There is no specific way to explain hypnosis. The act of hypnotizing is different for each psychologist or hypnotist. That is why it is often said, there are as many way for hypnotizing as there are hypnotists. The role of hypnosis however has clearly been defined. This method has successfully been used to help war victims and people suffering from terrible shocks like natural disasters and family loss.
So what does hypnotizing involve and what exactly is it you may ask. Hypnosis typically involves an introduction to the procedure during which the subject is told that suggestions for imaginative experiences will be presented. The hypnotic induction is an extended initial suggestion for using one's imagination, and may contain further elaboration of the introduction. A hypnotic
procedure is used to encourage and evaluate responses to suggestions. When using hypnosis, one person (the subject) is guided by another (the hypnotist) to respond to suggestions for changes in subjective experience, alterations in perception, sensation, emotion, thought or behavior.
The concept of hypnotism is simple. When put into a trance it is widely believed that the doctors voice becomes the subjects inner voice. This is what gives them such control over the subject and why some people are so uneasy about this practice.
Hypnotizing has many applications. The best usage is made by psychologists treating people with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). People suffering from this usually have come out of a difficult situation and have had a nervous breakdown.
Another use is made in the field of dental care. The use of hypnosis in dentistry has a long history. Dealing with hypnodontia -- the use of hypnosis in dentistry -- has attested to the increasing sophistication of hypnotic procedures to deal with the special problems of the dental patient. Besides smoothing out dental procedures by way of its generalized anti-anxiety effects, it can increase overall patient comfort, make the dental experience acceptable and bearable, decrease resistance to future intervention, and through posthypnotic suggestions, encourage more rapid recovery.
Much research has been conducted into the nature and effects of hypnosis and suggestion, and hypnosis continues to be a popular (if somewhat peripheral) tool in contemporary psychological research. A number of different strands of hypnosis research are apparent: that which examines the 'state' of hypnosis itself, that which examines the effects and properties of suggestions in and out of hypnosis, and that which uses hypnotic suggestion as a tool to research other areas of psychological functioning. Over all, hypnotizing patients for cure has been used by many psychologists notable among them being Sigmund Freud. Who influenced western philosophy to a great deal. Even today, researchers continue exploring the possibilities of better things through hypnosis. |
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