Ann-Marie D'arcy-Sharpe
February 26, 2020
You will no doubt have heard of hypnosis. You might have even seen dramatic hypnosis on stage or on TV. Don’t worry, real hypnosis is not about making you act in a way that is out of your control. Real clinical hypnotherapy is a safe, relaxing way to address psychological problems. It enables you to implement more positive thoughts and coping strategies.
What is hypnosis?
Hypnotic or ‘trance-like’ states have been used to treat physical and mental health since ancient times. The Egyptians used ‘dream temples’ while the Greeks used ‘sleep temples’ (otherwise known as ‘hypnos’) to treat ill health. Evidence of hypnosis techniques can be found in the bible dating back to 1500 BC! From there, hypnosis continued to be used and developed. In 1841 the term hypnosis was first used by a Scottish ophthalmologist named James Braid. He started to realise that hypnosis was psychological rather than anything mystical. Since then hypnosis has been researched and developed scientifically. In the present day it is being used to treat a wide variety of health problems.
Hypnosis makes use of the mind body connection, understanding how our thoughts and feelings can influence our physical health, just as our physical health can influence our mental health. Hypnotherapy uses relaxation and visualisation techniques to guide you into a state of deep peacefulness. Similar to mindfulness meditations, the brain lets go of distractions and becomes more focused. When you’re in a hypnotic state, your pulse and respiration rate slows down, and your brain starts to produce more alpha brainwaves. Alpha brainwaves indicate relaxation, positive mood, reduced anxiety and increased creativity.
When you’re in this hypnotic state, you are less inhibited. You’re more likely to be able to access memories and face problems that you might have been avoiding, or address feelings that you may have been bottling up. You’re also more open to suggestion. This 2019 study defines hypnosis as, “a waking state of awareness, (or consciousness), in which a person’s attention is detached from his or her immediate environment and is absorbed by inner experiences such as feelings, cognition and imagery.”
During hypnotherapy the therapist can help you to address and solve problems. They can guide you through replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. They can aid you in seeing how you can change your behaviours to live well and better cope with your situation. The therapist may use imagery and ask you to visualize specific situations or scenes in order to guide you towards your goals. They may also speak to you during hypnosis and ask you to interact, in order to get to the root of problems.
The use of imagery is important. During a state of deep relaxation (like during hypnosis), the right side of our brain is being activated more dominantly than the left side. The right side of our brain is like our unconscious mind, the part which is more emotional and creative. While the left side is our conscious mind, the part which is more logical. The right side of our brain responds to imagery and symbols as this study explains. Therefore using imagery helps us to really engage with that side of the brain in this hypnotic state.
