How Does Hypnosis Really Work?

Hypnosis is a subject of great fascination for many. Hypnotism has been portrayed in movies, television, and books, and because of these popular portrayals, many people have a false idea of what hypnotism actually is. When you think of hypnotism, the first thing that probably pops into your mind is the image of a person being put into a state of hypnosis with a pendulum swinging back forth as they are falling asleep. Although something like this is the thing your mind jumps to when someone mentions hypnosis, that's not really how it works, but how does hypnosis really work?

People who are hypnotized are not sleeping. This is one of the biggest misconceptions that people have about hypnosis. People who are hypnotized are in a trance. They are completely alert and awake the whole time. Most experts characterize this trance as something similar to day dreaming. The hypnotized person forgets about all their worries and focuses on one specific thing, much like a person who is really into a book they are reading.

People who are hypnotized know the difference between make believe and reality. Some of you may have seen a stage hypnotist making a grown person acting like a child, or perhaps an animal. Hypnotized people may make a fool out of themselves, but they know what they are doing. If the person hypnotizing you suggests something, such as you are eating ice cream, you may start to feel as if you are eating ice cream. You should be able to taste the flavor of the ice cream and feel the coldness in your mouth, but you know that it's not actually there. This is just like if a hypnotist suggests that you are a duck, you may start acting as if you are a duck, but you do not actually believe that you are.

People who are hypnotized feel uninhibited and relaxed. This is the key to stage hypnotism. Once a person is put under hypnosis, they don't worry about what others think or what they look like, which is how people can so easily start acting out of character. Although a hypnotized person knows what they are doing, they don't care how stupid it may make them look or that it may cause others to laugh at them.

People who are hypnotized do things simply because they are suggested. This is another huge part of what keeps stage hypnotists in business. Because people who are under hypnosis are so uninhibited, they are very easily influenced. Hypnosis causes a person to do whatever is suggested by the person who has put them under hypnosis simply because they are not thinking about anything else. A hypnotized person does not think about what is being suggested to them before they actually act out the suggestion. A hypnotized person understands what is being asked of them and is conscious of their actions, they just don't care.

ref-wikipedia.org