Will Hypnosis Work for You?
First let's be clear about the question. "Can hypnosis work for you?" is answered with a resounding "yes". Scientific data show that hypnosis can be effective in alleviating pain, modifying behaviors, altering perceptions, and in a myriad of other ways. "Will hypnosis work for you?" is answered with a resounding "maybe".
There are several factors that will determine whether hypnosis will work for you. Let's begin with your beliefs and expectations. There is considerable experimental data verifying the role of belief and expectation in the success of hypnosis but first let me give you a little background.
Hypnosis was developed from the work of Franz Anton Mesmer, an eighteenth-century healer. Mesmer discovered what he called "mesmerism" (later to be called hypnosis) while experimenting with magnets in the treatment of a patient. He and his followers (called mesmerists) began inducing hypnosis by touching people with magnets. Later, Mesmer decided that the human body was itself a kind of magnet, capable of magnetizing inanimate objects and curing disease.
Surprisingly, the first set of studies validating the role of belief and expectation in the success of hypnosis was conducted in the eighteenth century by a French royal commission. This commission was established by Louis XVI and chaired by Benjamin Franklin, who was then the American ambassador to France. In one of these very simple experiments, the commissioners brought in a well-known mesmerist. They asked that mesmerist to "magnetize" a tree in Ben Franklin's garden. Then, a patient was brought in and led to a tree that was NOT magnetized. Nevertheless, the patient showed all of the usual signs of mesmerism. Later, while being escorted out of the garden, she was casually led under the magnetized tree. Not surprisingly, standing under this tree had no effect. The commission concluded that "the imagination is the true cause of the effects attributed to magnetism" (Tinterow, MM, 1970). Similar results were found in other tests. For example, drinking magnetized water had no effect if the person did not know that the water had been magnetized. Conversely, drinking regular water produced signs of mesmerism if the person was led to believe that it had been magnetized. This may have been the first placebo-controlled clinical trial in the history of medicine.
These simple single-person experiments established that the only necessary condition for being mesmerized was the person's belief that the conditions had been met to be hypnotized. These findings have been replicated repeatedly and consistently over the subsequent centuries.
The historical evidence is also supplemented by physical experimental data. Many studies have shown that people respond they way they expect to respond and that changing those expectations changes the way they respond. An important study was reported by Martin Orne in 1959. Orne told a group of students that people who are hypnotized show catalepsy (when the arm is lifted, it stays in the position in which it was placed) of the dominant arm. When these students were later hypnotized, most of them displayed dominant arm catalepsy. Few students who had not been told about the catalepsy prior to being hypnotized displayed catalepsy.
Individuals show a wide range of differences in their responsiveness to hypnotic suggestions. Some people respond to almost all suggestions, others to none. The vast majority of people fall between these extremes, responding to some suggestions and not to others.
Along with your beliefs and expectations, there is another important thing to consider when deciding whether hypnosis will be effective for you. That is personal responsibility - choice. When you are working with hypnosis, your subconscious mind will bring into the conscious mind, your issues and unhealthy habits. They are no longer unconscious. You are aware of what you are doing. For anyone who bites their nails or smokes, you know that you can smoke a cigarette or chew a nail down to the quick and not even know you are doing it. It is an unconscious habit. However, once you start using hypnosis to address your issues, you will no longer do it unconsciously.
For example, you are trying to lose weight but you're an emotional eater - you go for food when you are nervous, worried, etc. In the past, you would have eaten half a bag of chips before you even realized you were eating. You don't even remember going to the cupboard to get them let alone stuffing them in your mouth.
Fast forward. You've listened to the weight loss CD several times. You're upset because you just got some bad news so you head for the kitchen. Before you even open the cupboard door there is a little voice in your head that says, "You want to eat because you're upset. Not because you're hungry." Your subconscious has pointed out to you this habit because you asked it to. You asked by listening to the CD that planted the suggestions. Ah ha! Hypnosis does work! But wait. It's not over. Now you have a choice. Now you have to take action, take responsibility. Do you say "screw it" and take the chips anyway? Or do you take a couple of deep breaths and walk away from the kitchen? Your choice. Your responsibility. You ALWAYS have a choice. Hypnosis is not going to prevent you from opening the cupboard and eating the chips.
Hypnosis WILL bring your unconscious habits into your conscious mind so you can make a choice. Hypnosis WILL, continually help to reduce the intensity of your unhealthy desires and eventually eliminate them completely. Hypnosis is an extremely effective tool. But it is only a tool, not a magic pill. Just like a rake is an effective tool for gathering the autumn leaves that have fallen. Hypnosis is only effective if you use it, pay attention and take action.
Can hypnosis work for you? "Absolutely, yes". Will hypnosis work for you? Only you can answer that. What do you believe? Do you choose to allow it to help you? Do you choose to take action and responsibility for yourself? Always your choice.
Orne, M. T. "The Nature of Hypnosis: Artifact and Essence." Journal of Abnormal Psychology 58 (1959): 277-299.
Tinterow MM: Foundations of Hypnosis: From Mesmer to Freud. Springfield, Ill, Charles C Thomas, 1970
