Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestions. There are competing theories explaining hypnosis and related phenomena. Altered state theories see it as an altered state of mind or trance, marked by a level of awareness different from the ordinary state of consciousness. In contrast, non-state theories see hypnosis as, variously, a type of placebo effect, a redefinition of an interaction with a therapist, or a form of imaginative role enactment. Considering the misuse, Swami Hardas Life System do not recommend hypnosis to be learned by each and all.

Definition of Hypnosis

Joe Griffin and Ivan Tyrrell (the originators of the human givens approach) define hypnosis as “any artificial way of accessing the REM state, the same brain state in which dreaming occurs” and suggest that this definition when properly understood, resolves “many of the mysteries and controversies surrounding”. They see the REM state as being vitally important for life itself, for programming in our instinctive knowledge initially, and then for adding to this throughout life. 

Hypnosis Types

Now that you understand what hypnotherapy is, let’s discuss the different types. Each of these types can create powerful change in your life. It’s simply a matter of finding the right fit for you. The types include:

Suggestion Hypnosis

Suggestion hypnosis is the most direct type of hypnotherapy, and it’s the easiest to understand. Often called “Direct Suggestion,” this form is also known as traditional hypnosis, and it’s what many expect when they see a hypnotist.

It uses direct commands to enact positive life changes. In Suggestion hypnosis, a practitioner helps their client reach theta frequency and then delivers beneficial suggestions through direct commands.

Often, the client may help the hypnotist craft these suggestions before the session to ensure the client receives the suggestions they want.

Suggestion hypnosis can be very effective for a variety of issues. For those simply wanting someone to fix a problem, this is a great choice. However, the direct suggestion doesn’t include the client in the change process as much as the other types. If you want to participate in the process, the other types may be a better fit.

Ericksonian Hypnosis

The opposite of traditional hypnosis is Ericksonian hypnosis. Sometimes known as conversational hypnosis, Ericksonian hypnotherapy is a style modeled after a revolutionary in the hypnosis field.

Milton Erickson (1901-1980) was one of the most influential hypnotherapists of the modern era. Using indirect suggestion, Erickson created a permissive style of hypnosis that redefined how hypnosis could help people make positive life changes.

Ericksonian hypnosis is based on choice. Clients participate in all forms of hypnotherapy, and Ericksonian hypnosis is built on this model. Ericksonian hypnosis is also more smooth and more conversational.

Regression Hypnosis

Like other types, regression focuses on the root cause of the problem, not the symptoms that it presents.

This form of therapy brings a client back to the past events that caused the problem. The hypnotist then helps the client rewrite the memory by introducing information that would have benefited the client during that event. Regression hypnosis helps clients relive the past experience with new knowledge.

Regression hypnotherapy seems complicated, but it’s not. Every time we access a memory, we rewrite it. Science has proven this happens at the physical level. Our brains literally rewrite the protein structures that form the memory.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)

Made famous in recent decades by the business mindset community, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is the brainchild of Ericksonian hypnotherapy. The creators of NLP, Richard Bandler, and John Grinder, studied the work of hypnotists like Erickson to boil down what made their techniques so effective.

NLP works by changing the processes that our brains use to create experiences. Our brains code information in images, sounds, and feelings. By changing the building blocks of these experiences, NLP can change how we experience the moments in our lives.

In recent decades, NLP has become integral to the business community. Many famous NLP practitioners (like Tony Robbins) have become top mindset coaches and successful entrepreneurs. But this incredible hypnotherapy technique can impact more than just mindset. NLP practitioners have helped with phobias, learning disabilities, grief, and more.

Self-Hypnosis

Self-hypnosis is by far the most flexible option on this list. And it’s also the one that takes the most effort. These techniques can be extremely difficult to learn—even for full-time hypnotists. The reason self-hypnosis is so difficult is that a client has to be both the hypnotist and the person being hypnotized.

Our brains can struggle with this separation. However, this type can provide the most benefits. Once you learn self-hypnosis, you can use it on whatever issue comes up in your life.

Self-hypnosis is also incredibly flexible. Learning even simple self-hypnosis techniques can teach you how to use it to overcome any problem. The time investment may be great, but the end payoff is worth.

Primers 

Primers are pre-recorded audio tracks. Unlike other types of hypnotherapy, primers allow a client to use hypnosis without a clinical hypnotherapist or trained hypnotist being present.

Primers guide you into a hypnotic state and help you make positive life changes in the comfort of your own home. You can find them online. Primers are inexpensive, easy to find, and simple to use.

Hypnosis Stages

There are four main stages of hypnotherapy:

Hypnosis Induction

Hypnotherapists employ several techniques to induce hypnosis in a person.

Four-step induction

The hypnotherapist induces hypnosis by taking the individual through four steps, asking them to

• Close their eyes,
• Imagine that they can’t open their eyes,
• Try to open their eyes while pretending they can’t, and
• Relax the eyes and the whole body.

Eye-fixation technique

This technique involves fixating the gaze on some object until the eyelids become heavy and close, and the person drifts into deep relaxation.

Arm-drop technique

The individual fixes the gaze on one of their fingers with the forearm kept vertical until the hand becomes heavy and starts drifting downward. As the arm lowers, the eyes become heavy and close, and hypnosis is achieved.

Progressive relaxation technique

The individual settles down comfortably, focuses on breathing in and out, and relaxes their body from the feet up to go into complete relaxation.

Imagery

Imagery involves having the individual breathe deeply and imagining a scene that makes them feel safe and comfortable.

Hypnosis Induction Technique

It is normally preceded by a “hypnotic induction” technique. Traditionally, this was interpreted as a method of putting the subject into a “hypnotic trance”; however, subsequent “nonstate” theorists have viewed it differently, seeing it as a means of heightening client expectation, defining their role, focusing attention, etc.

The induction techniques and methods are depended on the depth of hypnosis trance level and for each stage of trance that in some sources ranges from 30 stages to 50 stages. There’re different types of inductions. There are several different induction techniques. One of the most influential methods was Braid’s “eye-fixation” technique, also known as “Braidism”.

Applications of Hypnosis

There are numerous applications across multiple fields of interest, including medical/psychotherapeutic uses, military uses, self-improvement, and entertainment. The American Medical Association currently has no official stance on the medical use.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy

Hypnosis has been used as a supplemental approach to cognitive behavioral therapy since as early as 1949. It was defined in relation to classical conditioning; where the words of the therapist were the stimuli and hypnosis would be the conditioned response. Some traditional cognitive behavioral therapy methods were based on classical conditioning. It would include inducing a relaxed state and introducing a feared stimulus. 

Forensics, sports, education, etc

Hypnotism has also been used in forensics, sports, education, physical therapy, and rehabilitation. Artists have also employed hypnotism for creative purposes, most notably in the surrealist circle of André Breton who employed hypnosis, automatic writing, and sketches for creative purposes. Hypnotic methods have been used to re-experience drug states and mystical experiences. Self-hypnosis is popularly used to quit smoking, alleviate stress and anxiety, promote weight loss, and induce sleep hypnosis. Stage hypnosis can persuade people to perform unusual public feats.

Some people have drawn analogies between certain aspects of hypnotism and areas such as crowd psychology, religious hysteria, and ritual trances in preliterate tribal cultures.

Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy is a use of hypnosis in psychotherapy. It is used by licensed physicians, psychologists, and others. Physicians and psychologists may use hypnosis to treat depression, anxiety, eating disorders, sleep disorders, compulsive gambling, phobias, and posttraumatic stress, while certified hypnotherapists who are not physicians or psychologists often treat smoking and weight management.

Psychological disorders

Hypnotherapy is viewed as a helpful adjunct by proponents, having additive effects when treating psychological disorders, such as these, along with scientifically proven cognitive therapies. Hypnotherapy should not be used for repairing or refreshing memory because hypnosis results in memory hardening, which increases the confidence in false memories. The effectiveness of hypnotherapy has not yet been accurately assessed, and, due to the lack of evidence indicating any level of efficiency, it is regarded as a type of alternative medicine by numerous reputable medical organizations, such as the National Health Service.

Managing painful HIV-DSP

Preliminary research has expressed brief hypnosis interventions as possibly being a useful tool for managing painful HIV-DSP because of their history of usefulness in pain management, their long-term effectiveness of brief interventions, the ability to teach self-hypnosis to patients, the cost-effectiveness of the intervention, and the advantage of using such an intervention as opposed to the use of pharmaceutical drugs.

Other variety of forms

Modern hypnotherapy has been used, with varying success, in a variety of forms, such as:

Menopause

There is evidence supporting the use of hypnotherapy in the treatment of menopause-related symptoms, including hot flashes. The North American Menopause Society recommends hypnotherapy for the nonhormonal management of menopause-associated vasomotor symptoms, giving it the highest level of evidence.

Irritable bowel syndrome

Hypnotherapy has been studied for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. Hypnosis for IBS has received moderate support in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance published for UK health services. It has been used as an aid or alternative to chemical anesthesia, and it has been studied as a way to soothe skin ailments.

Pain management

Reduces the pain

A number of studies show that hypnosis can reduce the pain experienced during burn-wound debridement, bone marrow aspirations, and childbirth. The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis found that hypnosis relieved the pain of 75% of 933 subjects participating in 27 different experiments.

Decreases the fear

Hypnosis is effective in decreasing the fear of cancer treatment reducing pain from and coping with cancer and other chronic conditions. Nausea and other symptoms related to incurable diseases may also be managed with hypnosis. Some practitioners have claimed hypnosis might help boost the immune system of people with cancer. However, according to the American Cancer Society, “available scientific evidence does not support the idea that hypnosis can influence the development or progression of cancer.”

Reduces severe oriental pain

Hypnosis has been used as a pain-relieving technique during dental surgery, and related pain management regimens as well. Researchers like Jerjes and his team have reported that hypnosis can help even those patients who have acute to severe oriental pain. Additionally, Meyerson and Uziel have suggested that hypnotic methods have been found to be highly fruitful for alleviating anxiety in patients with severe dental phobia.

Other applications

De-addiction

The success rate for habit control is varied. A meta-study researching hypnosis as a quit-smoking tool found it had a 20 to 30 percent success rate, while a 2007 study of patients hospitalized for cardiac and pulmonary ailments found that smokers who used hypnosis to quit smoking doubled their chances of success. In 2019, a Cochrane review was unable to find evidence of the benefit of hypnosis in smoking cessation and suggested if there is, it is small at best.

Weight loss

Hypnosis may be useful as an adjunct therapy for weight loss. A 1996 meta-analysis studying hypnosis combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy found that people using both treatments lost more weight than people using cognitive behavioral therapy alone. The virtual gastric band procedure mixes hypnosis with hypnopedia. The hypnosis instructs the stomach that it is smaller than it really is, and hypnopedia reinforces alimentary habits. A 2016 pilot study found that there was no significant difference in effectiveness between VGB hypnotherapy and relaxation hypnotherapy.

American psychiatric nurses, in most medical facilities, are allowed to administer hypnosis to patients in order to relieve symptoms such as anxiety, arousal, negative behaviors, and uncontrollable behaviour, and to improve self-esteem and confidence. This is permitted only when they have been completely trained about their clinical side effects and while under supervision when administering it.

Self-hypnosis

Self-hypnosis happens when a person hypnotizes oneself, commonly involving the use of autosuggestion. The technique is often used to increase motivation for a diet, quit smoking, or reduce stress. People who practice self-hypnosis sometimes require assistance; some people use devices known as mind machines to assist in the process, whereas others use hypnotic recordings.

Self-hypnosis is claimed to help with stage fright, relaxation, and physical well-being.

Stage hypnosis

Stage hypnosis is a form of entertainment, traditionally employed in a club or theatre before an audience. Due to stage hypnotists’ showmanship, many people believe that hypnosis is a form of mind control. Stage hypnotists typically attempt to hypnotize the entire audience and then select individuals who are “under” to appear on stage and perform embarrassing acts, while the audience watches.

However, the effects of stage hypnosis are probably due to a combination of psychological factors, participant selection, suggestibility, physical manipulation, stagecraft, and trickery. The desire to be the center of attention, having an excuse to violate their own fear suppressors and the pressure to please are thought to convince subjects to “play along”. 

Music

The idea of music as hypnosis developed from the work of Franz Mesmer. Instruments such as pianos, violins, harps, and, especially, the glass harmonica often featured in Mesmer’s treatments; and were considered to contribute to Mesmer’s success.

Hypnotic music became an important part of the development of a ‘physiological psychology’ that regarded the hypnotic state as an ‘automatic’ phenomenon that links to physical reflex. In their experiments with sound hypnosis, Jean-Martin Charcot used gongs and tuning forks, and Ivan Pavlov used bells. The intention behind their experiments was to prove that physiological response to sound could be automatic, bypassing the conscious mind.

Misuse of Hypnosis

Various people have been suspected of or convicted of hypnosis-related crimes, including robbery and sexual abuse.

In 1951, Palle Hardrup shot and killed two people during a botched robbery in Copenhagen – see Hypnosis murders. Hardrup claimed that his friend and former cellmate Bjørn Schouw Nielsen had hypnotized him to commit the robbery, inadvertently causing the deaths. Both were sentenced to jail time.

In 2011, a Russian “evil hypnotist” was suspected of tricking customers in banks around Stavropol into giving away thousands of pounds worth of money. According to the local police, he would approach them and make them withdraw all of the money from their bank accounts, which they would then freely give to the man.

The victim did nothing to stop the robber from looting his pockets and taking his cash, only calling out to the thief when he was already getting away.

In 2013, the then-40-year-old amateur hypnotist Timothy Porter attempted to sexually abuse his female weight-loss client. She reported waking from a trance and finding him behind her with his pants down, telling her to touch herself. 

In 2015, Gary Naraido, then 52, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for several hypnosis-related sexual abuse charges. Besides the primary charge by a 22-year-old woman who he sexually abused in a hotel under the guise of a free therapy session, he also admitted to having sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl. 

In 2016 an Ohio lawyer got sentenced to 12 years of prison for hypnotizing his clients while telling them it was just a mindfulness exercise.

In December 2018, a Brazilian medium named João Teixeira de Faria (also known as “João de Deus”), famous for performing Spiritual Surgeries through hypnosis techniques, was accused of sexual abuse by 12 women. 

Roadmap: Learning Hypnosis

1. Take a “live” training. Many interactive hypnosis courses are now taught online via Zoom, so not being able to fly somewhere is no longer an excuse! The most important thing is to practice with other students while getting real-time feedback from the instructor.
2. Use the knowledge from that training to hypnotize at least 100 people as quickly as possible.
3. Continue to build your hypnosis knowledge with books, videos, courses, and seminars.
4. Hypnotize at least 1,000 people as quickly as possible.

That’s it! You won’t get mad skills as a hypnotist by sitting in some classroom or reading a book on “covert hypnosis secrets”.

How to Learn Hypnosis?

Hypnosis is a skill you can use as a therapeutic tool or as a stage trick that dazzles audiences through the power of suggestion. To make hypnosis effective, induce a trance and suggest thoughts or actions. Practice often with padmasana to refine your routine and even learn to hypnotize people within a very short amount of time.

Learning the Basics

Choose an area of hypnosis to study according to your goals

Study direct hypnotic suggestions for more straightforward work

If you truly want to learn and become a hypnotherapist, we simply ask you to take a few moments to assess your own personal motivation.  No one becomes a professional in their field overnight.  Success requires persistence, dedication, commitment, and the willingness to overcome your own personal challenges.

Conclusion

Because of the above, I am confident that you have learned in-depth about hypnosis, its definition, types, how to learn it, and applications. Now, that you have become self-sufficient, hence it’s the right time to use your acquired knowledge for gaining numerous benefits for well-being.

After reading this article, how would you rate it? Would you please let me know your precious thoughts? 

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