Hypnosis 101

Hypnosis is a state of focused awareness. It is something everyone has experienced countless times; among instances of it are waking up or getting absorbed in a good book. The characteristics of the state vary; it cannot be pinpointed on an EEG and the experience is different for everyone though there are common elements. A person can be hypnotized and while that state be having a great time at a party; no zombie eyes no intonations of Yes Master no wandering about with arms outstretched. Hypnosis does not have a unique and unmistakable insignia indicating its presence.

This is generally not the case with the process of hypnosis. Patterns of hypnosis have been written up and used for decades. You can find books depicting the process in bookstores and libraries. The process is intended to create that state of focused awareness. It is this process I wish to discuss in the remainder of this post. [Hypnosis and being hypnotized will refer to the process should there be any confusion.]

General Considerations

Hypnosis can be thought of as a game that is binding. The rules are initially defined by the expectations of the subject which encompasses all their experiences with it everything they've seen on TV and old movies and what the subject has been told about hypnosis. These rules dictate what will and will not be effective; which inductions will and will not work; and the conduct of the subject while in the state of hypnosis. The rules are mutable. Debunking misconceptions, demonstrations, and providing more information -- accurate or not -- will affect the rules of the game.

A professor at Stanford illustrated how greatly expectations dictate results. The gentleman told one of his introductory psychology classes that an unfailing indication of a hypnotized subject was that their right arm would float upwards. The professor told another class the same thing only in this case he specified it was the left hand that would rise. When he hypnotized members of both classes he discovered that students responded in accord with their expectations. The right arm of the members of the first class did indeed rise while with members of the second class only the left hand rose.

In hypnosis the subject calls the shots. Their expectations outline the manner in which the game is to be played. The hypnotist wields no mystical power; she and the subject have an agreement that the process of hypnosis is conducted in a certain manner and each player behaves in a particular way. The level at which the game is played is defined by the rules and the degree of trust the subject feels for the hypnotist. A mistrustful subject will be paying far more attention to what you are doing and what you might be scheming than to what you are saying.

Hypnosis is useful as a catalyst. As seen above the state itself is not too exhilarating in and of itself. The process and the applications are what make it fun and useful. You can call on your mind's abilities to control pain [useful]; you can play the most intense imagination game of D&D of your life [fun].

The function of the hypnotist is to provide a focal point and talk their partner through evoking the intended result. The process usually begins with a discussion of hypnosis. This is to determine the purpose of a session, debunk misconceptions, get a sense of the subject's expectations, and generally make things go easier later. The induction consists of bringing the subject's awareness to something and keeping it focused. The hypnotist gives suggestions to bring about the determined purpose including any post-hypnotic suggestions. Then she guides the subject back to a normal state of awareness.

What Hypnosis Is Not

• It is not sleep. The participant is thoroughly aware of their surroundings. They may choose to ignore them. The hypnotist may ask the subject to ignore things or to focus all attention on one idea.
  
  
• You can not get stuck in hypnosis. Either you will awaken on your own or the state will become one of natural sleep. Sometimes a subject requires a few more moments to return. Sometimes the subject refuses to return. This is particularly true of stage hypnosis; if a subject feels pissed off at the hypnotist it can be mightily gratifying to unnerve said offending hypnotist by not responding. Even if this is the case the subject will still either return on their own or fall asleep.
  
  
• A hypnotized person will not knowingly violate their code of ethics. Milton Erickson messed around with this a bit and found it to be particularly true if he made it clear that the subject was responsible for the consequences of their actions. There are three twists here;
  
  
  1. A person may do something seemingly unethical if it is okay. according to their moral standards, especially if they believe being hypnotized at the time is sufficient excuse.
     
     
  2. Stage hypnotists evoke some silly behavior which might ordinarily be contrary to the subject's code of conduct. This is a result of group pressure, of the forgive ability of stage hypnosis, and of the streak of hamming it up in each of us.
     
     
  3. A person can be tricked. If I am told I am in a blazing hot desert sweating buckets, and the only way to get cool is to take my shirt off I might do that. I will not do that because I am an exhibitionist. If I am directly told to take off my shirt first I will snap back to the here and now and next I will drop-kick the lech out of my house. Furthermore, once such a maneuver is recognized the hypnotist has utterly destroyed the subject's trust and will have no further success with them.
     
     

Suggestions Central

This is the portion of the process where you accomplish the stated purpose; the part of the game that is binding. Suggestion styles include the following 

• Direct suggestion. This is where you flat-out say such and such is going to happen. When you are going to bed tonight you will feel compelled to think of purple hippos. As soon as your head touches the pillow purple hippos will occupy your every thought. 
  
  
• Indirect suggestion. Comprised of visualization and storytelling. Visualization is just mentally creating the event. It is not restricted to just pictures; whichever senses make it more real are the ones you should appeal to. If you know the person is oriented to one sense more than another, describe with them. (See the purple hippos dancing on your quilt. Hear them thundering up the hallway. Feel the floor shake with their every step.) If in doubt it can't hurt to use all of them. [ Most people favor either vision, hearing, or kinetics so you needn't necessarily go into how it tastes to chow down on purple hippo. If you were visualizing walking in a flower garden, however,,it makes sense to include smell. Use what is appropriate.] Picture yourself preparing for bed. Your teeth are brushed; the sounds of traffic are hushed; and the pillow feels delightfully cool against your cheek. As you snuggle down under the pillows, your mind turns to thoughts of purple hippos. 
  

  

• Subliminal. It is possible to mark out certain words as you say them. You may make a certain unobtrusive gesture, change pitch or loudness slightly, glance off in a certain direction -- something small enough not to require the participant's full-blown attention but designed so they will be able to perceive it. This is the hardest thing for me to give an example of because it's something I have not begun to master. If you could possibly string the words purple hippo and bedtime together in a few sentences that make enough sense so the listener doesn't get confused and go back to review them then you'd mark out those particular words with a perceivable and unique action. You'd also probably want to throw in similar words -- lavender going to sleep late-night thoughts -- to be sure the point gets across. Trance-Formations goes over this too; if you read it you may find it interesting to observe your own behavior during the subliminal chapters.
  
  

General Considerations for Suggestions

Phrase suggestions as positively as possible. Don't think of purple hippos is an utterly futile idea. Eating less is better put as being content with smaller portions. Pain is a loaded word; use discomfort or the presence of comfort instead. You get the idea.

Participants tend to take suggestions literally. One lady was told to picture herself leaving the office then turning out the lights. When she acted on this she left work. She then turned the lights off via the circuit box. Telling someone .. and your husband is being a big pain in the neck can translate into a nasty headache. If you're doing hypnosis at night be careful with words about being wide awake when you're bringing your partner back. Be as unambiguous as possible; be aware of literal translations.

This is a good place to mention trance logic and literal mindedness. Trance logic appears when the participant is really into it. Presume they believe they speak only French. If you ask if they understand English the reply will be Non. Do they know only French Oui. Literal mindedness is illustrated by asking your partner if they can raise their right hand and getting a response of Yes. Will they Yes. Now Yes.

Suggestions should be given at a pace that matches the participant's breathing. It enhances rapport and is an acceptably leisurely pace.

Appeal to preferred senses.

If you're using hypnosis for habit modification when you're determining the purpose of the session learn what is motivating the participant. If the purpose were keeping up interest in exercise and the participant liked jogging because it created a feeling of independence, don't sell the virtues of those neat suits and funky sneakers. Unless of courses/he likes them too.

If you are confused by a response ask. Doesn't hurt a bit.

If something unexpected happens stay calm. If it's an unusual action, like drumming fingers you can ask about it. You can also incorporate it which acknowledges and accepts that action. And the drumming of your fingers makes you more and more relaxed. If someone bursts into tears suddenly, stay calm. Ask why this is happening. Ask if the participant wants to continue, and respect their reply. You can incorporate that too; ... and you feel those tears washing through you cleaning away your anger, leaving you calm and serene. Unexpected interruptions and noises are better incorporated than ignored unless you discern from a total lack of response that they were not important enough for the participant to pay attention to.

There And Back Again

Bringing your partner back to the here-and-now is easy.

First undo any unusual suggestions that would make life unpleasant. If you suggested numbness in a hand be sure feeling is restored. If you're unsure do a general banishing.

Next make it clear you are concluding. And before you return to the here and now, allow yourself to bask in this feeling of relaxation. If you look down the hall ou will see a door marked EXIT.

Then conclude. When you're ready, you can return to the here and now feeling perfectly fine in every way. 1 starting to return 2 feeling more alert 3 half way there 4 feeling fine in every way 5 awake! (Snap if you feel really showy.)

If your participant doesn't sit up and rub their eyes blearily within a reasonable amount of time (a couple minutes, or as soon as you get to awake!) determine if they fell asleep. If they did it's a credit to your ability to help others feel relaxed. Make certain they heard you and know what the deal is. Restate it; if you do a count-up, the best maneuver is to leave the ball in their court and let them come back when they're ready. If that seems to be taking an inordinate amount of time, give suggestions about feeling more alert, prepared to come back. And as usual if you're uncertain, ask!

A nice reinforcement is to gradually switch back from The Voice to your regular voice as you conclude. With the 1-to-5 set up you might be speaking very quietly at one and graduate until at five your voice is somewhat louder than usual.

Now is an excellent time to ask for feedback. Feedback will tell you if you forgot to undo anything [ bring them back in negate it ask if anything else needs undoing, bring them back out]. It will tell you how you can make your style more effective in general or with just this person. It also acknowledges their part in the proceedings. If they're pissed off at you for some inconsideration, it is a good time to clear the air and acknowledge the validity of their complaint.

Re-inducing Hypnosis

If you both desire to create a word-gesture-mental image-whatever that will bring the participant back to a state of deep relaxation, between the main set of purpose-suggestions and the return is the place to do it. Select an appropriate item; state that when this item is done and the participant consciously desires to return to this state of deep relaxation that it will happen. Conscious intent prevents accidentally triggering it. You do not want it to be inadvertently activated while the participant is driving. It might not be in their rules that they can realize the deal and correct it; it may take vital moments for that realization to arrive; it may take time to brush away those cobwebby feelings of deep relaxation -- don't put it to the test.

Miscellany

Before hypnosis chats not only let you become more aware of the participant's rules, it prevents problems by letting you debunk. You might not discover that this person believes they can reawaken only if you say Ah-La-Peanut-Butter-Sandwiches; telling them they'll just fall asleep is a nice margin to have.

Be trust-worthy and honorable. A gentleman tried to induce me to swig a beer. I would not. He has been unable to hypnotise me since then; he has lost my trust utterly. I will not risk a second chance. Not many people will.

This is intended to be an overview of general hypnosis. There are really weird variants that I don't know enough about to write up. [For instance -- inducing hypnosis, like as in zoning people waay out, without formal inductions, just talking with them. NEAT!] I left out a bunch of stuff you will find in most books on hypnosis -- history, depth categories (not necessarily useful) and specifics on applications. Go to your bookstore. Supplement this. These are my rules of the Game. If you find them useful, keep them.

Good Books

Hypnosis A Journey Into The Mind by Anita Anderson-Evangelista. The most thorough beginning book on hypnosis the library posesses. Good stuff!

Trance-Formations by Richard Bandler and John Grinder. Kind of esotericbut really neat techniques and approaches.

Frogs Into Princes also by Bandler and Grinder. Provides information on sense preferences keywords and rapport. Does not deal with hypnosis per se but the information within applies.

Tapes or live sessions are useful for helping you pick up the pattern of patter. They can provide new approaches and effective ways to say things.

Things I Thought to Add in the Wee Hours of the Night

Presuppositions also possess leverage. A presupposition offers a choice on the surface, and at the root of it is a fundamental Given. Would you prefer to go into a light or deep trance - the given is that the state will manifest, and it is also presumed that the participant is capable of deeper degrees.

An induction related to the Confusion technique is overloading. Direct the participant's awareness to as many things as possible. The human mind can only attend to so many things; given too many it will start to withdraw or cut down. Offer suggestions regarding relaxation along with pointing out that they can perceive X while thinking of K. Kind of the same principle as the confusion technique.

Another way to re-induce a hypnotic state is to ask the participant to recall one. To answer your questions especially very specific questions your partner re-accesses that state, goes into it a little bit. Or a lot. Depends on the person and memory. If you're working with the same person, you can ask them to review the last session. If your partner has been hypnotised before you can ask questions about what the hypnotist said, how they were seated or lying down, did the hypnotist talk in a slow drawling manner or in an intense steady one what did s/he saywhat did the participant find most effective -- anything pertaining to recreating the experience is fine. Then you can gracefully start an induction. Ok, while you're still recalling how pleasant it was to be so deeply relaxed, why don't you just let your eyes close.

Addenda

(Wee Hours part II)

When you're giving the main set of suggestions, repetition of the main points is helpful. Drives the ideas home. You may wish to ask if the suggestions were well understood from time to time.

When you're giving suggestions in general, watch the participant carefully, especially if you're describing something. You want to be on the alert for a negative response (handy word, comes fastest to mind). If you're describing something that's really loaded, unpleasant, or plain too weird you can see it by the participant's responses. Clenched hands, tension around the jaw, hunched shoulders, tensing up in general; these and anything you recognize as a negative response are things to look out for. If you are describing the participant as swimming in the ocean and they are phobic of water or if Jaws is on their mind you will know it by these indicators. Your choices are to gracefully offer alternatives (... or if you prefer you can find yourself in a forest glade) or to inquire.


For more information, contact:  Email or Call 415-525-1069