Hypnosis as an experience
The experiences of hypnosis
for each person are different. But there may be some common
relations for each experience. Now we shall focus on these common
relations.
Relaxation
in hypnosis
The situations
acquired
simpler and observed frequently during hypnosis are ease,
calm and relaxation. The people lived hypnosis express that
they have not relaxed this much before. Hypnosis is deep
relaxation felt in the whole body and spirit. Hypnosis is
the most capable nonpharmacological method found by the
science.
Changes
observed in thinking
Thinking
gets deeper and slower in hypnosis. Careful attention and
concentration are powerful during hypnosis. Probably for
this reason, people are not aware of the outside changes
Emotional
modifications
To
modify emotional situations of people is possible with using
hypnosis. It can be achieved that people feel only one thing
during the hypnosis.
Example:
Optimist
thoughts can be suggested to a low spirited person during
the session. Hypnotist help some people by reminding happy
days lived in the past whereas some can achieve this without
such helps.
The
emotional modifications suggested in hypnosis have a
tendency of keeping on after hypnosis.
Modified
awareness
The
important point here is being modified of awareness.
In
hypnosis, the thing, which we will aware of, can be
-focused
on
-dispersed
-introverted
-extraverted
-partitioned
All
of these can not be understood that the mind is completely
messed up during the hypnosis. Hypnosis is awareness. (Dr
Ali Özden Öztürk).
Example:
“I
was following your suggestions but another part of mine was
somewhere else”. These expressions of “client” can be
illustrated for partitioning.
Psychomotor
changes
Decrease
and slow down in body motion may be observed. Movement of
client may be diminished. They don’t want to move during
hypnosis.
Heaviness,
lightness, numbness
Numbness
and lightness that spread the whole body and make feel
relieved.
Example:
One
of my client stated the heaviness as: “I feel myself
having an operation”. Most patients cannot lift or can
move up slowly their arms when I suggest them to do this.
Physical
changes
-decrease
the pulse beat
-changing
reflexes
-changing
facial expression
-decrease
breathing, arrangement and deepening
-the body temperature can be increase or decrease with
suggestions but in normally it is cooler at the beginning
and warmer at the end of the session.
-decrease
the blood tension
-decrease
the heart beat and get ordered.
-
increase the oxygen need
-increase
the muscular loosening
All
the activities above are controlled by the autonomous system.
This system orders the activities which are not under our
control like heartbeat or breathing.
The
five senses in hypnosis
The
five senses works more sensitively in hypnosis. But some may
perceive the voice of hypnotist coming from faraway.
Some
feel cool, and pins and needless may be observed.
Examples:
- I
opened some pages in one session. And my client said
that the tick sound of the mouse makes him uncomfortable.
- Since
the sense of touch becomes sensitive, itch may appear.
- One
of my client noticed my gaping. Because the sense of
hearing works sympathetically, I was detected however I
tried to gap secretlyJ
Increase
the power of imagination
The
power of creating images, making intense and carrying on
increase in hypnosis(Hammond 1990). Moreover, images can be
living as hallucinations.
Someone
who is not there in real can be perceived by someone who
suggested opening his eyes in hypnosis. (Positive
hallucination). In
contrast, things which are not there can be seen
by suggestions.(negative hallucination).
Researches
show that imagination can be an important tool of therapy(porter
& sheikh).
In
hypnotherapies, images can be used;
- To
describe themselves by the help of symbols
- To
use the power of creativity in therapy
- In
personal improvements and to solve the problems.
Changes
in memorial process
Nerve
system can record everything. For this reason, the childhood
can be imagined easily. This is called as (hypermnesia). But
everything may not be possible to remember. As Doç.Dr
Timuçin Oral says “ hypnosis does not
‘radiation’ people to the past.”
Avolitional
experiences may exist.
Avolitional
experiences are divided into two classes as physical and
memorial experiences.
-physical
experiences:
Physical
experiences are said to be the changes in the image of body.
-
“
I feel my body to become expand”
-
“
I feel my body shrinking”
-mental
experiences:
-
I
was lying on clouds
-
I
saw the light with each colors
-
I
was lying on an ocean
-
I
saw my father facing me.
These
mental and physical experiences may occur spontaneously.
These like experiences are not coincidental, they may be
meaningful.
Time
distortions
After
hypnosis, the firs thing I want from my client is guessing
the time without looking watch. In general, they can not
predict truly, because, time sensation is determined not by
comparing with external changes but internal life. Time
sensation gains the speed of interior life. Since the
interior life is slow, the time when they remained in
hypnosis is felt too little.
Talking
in hypnosis
Talking
is slowly, monotonous and paused.
Literality
in hypnosis
People
hypnotized tend to perform suggestions following the words
letter by letter.
Example
1:
When
I have to get up early for my important works, I have no
other solution except to hypnotize myself. Because my deep
sleeps, I can’t hear the alarm. In such situations, I set
up my interior alarm by hypnosis and then sleep. In one
night, I suggested myself as “you will be wake up early”
and slept. But, somehow, I couldn’t get out of the bed. My
mind waked definitely, moreover I was talking with my wife,
but my body flopped down. As a result, although I waked, I
couldn’t achieve getting out of the bed. I find the reason
after a while of thinking: my suggestion was “you will
wake up early”, but waking up and getting out of the bed
was two different things. I really woke up but I didn’t
want to get out of the bed. After that day I suggested
myself to jump out of the bed at 7.00. Then I jumped out of
the bed such immediately that my wife said “what’s
happened? Is there a burglar?”
Example
2:
The
person who was suggested to stay in bed during the whole
night because of sleeping problems did not get out of the
bed for WC needs, because he was suggested to remain in the
bed during the night.
Results:
We
can use all these symptoms of hypnosis for the following
purposes:
-
To
improve adjustment and cooperation with client.
-
To
use the hidden abilities in therapy and affect it, and to
bring to light the positive behaviors.
-
The
phenomena in the nature of hypnosis, explained above, can be
deepened by the hypnotist by using suggestions frequently.
The
changes observed during hypnosis may make us think it as
unconsciousness. Living these experiences consciously make
the patients emerged from hypnosis with pleasant confusion.
-
Different session of the same person might change
most of the experiences, because the systematic changes are
not observed in hypnosis.
Tuncay ÖZER
Psychologist
©Copyright
2001, 2004 Psk.Tuncay
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