For most of us, “hypnosis” brings to mind a stage show where people are made to do silly things by a hypnotist. But any hypnotist will tell you the participants do these things willingly, eager to be part of the show, and that they can’t really hypnotize anyone into doing something they don’t want to do. They’ve all had skeptics who just sat on the chair, wanting to prove hypnosis doesn’t “work”.
But the Practical Pain Management website tells us that “Hypnosis is a cognitive (mental) process such as imagination in which a patient is guided to respond to suggestions for changes in perceptions, sensations, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It involves learning how to use your mind and thoughts to manage emotional distress (such as anxiety), unpleasant physical symptoms (such as pain), and certain habits or behaviors (such as quitting smoking). People can be trained to self-hypnotize, guiding themselves through a hypnotic procedure.”
You could think of hypnosis as a combination of the placebo effect, meditation and positive affirmation. When we focus on something positive we want, eliminating other thoughts, we can encourage our subconscious mind to help us work toward our goal.
Placebo effect
With the placebo effect, believing that a medication or treatment will work activates the immune system and when they work together you can expect a better result. All valid drug trials are required to compare the medication to a placebo, and it is the difference that shows the effect of the drug. The placebo effect can be as high as 90% for some treatments, for example tension headaches. This is an example of how influencing the mind can have physical effects.
Pharmacist, Émile Coué (1857-1926), noted that more of his patients got better when he praised the effects of the medications he dispensed, than when he did not. Today, pharmacists are taught to always share the benefits of a drug before talking about the side effects to promote a positive attitude toward the treatment.
Meditation
Relaxing the body and clearing your mind, focusing on pleasant thoughts and images, and “mindfulness” techniques of focusing on the present (rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future) are techniques used in inducing a state of hypnosis that are similar to meditation.
Positive affirmation
Seeking help from a professional hypnotist to change a habit—for example quitting smoking—can help you bolster your determination to succeed. One technique used is to repeat a statement of the result you want, for example “I am a non-smoker” to change your beliefs deep in your sub-conscious. Of course, if you really don’t want to quit, the hypnosis just won’t work. You need to want the change and be ready to do what it takes. Hypnosis just helps increase your determination and belief that you will succeed.
So, what about self-hypnosis? Do you need to worry that you won’t “wake up”? When can it be useful? Is it difficult to do? I was curious, so I decided to read about it. Here is some of what I learned…
Hypnosis has been used as a medical treatment for centuries. The name comes from the sleep temples, or “hypnos” used by the Greeks to treat ailments. Imagery (picturing yourself on a beach), chants, drumming and dancing rituals while focussing on a goal could all be considered forms of hypnosis. However, it is less well-known than other alternative therapies, as most medical schools do not include it in their curricula.
It can be used to provide analgesia, reduce stress, relieve anxiety, improve sleep, improve mood, and reduce the need for strong pain medication such as opioids. It is not recommended for anyone with a severe, untreated psychological disorder, those under the influence of recreational drugs or alcohol or a person who has delusions or hallucinations at the time of treatment.
Hypnosis by a professional achieves its goals more quickly than trying to do it by yourself. If you are wanting to help address a more serious issue or habit, it’s the way to go. But for simpler goals, it might be worthwhile giving self-hypnosis a try. There are several techniques that can be successful, depending on the person. Professional hypnotists will sometimes teach patients self-hypnosis or provide recordings to continue the benefit of treatments between appointments.
We know that anxiety can increase pain perception and that distraction can reduce it. I used iPad games for years to reduce the pain of injections I was giving to children. Even a simple “Take a deep breath” was often enough of a distraction to help adults feel less needle pain. Closing your eyes and picturing yourself on a beach (or wherever your favourite vacation place might be) can help you reduce anxiety, decrease pain or fall asleep more quickly. Our dentist even has a TV mounted on the office ceiling for distraction!
So, I can understand how hypnosis can be beneficial. You’re basically learning to distract yourself and replace negative thoughts with positive ones more effectively. So, I gave it a try… but I found it was harder to achieve pain reduction than I thought it might be. Apparently, it takes practice!
But, several methods are suggested, and some work better than others, depending on the person. Here are some basic strategies used by professional hypnotists:
1. Autosuggestion—This is repeating suggestions to yourself, while closing the eyes to decrease other sensations and distractions
2. Autogenic training—This involves learning to create physical change from within, with the use of meditation, visualization and the mind’s ability to control the autonomic (“automatic”) nervous system that controls the body functions we don’t think about, like blood pressure, heart beat, reaction to stress, etc.
3. Progressive muscle relaxation—Consciously tensing then relaxing muscles (for example, from head to foot) helps reverse unconscious muscle tension, inducing relaxation.
4. Mindfulness—Focusing thoughts on the present with no worry about the past or anticipation of what the future holds. Focusing on the breath can be used to relax, clear and focus the mind in preparation to receive desired suggestions.
Steps used in hypnosis:
a. Induction of a trance or focus—guiding or being guided to focus your attention. Note that a trance state occurs any time you are selectively focused so deeply on something that you block out other sensations and stimuli.
b. Deepen focus—increasingly relax and focus your mind on the task you want to accomplish. Assistance from a professional would be helpful in this stage.
c. Auto-suggest (make a positive suggestion to yourself)—Make suggestions for the outcome you want to align your actions with your desires. For example, say “I am a non-smoker” rather than “I want to quit smoking”. This can be done by using a recording of your voice or by speaking to yourself repeatedly. Identify and write or record your mantra before you begin.
d. Termination—in self-hypnosis, you are always awake and can end the session whenever you choose.
A session with a professional hypnotist may have several more steps than this. Most are trained psychologists who explore your underlying issues before beginning and combine hypnosis with other psychological techniques. Therapists will often teach clients self-hypnosis so they can continue the benefit between treatments.
When training patients to perform self-hypnosis, some hypnotists will suggest placing a reminder in a prominent place, for example, writing your mantra with dry-erase marker on the bathroom mirror or on a sticky note on the edge of your computer screen. I like the mirror idea as it would remind you every morning and evening, ideal times to set your mood and intentions for the day, and to relax you for a good night’s sleep…
One hypnotist-author whose work I read suggests following the P.O.W.E.R. acronym to organize a self-hypnosis treatment:
P—Present. Don’t worry about the past or the future. Allow your mind to only consider the present.
O—Open your mind to using your internal creativity and intuition to solve your problem.
W—Written affirmation. State the change you want to accomplish and 1 to 3 actions that will make this happen.
E—Explore. Spend a few minutes exploring the benefits of embracing and achieving your affirmation.
R—Ratify. Commit to the outcome in your affirmation. Lock your mind around it. Put the idea of success exclusively in your mind.
Biofeedback
There is another similar technique, called biofeedback, that uses instruments (for example a blood pressure cuff) to motivate and confirm the patient’s success in influencing actions that are under the control of the autonomic (subconscious) nervous system. Studies have found people can be taught to lower blood pressure, slow heart rate, reduce anxiety, increase blood flow to certain areas of the body, and modify other similar parameters using various instruments as an external source of motivation rather than an internal one as with hypnosis. Since the instruments also confirm success, biofeedback is considered more scientific by some people than hypnosis, but the processes are actually quite similar.
The bottom line...
Self-hypnosis can only do what is physically possible. For most people, it should be regarded as an “add on” to other standard treatments, not as a substitute. And it takes practice. As I read various articles plus a book about hypnosis over the past couple of weeks, I tried some of the techniques. The best I was able to achieve was a slight and very temporary reduction in pain, so I won’t be throwing away my Tylenol any time soon! But I could see that hypnosis could be helpful in some situations, and the benefit of consulting a professional if you are serious about learning self-hypnosis. I also learned you would need plenty of practice to achieve lasting benefit.
PS: The "mandala" drawing above is a relaxing, meditative form of art that I learned this summer... a Zen combination of drawing, colouring and meditation!
References:
Hypnosis: Tool for Pain Management—Practical Pain Management
The Seven Most Effective Methods of Self-hypnosis: How to Create Rapid Change in your Health, Wealth, and Habits—Richard K. Nongard, Certified Professional Hypnotist
Biofeedback—Mayo Clinic
Chronic back pain: Can psychological therapy be an effective treatment? Medical News Today
