Dissociation is perfectly
natural. So why am I having these problems?
What is hypnosis,
anyway?
A ‘state of consciousness’?
Can you give me some examples?
Are you saying that when I’m daydreaming,
I’m really in hypnosis?
Well, almost everybody daydreams, but I thought
that it was only some people who could go into hypnosis.
Can you explain more about that?
What makes the difference?
It sounds as if it wouldn’t be much help
unless I was in those higher percentages?
I don’t think that I could ever go into hypnosis
because I would never let anybody have control over my mind.
I don’t understand that. How could I have
control if I don’t know what’s going on?
But I’ve seen people on stage or on the
TV doing absolutely ridiculous things, because the hypnotist
has told them to.
So if I went into hypnosis, I would not be unconscious,
I would know what’s going on?
How do people do self-hypnosis?
I still don’t understand why people do those
silly things on stage.
So it’s a choice, and they could refuse?
So–I wouldn’t do or say something
that I didn’t want to do or say?
Are there exceptions to that?
That seems scary–again–that someone
could have control over me.
What does that mean?
And what about the training aspect?
Who could belong to such an organization?
Which organizations offer that assurance?
One further thought:
What is hypnosis, anyway? 
It is one of our many natural states of consciousness.
A ‘state of consciousness’?
Yes. Perhaps a better way of expressing it would be ‘degree
of attention to what’s going on around us’.
Can you give me some
examples?
Probably the best example would be simple daydreaming. We’re
paying more attention to the daydream than we are to our immediate
surroundings. Deep relaxation, meditation and yoga are all different,
or ‘altered’, states of consciousness.
Are you saying that when
I’m daydreaming, I’m really in hypnosis?
It would be more accurate to say that hypnosis is a deliberate,
focused daydream, something more purposeful, rather than something
that just happens.
Well, almost everybody
daydreams, but I thought that it was only some people who could
go into hypnosis.
Most people can go into at least a light level of hypnosis.
As in many things, there is a broad range of hypnotizability.
Children love it.
Can you explain more
about that?
Think of a curve, shaped rather like a bell. At one end, about
1-2% of the population have very little capability to go into
hypnosis. Their minds aren’t structured that way. At the
other end, about 1-2% of the population have a huge capability.
Most of us are somewhere in the middle.
What makes the difference?
We don’t really know that, yet. It seems to have something
to do with one’s thinking process–very concrete,
for example, versus very imaginative, always thinking pictures
or metaphors. How our thinking process developed the way it
did, is the interesting question and a subject of much research.
It sounds
as if it wouldn’t be much help unless I was in those higher
percentages?
On the contrary, by far the most important factor is one’s
motivation for using the hypnosis. When the motivation is strong,
even those at the lower end of the spectrum can use hypnosis
successfully.
I don’t
think that I could ever go into hypnosis because I would never
let anybody have control over my mind.
One of the most common misconceptions about hypnosis is that
someone else has control over your mind. In fact, you have control
over your own mind, in hypnosis or out of hypnosis.
I don’t
understand that. How could I have control if I don’t know
what’s going on?
That’s the next most common misconception about hypnosis.
In fact, in hypnosis, you will always know who you are, where
you are and what you’re doing–just as you know those
things when you’re daydreaming.
But I’ve
seen people on stage or on the TV doing absolutely ridiculous
things, because the hypnotist has told them to.
It does often appear to be like that. However, this is the difference
between stage hypnosis, which is an entertainment, and clinical
hypnosis. And the stage hypnotist knows how to select that top
1-2% of people who are highly hypnotizable.
So if I
went into hypnosis, I would not be unconscious, I would know
what’s going on?
That’s right. Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness,
not a state of unconsciousness.
How do
people do self-hypnosis?
Usually they use their daydreaming capacity to become very,
very relaxed, and then slip from there into hypnosis through
some special technique, such as counting or imagining themselves
going down a beautiful staircase. Often you will hear that ‘all
hypnosis is really self-hypnosis’, because you are the
one who allows it to happen.
I still
don’t understand why people do those silly things on stage.
For fun, probably. They’re comfortable in hypnosis and
agreeable to going along with the suggestions.
So it’s
a choice, and they could refuse?
Yes.
So–I
wouldn’t do or say something that I didn’t want
to do or say?
That’s right.
Are there
exceptions to that?
There could be an exception if someone was emotionally very
vulnerable, or psychologically compromised, and the hypnotist
was unscrupulous and took advantage of that.
That seems
scary–again–that someone could have control over
me.
It is something to be concerned about, and it is the reason
why we strongly urge people to choose a therapist who is professionally
qualified and has been trained in hypnosis by a fully professional
organization.
What does
that mean?
By professionally qualified, we mean someone who is accountable
to a recognized professional organization such as the provincial
Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, Dentistry, or Psychology.
That way, you are assured that ethical standards must be met.
And what
about the training aspect?
If the therapist has been trained by one of the societies where
the membership is all fully accredited professionals, that provides
yet another safeguard.
Who could
belong to such an organization?
Physicians, psychologists, dentists, registered clinical counselors,
nurse practitioners and others with similar training and affiliations.
Which organizations
offer that assurance?
In Canada, the provincial societies of clinical hypnosis. In
the United States, the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis,
or the Society of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. Or, in
any country, those societies which are members of the International
Society of Hypnosis.
One further
thought:
Hypnosis is a wonderful tool to develop– through self-hypnosis
or as an aspect of therapy. It is, however, just a tool. It
is not the therapy. Be sure that you get the professional help
that you need. Together, you and your therapist can do wonders.
Bibliography
Kelly, S.F. and Kell, R.J. (1985)
Hypnosis: Understanding How it Can Work for You.
California: Addison-Wesley
Hunter, M.E. (1984)
Psych Yourself In! Hypnosis and Health.
West Vancouver, BC; SeaWalk Press
Ltd.
Borysenko, J. (1987)
Minding the Body, Mending the Mind.
California: Addison-Wesley
Hunter, M.E. (1996)
Making Peace with Chronic Pain: A Whole-Life Strategy.
New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Wester, W.C. (1987)
Clinical Hypnosis: A Case Management Approach.
Cincinnati; Behavioral Science
Center Inc. Publications
Rossi, E.L. (1986)
The Psychobiology of Mind-Body Healing.
New York; W.W. Norton
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