Just a mention of hypnosis can bring about naysayers. Tales of those under hypnosis who do inhuman tasks or change their personalities are hard to believe. And many of those stories are exactly that: tall tales. Yet, they may still make you wonder — is hypnosis real?
Hopefully, the following facts will leave no room for doubt. Not only is hypnosis real, but it has a long history and is deeply misunderstood.
Is Hypnosis Real? 6 Facts to Keep in Mind
1. Hypnosis Gives a Greater Sense of Focus
Hypnosis is a state similar to a trance or a dream that gives the hypnotized a higher sense of focus and concentration. You shouldn’t confuse it with sleep, as some people do. When they fall asleep, people are passive, while under hypnosis, they remain mentally present.
2. Hypnosis Makes You Open to Suggestion
Upon inducing hypnosis, hypnotists use mental images, a calming atmosphere, or a specific mantra. For example, volunteers might have to repeat a word or look at an object that moves rhythmically.
These repetitive actions can ease anxiety and open you up to outside influences. Thus, when a person enters hypnosis, they feel calm, relaxed, and are more open to suggestion.
3. Hypnosis Has a Long History
Hypnosis has a history as a form of therapy. Psychiatrists such as Sigmund Freud started using it as such in the nineteenth century. They utilized it to cure neuroses and allow their patents to speak about uncomfortable and repressed memories.
While the scientific community scoffs at hypnosis as therapy today, these clinicians achieved great success with it.
4. Anyone Can Be Hypnotized
You might believe only weak-willed people can fall under the influence of a hypnotist. In reality, anyone willing to try hypnosis can be hypnotized. This openness to novelty is what makes the collaboration between volunteers and hypnotists rather smooth.
Still, hypnosis offers the best results when used on subjects who can concentrate well and have a rich imagination. As it turns out, these traits help you ease into the trance quickly.
5. You Can’t Be Forced to Perform Tasks During Hypnosis
You should also know that, while they are under the influence, the hypnotized aren’t at the hypnotist’s mercy by any means. They can simply choose not to do something that the hypnotist asked them to!
If someone is vehemently against public speaking, for example, they’ll be that way while in a trance, as well. Though they are more easily swayed while under hypnosis, they don’t change their whole personality.
6. Hypnosis Isn’t the Same as Black Magic
Finally, those wondering how real hypnosis is may think that hypnotists get their magic from dark forces. Though this is a common myth, hypnotists aren’t actually in cohorts with the Devil.
In fact, hypnosis isn’t supernatural at all. It is a completely natural phenomenon that requires openness from the volunteer, and experience and skill from the hypnotist. It’s also completely safe for the mind and the body.
Final Thoughts
So is hypnosis real or just a simple case of manipulation? As it turns out, it is genuine, not to mention voluntary, safe, and potentially beneficial. The problem is that many myths that surround it have tarnished its reputation a bit. Hopefully, you’re now more aware of how special it is and may even consider it!
