The definitions of hypnosis may vary. The American Psychological Association defines it as a therapeutic technique designed to relax the participant and to focus his mind through a series of instructions. Hypnosis is carried out through cooperative interactions between the participant and the clinician. Now, many clinicians agree that hypnosis can have a powerful therapeutic effect, and this technique can be used for a huge range of psychological conditions like anxiety, pain, mood disorders, etc. Apart from this, hypnosis is so powerful that it can also help people change their habits like smoking, drinking, etc.
Effects of Hypnosis
The effects of hypnosis can vary dramatically from one person to another. While few people feel a sense of aloofness and relaxation, others seem to feel that their actions occur without their conscious or effort. Some people remain in a state of full awareness and are even able to carry out conversations under hypnosis. Hypnosis can be used to alter perceptions dramatically.
Human brain and hypnosis
It is known for a fact that there are three levels of our brain- conscious, pre conscious and sub conscious.
Our conscious mind is responsible for controlling our deliberate actions. This is a part of the brain where thoughts occur, and this is the part which you are aware of. It has the ability to reason, apply logic, and get to conclusions. In normal cases, the conscious mind causes us to act according to the conclusions drawn by it.
The pre conscious mind is a place for emotions and feelings which are not always available. This part is responsible for mental blocks, where people try to remember bits of information and are also vaguely aware of what they are trying to remember, but they can’t just remember the exact piece of information.
Our sub conscious mind is beyond our level of awareness. It controls involuntary actions like the heartbeat, digestion, blood circulation, breathing, etc. This part of the brain works through emotions and all the actions caused by the sub conscious brain occur without our conscious or deliberate control.
It might seem unbelievable, but the fact is that our sub conscious brain works without any rationale or reasoning and is still responsible for many of our conscious actions. Also, it is believed that this is the largest part of the brain and the information contained in our subconscious mind could be harmful if we were aware of it.
Our sub conscious mind contains all that we have consciously forgotten, like a traumatic event or any stressful information. Therefore, there is a need for a technique to enable us to bypass the conscious mind and to deal directly with the subconscious mind. This is where hypnosis comes into the picture. With hypnosis, the subconscious mind can be directed to use emotions to focus more on constructive than destructive. The subconscious is open to suggestions that are beneficial, and hypnosis is a dependable technique for providing these. Even when the underlying cause for a psychological condition is unknown, hypnosis can be used to break through the mental block and resolve the problem successfully.
How Does Hypnosis Help?
Hypnosis acts as a helping tool with several uses in psychology. It is an invaluable method that is being put to use these days to help in speeding up recovery from the physical as well as mental problems. There are several reasons to seek help from psychotherapists or medical professionals with expertise in hypnosis. Hypnosis speeds up the process of therapy and healing by facilitating the patient’s understanding of his problems and of himself. It is widely used to extinguish undesired habits or behaviors, to uncover consciously forgotten and repressed memories, cope with fear and anxiety and many more. Hypnosis is also effective in curing chronic pain, reducing the symptoms of dementia, reduction of vomiting and nausea in patients undergoing chemotherapy and several other medical conditions. Adapting a new and more positive outlook becomes easier for the patient with the help of hypnosis.
Overcoming your fears and phobias, unlocking your hidden potential and setting you free from unresolved issues is just the beginning of what hypnosis can actually do. With the ability to deal directly with the subconscious, its infinite power can be unleashed to get positive results, and this is what helps in treating psychological conditions.