoning and convention. The right hemisphere, in contrast, controls imagination and creativity.

A decrease in left-hemisphere activity fits with the hypothesis that hypnosis subdues the conscious mind's inhibitory influence. Conversely, an increase in right-brain activity supports the idea that the creative, impulsive subconscious mind takes the leading role. This is by no means conclusive evidence, but it does support the idea that hypnotism facilitates direct communication with the subconscious mind.

Whether or not hypnosis is actually a physiological phenomenon, millions of people, including world class athletes practise hypnotism regularly, and millions of subjects report that it has worked on them.

Some people say they cannot be hypnotised.
Here are some necessary components for hypnosis to take place. (Again, this is not intended to be exhaustive or conclusive.)

The subject must be willing to be hypnotised.
The subject must be willing to focus on and follow instructions.
The subject must believe he or she can be hypnotised.
The subject must eventually feel comfortable and relaxed.
If these criteria are met, the hypnotist can guide the subject into a hypnotic trance using a variety of methods.

Here are two of the most common hypnotic techniques:

Rapid - This method involves overloading the mind with sudden, firm commands. If the commands are forceful, and the hypnotist is convincing enough, the subject will follow them. This method works well for a stage hypnotist because the subject is nervous in the unusual situation of being on a stage in front of an audience which makes them more easily persuaded.

Progressive relaxation and imagery - This is the popular hypnosis method.
Talking to the client in slowly, in a comforting tone, the hypnotist little by little assists the client in achieving total relaxation and focus, coaxing them into complete hypnosis. Self-hypnosis training, relaxation and meditation audio CDs and downloads tend to employ the progressive relaxation method.

Habit-control hypnotism is often practised in groups, in day-long seminars held in hotel suites, or through audio tapes or CDs. These can be effective and inexpensive however directed, one-on-one hypnotism sessions tailored to each individual client tend to produce the best results.

The list of applications of hypnosis is too lengthy to post here. One of other popular uses is for breaking negative patterns of behaviour. This can be particularly effective in addressing phobias, unreasonable fears of particular objects or situations.

There are doctors and spiritual leaders all over the world who claim that hypnotic suggestion can ease pain and even cure illness in some patients. There are more and more publicised instances of this,
e.g.
Bernadine Coady used self-hypnosis as pain relief during a one-hour knee operation. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7496030.stm
Hypnosis used in dental procedure http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7433646.stm

The underlying idea behind this is that the mind and body are inextricably intertwined. When you suggest to the subconscious that the body does not feel pain, or that the body is free of disease, the subconscious may actually bring about the change. There is a great deal of anecdotal evidence to support this idea.

Using only hypnotic suggestion as an anaesthetic, thousands of women have made it through childbirth with minimal pain and discomfort (hypnobirthing). Countless cancer patients swear by hypnosis, claiming that it helps to manage the pain of chemotherapy, and some former patients credit their recovery to hypnotherapy.

In the relatively short history of modern hypnotism, there have been dozens of hypnotic techniques and a wide range of explanations of the phenomenon. The only constant through all of this has been the hypnotic subjects themselves. No matter how you view the art of the hypnotist, it is undeniable that people do enter a special state in which they are unusually suggestible.

Modern skeptics
Modern skeptics have a sound and convincing explanation of this unusual state. They argue, that hypnotic subjects aren't actually in a trance state, they only think they are. Social pressure and the influence of the hypnotist are often enough to convince people that they should act a certain way. When they find themselves following the suggestions, they think they must be in a hypnotic trance. Proponents of this theory contend that this belief alone may be powerful enough to bring about remarkable changes in a person. If you think someone is compelling you to act a certain way, you will act that way. If you think hypnotic suggestion will ease your pain, your mind will bring about this feeling. In this view, an effective hypnotist isn't one that can probe the hidden reaches of your mind, but one with strong enough authority and charisma to convince you to go along. It's clear that the mind can influence all aspects of the physical body, so it follows that a firmly held belief can reduce pain or even help treat a disease.

In the end though, isn’t the result the same? When a hypnotist absolutely convinces a client that a positive change in their subconscious has taken place, they register this information as a fact. Like any fact, this information will take root in the subconscious mind. So, even if the hypnotic state is nothing more than a figment of the subject's imagination, hypnotic suggestions can still reform their deeply held beliefs. The end result – the beneficial change - is the same.

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