Hypnosis, from the Greek word hypnos, or sleep, is the science of inducing a sleep-like trance in people in order to either obtain information, or assist persons bring hypnotized by using suggestion to induce them to don actions as per command or per suggestion. For this reason, hypnosis of often referred to as “the power of suggestion”. Although hypnosis has been inexistence for more than two millennium it has only recently been seriously considered as a valuable tool to assist people suffering from a variety of psychological disorders, including chronic and acute stress, sleep disorders, phobias, shyness and “stage fright”, traumatic experiences, work and study problems, and many others.
Although it was used by a number of well known psychologists and psychoanalysts, including Sigmund Freud, it was only fully accepted as a therapeutic science in 1958 by the American Medical Association. Scientific research has proven that not everyone can actually be hypnotized, and that it is virtually impossible to force a subject to be hypnotized against his will. Those who do respond well to being hypnotized generally are put into what is known as a clinical hypnotic state in a matter of 10 to 15 seconds. Once in a state of hypnosis, it can be either deep or shallow, depending on the reason for inducing the person into being hypnotized, as well as the psychological state of the individual prior to being hypnotized.
Before the innovation of reliable means of anesthesia, hypnosis was used to prepare patients for undergoing surgical and dental procedures. It is still used to prepare patients psychologically prior to undergoing serious medical treatments and procedures, including many for treating forms of cancer. The science has also proven to be useful for helping cure people suffering from various forms of psychological disorders, including amnesia, serious fears and phobias, and for those who have been involved in serious accidents, wartime traumas, and other situations in which people were subjected to acute trauma and stress.
One of the more interesting uses of hypnosis is that involving theory called “hyper suggestibility” in which the hypnotic therapist helps a patient concentrate to a series of suggestions that are formulated to help him respond to certain stimuli. The hypnotherapist helps the subject use more intense forms of concentration to focus on the desired goal.
Although forms of hypnosis is also used for entertainment , it should not be practiced by those who are trained in the science; and people willing to subject themselves to being hypnotized by one who is using it to entertain audiences, are subjecting themselves at their own risk.
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