What_Is_Hypnosis___Describe_the_Psychological_and_Physical_Aspects_of_Hypnosis_and_Discuss_the_Role_of_Relaxation_in_Hypnotherapy.

What is Hypnosis ' Describe the psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in hypnotherapy. To many people the word hypnosis will often conjure up images of swinging fob watches and dramatic stage shows where people are compelled to behave in strange ways. Whilst very entertaining, the popular performance of stage hypnosis is very different to the essence of modern hypnosis and is mainly responsible for many misconceptions about hypnotism and hypnotherapy. (Waterfield 2004) In order to understand modern hypnosis, it is necessary to look to the past in order to identify and trace its origins. Waterfield writes about examples from history thought to be an indication of early hypnosis in many different cultures, including ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, India and even Australia, but dismisses many of these as unrelated and unproven in many cases. Modern hypnosis in the Western Hemisphere is believed to have started with Franz Anton Mesmer. Born in Iznang, which is now part of Germany, in 1734, Mesmer studied philosophy, theology, music, maths and law before deciding on a medical career. He worked extensively in Vienna and as a result of influences by the mystic physician Paracelsus he began to develop ideas of an invisible fluid in the body which affected health. Initially, he used magnets to manipulate the fluid and ‘magnetise’ his patients. Healing sessions with individual patients progressed to group sessions and Mesmer came to believe the magnets were unnecessary and he moved away from their use to the use of his hands. Following reports that Mesmer cured a blind musician in 1977 and that she subsequently lost her ability to play the piano, Mesmer’s methods were frowned upon and it is thought he moved to Paris hoping for his ideas to be better received. Mesmer moved from using magnets to the construction of a tub filled with water with protruding iron rods. Patients would hold the rods in order to be cured. He also did something similar by magnetising a tree and symptoms were relieved by patients holding on to ropes attached to the tree. Mesmer believed his own body was the source of an ‘ animal’ magnet, and the terms animal magnetism and mesmerism were born. An evaluation of his practices commissioned by King Louis XVI did not support Mesmer’s beliefs so he left the city and made little contribution for the remainder of his life. Despite this, animal magnetism continued to be employed in Germany and in 1814 Abbe Faria put forth the idea that animal magnetism and its successes were nothing to do with fluids but related to suggestions used by the practitioners to influence the patients. This is supported by the work of Solomon Asch and Stanley Milgram on the subject of conformity. In his book Obedience to authority Milgram describes a series of experiments where ‘students’ were asked a series of questions and volunteer ‘teachers’ were instructed to administer progressive electric shocks when questions were answered incorrectly. Over 60% of the ‘teachers’ were prepared to administer dangerous doses of electricity in response to demands made on them. After Mesmer’s death in 1815 Armand de Puyseger took his work one step further and discovered that the spoken word and direct commands could easily induce a trance. He also discovered that patients could be operated upon without pain or anaesthesia when hypnotised. This technique was used many times in the future by several surgeons including Drs.Recamier, Cloquet, Elliotson, Parker and Esdaile. Another doctor, James Braid reported of being able to enable a patient to reach a trance state by fixating on an object. He called his discovery hypnotism. By the 1870s, two schools of hypnosis existed in France with one run by Dr. Jean Martin Charcot and the other by Doctors Benheim and Liebalt. Around the same time, Sigmund Freud became interested in hypnosis and visited the clinics of Benheim and Leibalt to learn their techniques and he was the first to recognise the unconscious mind as important in psychological disorders, but he later turned his attentions to psychoanalysis and free association, becoming disillusioned by hypnosis. The therapy of psychoanalysis grew in popularity during the first half of the 20th century and with this rise, hypnotherapy became less popular. This situation reversed in the 1950s as new research found new uses and positive benefits for using hypnosis as a therapy. Milton Erickson was a psychotherapist who used to hypnosis in his work. Born in 1932, he was reportedly able to quickly build rapport with his clients and his hypnotic methods are considered to be important in the development of modern hypnosis as it is known today. Hypnosis can be described as a state of mind involving focused attention that is facilitated by the therapist using specific techniques in order to relax the mind and body, slow down the brain waves and then planting suggestions for change in relation to some aspect of the person being hypnotised. The brain has 4 main types of brain wave : Alpha, Beta, Delta and Theta. Each of these waves operate at different frequencies. Our level of consciousness and awareness is related to different brain wave patterns. The most common waves seen in hypnosis are alpha and theta and these enable the therapist to reach the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind stores all information that we are not aware of in our conscious minds: life experiences, all memories, beliefs, belief systems, skills, images and so on. It can also be likened to an autopilot – automatically carrying out essential tasks while we concentrate on other things. The subconscious is also responsible for triggering feelings and emotions in different situations we face. The subconscious mind does not reason or apply logic, it just accepts whatever it is told, shown or experiences. The patient is more susceptible to suggestion when in these slower brain wave states and it is this suggestion which is at the heart of hypnosis. Hypnotism involves relaxing the individual using progressive muscle relaxation to slow the brain waves to less than 14 cycles per second. Once the client is in a relaxed, trance state, the hypnotherapist will make what is called post hypnotic suggestions in order to effect a change in the client. The stages of a session involve assisting the client to achieve relaxation, deepening the trance state, making therapeutic suggestions and finally reorientating the person back to full awareness of reality and their surroundings. . A number of psychological and physical aspects are present in hypnosis. Psychologically, as the client responds to the progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) awareness becomes narrowed and the client may experience a withdrawal from and loss of awareness of their surroundings leading to a sense of detachment. As the brain waves slow down, attention is narrowed and the person experiences heightened ability for visualisation and imagery. This can lead to increased function of the creative process. Also, as the person becomes more distant from their surroundings, an increased awareness of internal functions occurs. For example the client my become increasingly aware of their breathing or their heart rate. Time distortion is a common aspect whereby a client may feel they have been relaxing for only a few minutes when in fact it has been nearly an hour. One of the most significant psychological aspects of hypnosis is increased suggestibility or hypersuggestibility. It is this increased suggestibility that enables the therapist to make suggestions (called post hypnotic suggestions) to the client to bring about positive changes to a person’s behaviour, thoughts, feelings and/or physiological wellbeing or state. Age regression can be used as a specific therapeutic technique for certain clients where appropriate, but there have been cases of spontaneous age regression occurring occasionally during a hypnotherapy session. Lastly, hyperamnesia is an aspect of hypnosis where the person is able to remember things he or she cannot consciously recall and amnesia is where a person can no longer remember something that they previously could remember. Physically, a number of tangible changes occur in the body. As the person relaxes in response to the PMR, the muscles of the body relax which results in a decrease in tension. The heart rate and respirations slow down and blood pressure reduces, though in some cases the pulse rate increases (Waterfield 2004). Changes in the brain waves have been demonstrated using electroencephalograms and the body enters either an alpha, theta or delta state, depending on the level of the trance. There is an associated decrease in activity and overall output of energy. The body literally slows down. The client may relate feeling listless and heavy. As the person generally closes their eyes as the relaxation progresses and deepens, the senses often become more acute and receptive, especially the sense of hearing. (Hadley and Staudacher 1996). . This is known as hyperaesthesia. Waterfield noted that the speed with which clients could attain this state of hyperaesthesia was remarkable and attributed it possibly to the narrowed focus of attention caused by relaxation and closing of the eyes for example. Other changes to the senses which have been documented are Analgesia – loss of sensation and anaesthesia – unconsciousness, which occurs as a result of complete loss of physical sensation, which occurs in some clients. Additionally, the phenomena of psychosomatic healing and control of some body functions such as blood loss or temperature for example, has been documented as occurring in many situations. (Waterfield 2004). The so called trance state that clients enter when undergoing hypnotherapy is now recognised as an extremely effective tool for changing thoughts, feelings and behaviour and for general healing so is truly holistic. When hypnosis is used for therapeutic purposes it is known as hypnotherapy. In order for the client to achieve the necessary trance state, the hypnotherapist will assist the client to relax deeply. When a client is relaxed to the point where the brain is in either Alpha, Theta or Delta brain wave state, they will be more suggestible, which is crucial to the success of hypnotherapy. Relaxation involves focusing the mind and relaxing the muscles of the body. Once the hypnotherapist has assisted the client to focus their mind and relax their muscles, then deep relaxation can occur and post hypnotic suggestion can take place. If the client is not relaxed this is less likely to occur. Being too tense and living with stresses that cause our bodies to be tense over a long period can lead to physical and psychological problems so even if a person is not hypnotised, there can be huge benefits to relaxation alone. The popularity of hypnosis has increased and decreased over the years. Currently, much research now shows the irrefutable connection between mind and body and the effects that one can exert on the other. According to O. Carl Simonton, author of Getting Well Again and founder of the Cancer Counselling and Research Centre in Texas, ‘There is a clear link between stress and illness, a link so strong that it is possible to predict illness based on the amount of stress in people’s lives’. With that in mind, a therapy that can change how we think about things, how we behave and how we react to things must surely be a powerful tool in the battle to keep us all well, both mentally and physical well. References Hypnosis for Change 3rd edition, Hadley and Staudacher 1996 Hidden Depths – The Story of Hypnosis, Robin Waterfield 2004 Getting Well Again Creighton, Simonton and Simonton 1996