How And Why Hypnosis Works

How And Why Hypnosis Works

For many, the word hypnosis brings to mind mystery and intrigue. Hypnosis is often thought of as a state of near-unconsciousness where the subject, acting like a mindless zombie, does the evil bidding of the hypnotist or some other master. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

The impression many people have of hypnosis comes from its portrayal in the movies as well as what people have experienced either watching or participating in stage hypnosis shows. Hypnosis does have a certain element of mystery attached to it, and it's that very mystery that continues to make it interesting to the public at large.

The truth about hypnosis is simple. It is a state of consciousness where the subject both experiences a heightened awareness and is open to positive suggestions. What I mean by positive suggestions is, suggestions that the subject agrees will help to affect her in ways, which are beneficial in her life. The dictionary defines hypnosis something like this: "an artificially induced state resembling sleep where the subject is responsive to the suggestions of the inducer." We are a bit closer to the truth with this definition, yet, still need a bit of fine-tuning.

The Masters Define Hypnosis

Before we explore the phenomenon of hypnosis further, I want to present you with definitions by two of the most respected hypnotherapists of the past century, Dr. Milton Erickson and Dave Elman. Erickson said: "Hypnosis is a particular altered state of selective suggestibility brought about in an individual by the use of relaxation, fixation of attention, and suggestion."

Elman was perhaps a bit more to the point. "Hypnosis is a state of mind in which the critical faculty of the human is bypassed and selective thinking is established." Why all this fuss over the definition? Because defining exactly what hypnosis is, will allow us to better understand how and why it works, as well as give us insight to the many things we know it isn't.

I find Elman's definition interesting. Let's explore it further. "…the critical faculty of the human is bypassed…" What exactly is the critical faculty? By adolescence, humans have fairly well developed rational and analytical thinking skills. These skills are functions of the conscious mind. We call this aspect of the conscious mind the critical faculty or critical factor. I like to refer to this part of the mind as the gatekeeper.

The Gatekeeper

Use of the critical factor is part of how we make sense of the world - it's often how we decide what is real. However, the subconscious mind is where emotions, habits, beliefs, and learned behavior dwell. It's been proved that an impression making it past the analytical or rational mind, or the critical factor as Elman calls it, will become a belief, habit, or a behavior.

Consider for a moment an individual who is troubled by procrastination. He just can't seem to get started on anything. Upon investigation, it might be found that the man's parents told him as a young boy that, "you have no ambition," "you have no drive," "you'll never amount to anything…etc."

If these and similar statements were made during the boy's formative years, (between birth and around the age of seven) it's very likely that these damaging impressions were accepted without question. Why? Because during the formative years, humans have no ability to distinguish the truth from fiction. In other words, the critical factor was not developed or was in such an early stage of development, that the suggestions of the parents were accepted without challenge.

How might we go about reversing this apparent behavior pattern? Some people believe positive affirmations might be the way to go about effecting a change. And that through sheer repetition the individual might eventually make progress in the elimination of the condition using affirmations. However, affirmations made to the conscious mind will be met with resistance - the critical factor again.

Say the subject repeats "I start all tasks immediately and end them when they are completed." The critical factor, which is nothing more than the rational aspect of the conscious mind, will almost without fail dredge up every memory where this statement hasn't been true. So in effect, the gatekeeper will reject the affirmation. Furthermore, the subconscious has accepted statements like "you have no ambition," you're lazy, you’ll never amount to anything, etc. for so long that they are now habits and beliefs.

Distracting The Gatekeeper

So what's the key to installing new and supportive beliefs? Occupy the gatekeeper. Erickson's definition of hypnosis says: "... selective suggestibility brought about in an individual by the use of relaxation, fixation of attention, and suggestion." Remember, the subconscious will accept virtually any impression that makes it in. And if the only thing keeping productive suggestions out is the critical factor, the name of the game is to occupy it. This is achieved using relaxation, the fixation of attention, and suggestion. It’s simple. This is the very basis of how and why hypnosis works.

A popular method of inducing hypnotic trance is using a "relaxation" or "boredom" induction. Most of us are familiar with this method. The hypnotist may use soothing background music and speak in a relaxing and harmonious tone and rhythm. Such an induction serves to occupy the analytical faculties of the conscious allowing the hypnotist the opportunity to introduce suggestions, which are agreeable to the subject.

And once the analytical and rational functions are busy processing the hypnotic induction, (a state of mind referred to as trance) the subconscious mind is open to receive suggestions that have two objectives. The first is to remove or neutralize old beliefs. The second is to establish new, productive suggestions.

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