What is hypnosis in medical terms? Let us try to imagine a state of alcoholic intoxication - we seem to function, we seem to talk to our companions, but nevertheless our perception of the surrounding stimuli is significantly reduced. We can say that in such a state our consciousness is incomplete (which we often only find out the next day when our "friends" recount the course of events). It turns out that, even though we were awake while consuming alcohol, we cannot recall the events for anything.
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A person undergoing hypnosis is also, so to speak, in a state of suspension between sleep and wakefulness. The state in which he finds himself has the characteristics of both an active and a resting period - after the séance is over, this time is covered with oblivion, but during it the patient talks normally, his movements seem to be coherent, purposeful. His eyes are open unless he decides to close them.
Being hypnotised , the patient does not acquire special abilities that he did not previously possess. He does not gain superhuman strength, he does not suddenly gain the ability to calculate 50 decimal places in the expansion of the number pi, if he was not able to perform the figure "lotus flower" before hypnosis, he will not do it during hypnosis either. During hypnosis, a person does not gain any skills or abilities that he or she would not have had in a fully conscious state if properly motivated.
Hypnotic mythology
Many myths have grown up around the subject of hypnosis . It is hardly surprising - since the subject is not widely known, it is very much covered with insinuations, rumours and claims made off the back of a finger. An unfamiliar subject arouses fear. Instead of irrational fear, it is better to equip oneself with professional knowledge, which is also not lacking.
Examples of mythical, erroneous thinking:
- I can be hypnotised against my will. Hypnosis requires full cooperation on the part of the patient and skill on the part of the hypnotist. Even with full cooperation, there are some people who are completely unsusceptible to suggestion, and such people will be very difficult to put into a state of deep hypnosis.
- I will not "wake up" from a trance. Both the beginning and the end of the séance depend on the hypnosis practitioner. Contrary to popular judgement, hypnosis is not based on magic, only on a somewhat unconventional influence.
- I will sit and stare at a "pendulum" for hours. The power, if you can call it that, of the hypnotist is first and foremost the word. Properly, precisely articulated, spoken in the right tone, but, above all, the word. Sometimes additional concentration is necessary for the person under hypnosis, but this has little to do with the "pendulum".
Medical application
Of fundamental importance, for the psychotherapeutic effect, are three characteristics of the man under hypnosis:
- inseparability of attention - in everyday life it is very difficult for us to focus our attention on one point. Switch off external influences and think only about one thing, without any distractions.
- theability to recall visual memories or imaginings - it is natural that we do not remember certain events, especially from the beginning of our lives. Often, however, these earliest experiences, have a fundamental influence on the development of certain mental disorders. Other events, most often unpleasant ones, we consciously or unconsciously push out of our memory - in the hypnotic state we can recall these events, which are still in the deepest recesses of our memory, at the suggestion of the hypnotist
- increased suggestibility - when we are fully conscious we are, one might say, autonomous. We decide for ourselves. Suggestions from others always have to pass through our internal filter, which helps us to judge whether a suggestion is good or bad, feasible or not. During a state of hypnosis we become much more susceptible to suggestion.
Of course, the ever-present question is whether we do not know more effective and reliable 'healing' methods. Because if so, it seems unethical to recommend a 'drug' with proven less efficacy. From the above characteristics, however, there are certain groups of mental disorders in which hypnosis may be applicable. Even if it does not lead to a complete cure it can make the healing process go more smoothly and make the patient feel more comfortable.
Hypnosis in modern psychiatry, photo: pantherstock
Phobias
A phobia is the highest, extreme intensity of irrational fear. On contact with the feared object, somatic symptoms (including tachycardia, accelerated breathing, excessive sweating) appear. The mechanism of such a human reaction is complex and it is not possible to speak of a single cause. Many psychiatrists believe that phobias are triggered by, among other things, conditioning - previous traumatic experiences that will always evoke fear. Hypnosis helps to combat such fearful attitudes and, following the hypnotist's suggestions, "Spiders are not scary. There is no need to be afraid of them. They're just a species of animal" the patient's arachnophobia can be much less severe.
Personality disorders
One of the more commonly diagnosed personality disorders is borderline personality. The development of this disorder is influenced by inappropriate relationships in the patient's family (known as a bonding disorder) when the patient was learning how to relate to people properly. Often this condition precedes the disturbed personality for many years. In order to make the patient aware of the mechanisms that led them to borderline disorder, we can use hypnosis to recall past images, events. And something that is realised is much easier to work on with a psychotherapist.
Alcoholism
Nowadays, there are several hypnotherapy techniques for alcoholism. Some therapists advocate a one-off hypnosis intervention to overcome negative attitudes towards the treatment carried out by traditional methods. The prerequisite for using this technique is that the patient is hypnotised to a deep degree. The so-called age regression - i.e. a suggested return to past, often forgotten experiences, which are the basis of a later formed addiction - can be used to diagnose the causes of addiction.
Pain. Pain therapy was combined with hypnosis in the mid-19th century.
The first scientific study of the effects of hypnosis on pain sensations was conducted by J. Braid. The patient was a 24-year-old woman who had a painful abscess, but was afraid of surgical intervention. Braid hypnotised the patient and then the surgeons performed the operation. The patient's only reaction during the procedure was a slight scream lasting less than a second. The woman was relaxed and did not show any defensive reactions. After waking up, she remembered nothing and was surprised that she had been operated on. However, interest in hypnotic analgesia soon died out, as chemical anaesthesia with chloroform was invented in 1848. A few years later, ether was used for this purpose. In the years that followed, anaesthesiology experienced a luxuriant development. And the methods it used proved to be more effective, faster and absolutely more reliable. The use of hypnosis was therefore limited to relatively few cases.
Summary
Hypnosis can be used for a variety of conditions, not only psychiatric More often as a support for treatment, it helps to make the patient more positive about therapy. It helps to minimise stress and cause greater confidence in therapeutic success. It is important in psychiatric disorders that require a long journey back through memory pages that are already forgotten.
When using hypnosis , however, it is important to ensure that the patient's medical condition is not a contraindication to its use (e.g. low blood pressure, psychotic episodes, organic syndromes). Undoubtedly, unskillful treatment using hypnosis can harm the health of the hypnotised person. However, this danger is not due to the specifics of this method, but only to the incompetence or unreliability of the hypnotist.