Appetite Control With Hypnosis
The word hypnosis immediately flashes to mind a picture of an enigmatic person popularized in televisions, comics and movies. This spooky figure waves a crystal ball or a pocket watch to and fro in front of the eyes and puts his hapless subject to half sleep or somewhat like a zombie like state. The hypnotized subject then obeys with alacrity everything the hypnotist says.
The actual hypnotism interestingly, is scarcely similar to this popular notion. Contradicting this false impression on several points, the modern study of hypnosis suggests that subjects in a hypnotic trance are not slaves, but in fact they are in control of themselves. Basically they are hyper attentive and not actually half asleep.
The phenomenon has still remained on the whole a mystery, even though the study and understanding of hypnosis has progressed much better than anticipated.
Let us try and understand what hypnosis is according to the modern study. Basically it's defined as a trance like state, which emulates sleep, but it's actually influenced by a person on a subject, and the subject accepts readily the suggestions made by the person. For more than 300 years people have been contemplating over hypnosis, but how it actually happens, science has yet to explain. When a person is under hypnosis we can see what he is doing but cannot understand why he is doing. This conundrum is basically represents a small part in a much bigger mystery which is how the human mind works.
The general characteristic of hypnosis is however understood by psychiatrists, and they have in place a somewhat kind of model on its working. They say that it is a trance like state which is characterized by relaxation, extreme suggestibility, and exaggerated imagination. Sleep as commonly thought, is not correctly associated with it, because during the time of hypnosis the subject is always alert. One can compare hypnosis to daydreaming, or to the kind of the feeling you get while being engrossed reading a book or watching a movie. During this time you are fully aware, but you do wade of most of the things surrounding you. The subject at hand occupies your complete attention, and to such an extent that you exclude everything around you.
Conventional studies of hypnosis suggest that you approach the requests made by the hypnotist as if they are your own ideas. If the hypnotist says that your arm is bruised and broken, you will sense a feel of pain and will not be able to move your arms freely. If he suggests that you are drunk, then you'll feel dizzy and will start to speak in drunken manner. Eventually, you're pretending what ever the hypnotist says.
But why does the subject do what ever the hypnotist suggests? In a normal state, you know exactly what is going through your (conscious) mind. You will be consciously thinking over a problem that you might be facing, or while speaking to someone you will be consciously choosing your words. But actually all these things are done by your subconscious mind which is working in accordance with your conscious mind, so basically your subconscious mind is doing all thinking it is somewhat like a director or technician behind the scene.
Hence it is suggested that hypnosis is a way of getting access to a person's subconscious mind. That explains why the subject follows everything the hypnotists says, even though it might be immoral. |