Hypnosis
History
· Hypnosis has been around for thousands of years. The Ancient Greeks and Romans used it for a therapeutic benefit in about the fourth century B.C.
· Many cultures have used chanting or the beat of drums during spiritual rituals in order to induce a hypnotic trance.
· In Germany around the seventeenth century, troops traveling between towns drew crowds with demonstrations of controlling animals. Hypnosis was also used to calm animals before slaughtering.
Myths and Theories
· Hypnotists do not have complete control over you, but can be anyone who is skilled with using language, capturing another person’s imagination or who has authority over you can be known as a Hypnotist.
· Many people think that when you are hypnotized that you are not aware of anything, but if this were true you would not be able to follow instruction.
· No one has ever permanently been stuck in hypnosis.
Treatment and Procedure
· Normally used to help patients with managing pain psychologically (people with burns/cancer/stress or anxiety/obese/women during childbirth).
· The process begins with the reassurance of relaxation and/or concentration on colors or objects to help place patient in desired mellow state of trance.
· The induced experience one of two main hypnotic states: Dissociation (one’s consciousness splits in two-a part that listens and a part that acts involuntary) or Sociocognitive (personal beliefs and influence of hypnotist leads to a role play/Q&A).
Affects on the Brain
· Hypnosis is characterized by a shift in brain activity from anterior (front) to posterior (back), human experiences are reflected in some way on the brain – seeing colors or motion are emphasized by activity in the visual cortex and feeling fear is mediated by activity in the amydygala, thus having observable effects on the brain.
· People who are susceptible to suggestion, show that when they act on the suggestions, their brains show profound changes in how the information is processed.
· The way information processes (from lower regions to higher region) exist for sensory information, creating a conscious impression, that moves from top to bottom.