subject: Hypnosis And The Subconscious Mind [print this page] Hypnosis provides a way of accessing the deepest recesses of the human mind - a place that is nearly immune to the effects of ordinary conversation. This place is the subconscious, which is made accessible only by a conscious effort on someone's part to relax, and to empty the mind of all thoughts.
In a state of hypnosis, the mind is somewhere between the states of sleep and waking, or the subconscious and conscious. This means that the body is capable of performing all functions - even tasks which are beyond it in full waking - but the mind is receptive only to certain words and signals. Usually, hypnotized people respond only to the person who has hypnotized them, and are completely unresponsive to outside stimulation.
Treatment through hypnosis is based on a very simple theory. If certain words are ingrained deep enough in the mind, they will remain there for the remainder of an individual's life. This makes hypnosis a very powerful tool for instilling certain sentences, preferences and decisions into the human mind.
The process of hypnosis treatment is actually quite simple. Firstly, the subject needs to be hypnotized. This can be done with the aid of a coin, mirror, pendulum or the voice alone. Once hypnosis has been achieved, certain suggestions - called "post-hypnotic suggestions" are made. The post-hypnotic suggestion depends on the treatment being sought by the subject, and could be anything from "You are confident" to "Alcohol is repulsive to you and you will never touch it again". The wording of the post-hypnotic suggestion should be as precise as possible, and be spoken in the soft, slow tones used during the hypnosis process.
The hypnotic trance is usually broken with the hypnotist counting down from ten to one. While experiences vary people who experience hypnosis often remember what was said during the session, but they may feel a little disorientated for a minute or two. However, the return to normalcy is quick, and the words uttered by the hypnotist continue to operate inside the hypnotized person's mind even after the trance has been broken.
Hypnosis has been used to treat a wide variety of psychological and psychosomatic disorders. It is also seen as an alternative method of personality development, inculcating desirable traits and letting go of inhibitions or harmful characteristics. A little-known fact about hypnosis is that this is the process that led Sigmund Freud towards discovering the subconscious - he had a widely successful career in hypnosis, showing both the power of the method and its connection to the unknown caverns of the mind.
It must be noted, however, that hypnosis depends completely on compliance, just like every other method of mental healing. Only when a subject wishes to be hypnotized can hypnosis take place, and the strength of the idea being implanted also depends upon the subject's willingness to accept it. If, for example, someone has been trying to quit smoking but failing, s/he is a much better candidate for success through hypnosis than someone who is forced into the treatment by family or peers.
