Joanna Hall has a fairly straightforward piece on hypnosis in the Sunday Telegraph of Oct. 2, 2005 . . . look into my eyes . . . although it does have a few misleading statements.

The most interesting part of the piece for me was – as all the miracle cure stuff in the essay is old news to me – is Hall’s account of overcoming her own phobia of spiders through accidental hypnosis when she was intently watching a documentary on using hypnosis to overcome arachnophobia and became so imagintively involved with the process that she actual found herself losing her own phobia along with the folks in the television program:

My first brush with hypnosis came by accident 15 years ago while intently watching a TV documentary about arachnophobia. The program featured a group of phobics, whose fears ranged from an uncomfortable level of anxiety on seeing a spider, to paralysing fear at the mere mention of the word. Part of the plan to desensitise the group included a session of hypnosis, after which they all came face-to-face with one of the scariest spiders on the planet – a very large tarantula. The results were impressive. Although some couldn’t go as far as touching the formidable arachnid, several actually picked it up in their hands. But all had overcome their fear. Several weeks later I had a close encounter with a large house spider. As it scurried across the floor, I expected that I’d have my usual reaction: a yelp and a sense of fear, followed by my fleeing the room in a mad panic. But to my surprise, I actually grabbed a newspaper – not to flatten the poor creature – but to shoo it out the door. The next day I reported the encounter to a friend interested in hypnosis. She suggested that I’d somehow been desensitised. The word jolted my memory of the TV program from a few weeks earlier, and raised the question: is it possible to be accidentally hypnotised? I recently asked the question of Ann Sheridan, a Sydney-based clinical hypnotherapist and her reply was: “Yes!” “You said you watched the program intently,” she said. “All hypnosis is an aware, relaxed, focused state, and it doesn’t matter if you have your eyes closed or open, as you did, watching TV.” “You were very focused and quite possibly took in everything that was said into your deeper mind – your subconscious mind. This, happily for you, has resulted in the same outcome as if you were the one being hypnotised.”

In essence, when one becomes so focused, intently and intensely imaginatively involved . . . that the critical factor of the conscious mind is so overwhelmingly involved then suggestions are able to enter unimpeded. This is part of what the definition of hypnosis I subscribe to is all about.

Some of the rest of the arcile is a bit too on the new agey side for me what with the Chopra quote being used out of context to imply otherworlds and spiritual essence that isn’t really exactly what hypnosis is about (albeit, it can be used in spiritual ways).

According to wellness guru Deepak Chopra, “The possibility of stepping into a higher plane is quite real for everyone. It requires no force or effort or sacrifice – it involves little more than changing our ideas about what is normal.” President of the Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists, Lyndall Briggs, says that hypnosis has been around for a long time under a variety of names. “Therapeutic suggestion and concentration has been known and utilised for millennia as a means of influencing human behaviour,” says Briggs. “The Celts and Greeks used it for both therapeutic and religious purposes, and 4000 years ago, the Egyptians’ sleep temples were dedicated to therapeutic trance states in which curative suggestions were given.” So what is hypnosis and how does it work? “Hypnosis is not sleep,” explains Sheridan. “When in hypnosis our minds are actually ‘super’ alert while our bodies are ‘super’ relaxed and comfortable. “Hypnosis allows access to the subconscious mind so that positive changes to our limiting beliefs, attitudes and negative habits can be made at a very deep level,” she says. Common reasons for people to visit a hypnotherapist range from overcoming emotional issues such as phobias and lack of self-esteem, to people with problems sleeping, or wanting to give up addictions. According to Sheridan, some people are more sensitive to hypnosis than others. “People who have a high intelligence are particularly good subjects, however most people can be hypnotised if they want to be,” she explains. “In fact, the only people who can’t be hypnotised are people who don’t want to be, or people of very low intelligence.” But there are some common myths surrounding hypnosis. Most people have seen entertainment hypnotherapy where a member of the audience is hypnotised and instructed to bark like a dog. I believe that the people who go on stage with a hypnotist go because they want to be there,” says Briggs. “Most of the stage hypnotists I have seen are well trained in what is called susceptibility tests, and they only select the people who are likely to respond well.” Sheridan agrees. “It’s easy for the public to get the impression that people are being forced to do something against their will,” she says. “And of course, nothing could be further from the truth.” Effective hypnosis doesn’t have to be carried out by a therapist in an office. Susie Rotch, a psychologist and psychotherapist based in Melbourne, practises hypnotherapy and teaches self-hypnosis. She has published a series of instructional “hypnobooks”, teaching people self-hypnosis using a journal and a “trance-inducing” DVD. Subjects range from improving self-esteem to coping with chronic pain using an instruction. “The function of good therapy in the end is to make each person their own therapist,” says Rotch. “The idea with self-hypnosis is to give people a resource that they can use in lots of ways, not just for the specific issue that they start with.” Self-hypnosis works much the same way as therapist-guided hypnosis – the power of the subconscious mind is harnessed by entering a super relaxed state, and resetting negative thought patterns. But it’s not all about problem-solving. “I think that self-hypnosis is a self-management strategy,” says Rotch. There are other practical benefits to using self-hypnosis. You can do it at your own pace in the privacy of your own home, and it’s also inexpensive. But Rotch says there are certain situations where self-hypnosis wouldn’t be recommended. “In particular, where we suspect there is past trauma,” she explains. Used correctly, hypnosis is an extremely effective, drug-free, safe, permanent and natural way of treating and healing whatever the mind creates. In William’s* case, it was chronic insomnia, which threatened his job and health. For almost five years, the 32-year-old Sydney computer expert couldn’t sleep properly. He blamed his insomnia on the stress of working long hours. William tried everything to help him sleep, even resorting to a few stiff drinks before bed and mild sleeping pills. But nothing worked. After a minor car accident, which William believes happened as a result of his permanent fatigue, he decided to see a hypnotherapist. “I was getting desperate,” he admits, “then a friend of mine used hypnosis to quit smoking.” After four sessions, William not only conquered his insomnia but discovered the root of his problem. Whenever he found himself under time pressure, his subconscious solved the problem by giving him the extra time he needed – time when he should have been sleeping. Today, William says that hypnosis has changed his life. “I’m not permanently tired,” he says. “And the only time I’m awake during night is when I’m watching Newcastle United playing in the English Premier League!”

Yes, stage hypnotists are very good at suggestibility tests . . . if you are interested in performance hypnosis, I teach it. However, that’s not all it’s about. It is certainly genuine experiential hypnosis.

As to hypnotherapy, if you are in Taipei and would like to book an appointment, feel free to take a look at my webpages then contact me.

All the best,
Brian