The Power of Hypnosis
Hypnosis! Doesn’t the word fascinate? What is hypnosis? Can a person actually remember forgotten things, under its influence? Is it a sort of magic? Is it a faith? Seemingly innocent questions that leave you perplexed and bewildered. The answers are surprisingly simple.
What is hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation or a state of heightened awareness, combined with a feeling of calm lethargy. It can be best described as similar to that state between sleep and wakefulness when you are aware of your surroundings and are willing to move. The characteristics of hypnosis include a heightened susceptibility to beneficial suggestions and a much-improved memory with access to forgotten or repressed memories stored in the unconscious mind. In itself the hypnotic state is very pleasant, but nothing more than that. It is very similar to the mental state achieved during meditation and yoga. In fact, hypnosis is a deep relaxation technique and is successful at relieving stress and anxiety.
If you were to see an electroencephalogram (EEG) of a person who was hypnotized, you would find the brainwaves to be different from those of a person in normal sleep, but nearly identical to the brainwaves of a person in a state of ordinary wakefulness.
The Power of Hypnosis
Although clever entertainers have often exaggerated the power of hypnosis, there is no question that hypnosis makes people more responsive to certain kinds of suggestions. For instance, if those having severe burns are hypnotized and told that their pain will be more tolerable, they may experience some relief. Scientists are unable to explain this though one theory is that hypnosis enables the patient to block the perceptions of pain, though the pain is still present.
Can you be hypnotized?
Susceptibility to hypnotism is related to your ability to concentrate your complete energy and attention on something or to deeply immerse yourself in the world of make believe. For example, if you can readily don the garb of a character in a book or movie, you are more vulnerable to being hypnotized. Do you know that in earlier days, hypnosis was used as an anaesthetic? However, today hypnosis is almost forgotten. In fact, the probe into the past is not only scary but also scoffed at by sceptics. However, hypnosis can be used as a technique of relaxation. This technique can be learnt and done on the self. This is known as self-hypnosis.
Whether you are a sceptic or a believer use self-hypnosis for relaxation and not to dig into the past.
