Hypnosis

Hypnosis: a highly controversial topic in the medical field. Capable of changing a person’s behavior, modifying daily routines, causing odd reactions to normal things, plus countless other phenomena’s. Many people believe that the mystic of hypnosis does not exist and is just a simple stage routine used for entertainment. But, in this report, I will prove that on the stage, in the therapy office, and in the mass public, Hypnosis does exist and is capable of changing our behavior and that it is a very delicate process and not a power to be taken lightly.

First I will start with a brief history of the art of Hypnosis and what it is. Hypnosis is the term for a state of the body where the mind is subconsciously active but the conscious mind and the body are in a sleep like state (although many consider it sleep, it actually isn’t) (Hunter). The change in these states is from “Beta'; into “Alpha';. Beta and Alpha are different terms used to describe the brain waves given off during these states. When the subconscious (subcon) or “Alpha'; mind is responding, different commands, or suggestions, can be implemented into the mind. The subcon mind can then execute these imbedded commands without any intervening of the conscious mind and body (Hunter).

Hypnosis was first confirmed to be real by a Swedish therapist named Anton Mesmer around 1775. After publishing papers describing the Alpha Mind State, he named the entire process “Mesmerism';. When a person was hypnotized, they were considered “Mesmerized'; (Hyde 84). He would mesmerize them by swinging a watch in front of them while implementing the suggestions that send someone into a hypnotic sleep. More on this will be explained later on. It wasn’t until 1841 that a doctor name James Baird gave the process the name “hypnotism';. “Prior to the time of Mesmer, any practice of hypnosis would have qualified… as witchcraft or blackmagic'; (Hyde 85).

What most people don’t understand is how hypnosis works. Hypnosis is, as defined before, communicating with the subcon mind. In order to do this, the conscious mind must be relaxed or confused to the point that it no longer responds to action. In a sense, it...

... middle of paper ...

...pecial methods). If you always say, “Oh… I’m terrible with names'; well then you will forget people’s names. You create a belief that you cannot remember people’s names, therefore, your subcon will intercept this and send it into your conscious mind (Hyde 93-95).

I hope now you, the reader of the report of this report, have a better understanding of the many stages, steps, and uses of hypnosis. You now grasp a better understanding of the phoneme that is hypnosis. You realize that on the stage, in the therapy office, and in the mass public, Hypnosis does exist and is capable of changing our behavior and that it is a very delicate process and not a power to be taken lightly.

Works Cited

Aaron’s Hypnosis Notebook. Collected from Alt.Hypnosis, 1999

Human Change Technologies. “Hypnosis.com.'; Hypnosis.com. 1999. http://www.hypnosis.com (March-April 1999)

Hunter, Roy. “Official Hypnosis FAQ of the alt.hypnosis Newsgroup.'; C. Roy Hunter, M.S. 1999. http://www.hunter.holowww.com/hypnofaq.html (April 1999)

Hyde, Margaret O. Mysteries of the Mind. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1972.