subject: Beginner's Guide To Hypnosis [print this page] For those who have wondered "how does hypnosis work", many will be surprised that the actual process is different than what they have always pictured. Most people when they hear "hypnosis", almost immediately they will start to picture how the practice is commonly performed in movies or even in person, as a stage act. The truth is that real hypnosis is actually nothing like that. You do not have the master and slave dynamic that is typically seen, with someone waving a pocket watch or some other bobble back and forth. People under hypnosis actually have free will to do whatever they want to do.
People who undergo hypnosis are actually extra attentive, contrary to what movies and TV shows would have you believe. Although much has been learned about hypnosis, there is still a lot that remains unknown about the mechanisms and more minute aspects. So researchers and even those who can perform the procedure do not understand everything about how does hypnosis work. What they do understand is the basics of the concept and psychiatrists can use this information to put people into what is described as a trance like state. Unlike how it is performed on stage, people are not really asleep.
When someone is put under hypnosis, the trance like state they experience allows them to have a great feeling of relaxation. It also allows them to be much more likely to listen to suggestions. It may resemble sleep, but the patient is actually alert for the duration of the procedure. A better comparison for how does hypnosis work would be to compare it with having a daydream, where you are still awake, but your mind is in an entirely different place. Some have even said it could be compared to being really engrossed in a very engaging movie or even a book.
The biggest reason why hypnosis is used in psychiatry is because people are more open to suggestions. It can also allow someone to block out things around them, letting them recall things they might not normally remember. Unlike the stage show version, which has people prancing around doing embarrassing things, someone under hypnosis will not do anything they don't actually want to do. More than anything else, a person's subconscious mind is at the heart of how does hypnosis work. So someone who wants to lose weight or quit smoking will be much more open to idea than if they think about with their usual way of thinking, which is with their conscious mind.
