Hypnosis and Its Role in Society

By hypnosis the hypnotist produces a hypnotic state in an individual and uses this mental state to manipulate and control the person. A person in a hypnotic state reacts in the following ways:

He is intensely concentrated on one object or on things going on in one specific direction, for example the talk of the hypnotist.He senses and remembers very easily what is going on in that particular direction.He does not sense other objects or happenings around him, unless these other things are particularly violent.He believes anything told without assessing it logically, and can be brought to sense things that are not real.He tends to perform any order without objections, unless these orders are strongly opposed to the persons most basic moral.He is physically relaxed

A hypnotist can bring a person into a hypnotic state by many methods. By most methods the hypnotist will use the following general approach:

He makes the surroundings comfortable with no disturbing elements.He brings the person's attention towards himself and relax him further by a calm speech, and possibly with some soft music or other artistic tools.He shows an object that sticks distinctly out from the surroundings. The classical example is a watch in a chain, but sometimes the hypnotist only uses his hand. The hypnotist commands the person to concentrate upon the object.He lets the object make some simple action that is repeated for a while, for example lets the watch swing back and forth. The hypnotist can also speak calmly and comment the action of the object.Then he stops the action and directs the attention of the person solely towards his voice.At this point, but sometimes also before, he suggests to the person that he feels relaxed, warm or have other good feelings.

By now the patient should be in a hypnotic state. A good hypnotist will however not use this procedure mechanically. He will assess the patient's mental state, and prolong or repeat parts of the procedure until the hypnosis is effective.

While the patient is under hypnosis the hypnotist can direct the attention of the patient in directions suitable for his purposes and work on the patient by suggestions, stimulations, commands and passing of information. When the hypnotist has finished his work, the hypnosis is stopped by a distinct signal. The person will often be instructed to wake up again when he sees or hears the signal.

A professional hypnotist, which typically has a healthcare education before being trained in hypnosis, can use the hypnotic state for many purposes. He can motivate a person for lifestyle changes like cessation of substance abuse. He can motivate for results within sport or business, and he can ease learning of information.

Hypnosis is commonly used to take away pain and to bring relaxation. This can be the main purpose, or the more comfortable state of the patient can be utilized to perform other types of psychological or physical treatment.

Hypnosis is used as a psychiatric diagnostic tool. A suspected victim of a crime, for example child sexual abuse, is sometimes hypnotized to bring forth evidence. This method can easily produce false evidence, though, caused by suggestions during hypnosis. For these purposes the victim and the suspected person are often interrogated in a way that gives an hypnotic effect, even though it is not called hypnosis. Hypnotic techniques for diagnosis and investigation are sometimes, and probably more often that publicly known, supported by administering of drugs that suppress critical thinking and resistance.

The success of political mass movements is often due to deliberate use of hypnotic techniques towards grand audiences, even though these techniques are seldom called hypnosis. These techniques have often been developed during a long tradition within the political or religious organizations, or cooperating ones.

The leaders are deliberately trained in the use of these techniques, often in secrecy for the common members. Traditionally the techniques are used in the education of common followers at courses, schools, meetings and arrangements. But at some point in time the leaders decide to use the techniques in a grand scale in order to turn their organization into a mass movement.

Knut Holt is an Internet marketer and business consultant with a focus on the health field. Please see his web-site to find more health information. There are also presentations of products to improve health, fitness products and also of hobby items. http://www.abicana.com/