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Now that is a good question. The truth is, there is no unified theory as to what hypnosis is, but there is lots of scientific evidence regarding the experience (phenomenology) of hypnosis.

Hypnosis is sometimes used to refer to the act of guiding a person into a trance-like state. More properly, however, hypnosis is that trance-like state itself.

The term Hypnosis is an abbreviation of ‘Neurohypnosis’, a word coined by Scottish physician James Braid. ‘Hypnos’ (Latin ‘Somnus’) is the Ancient Greek god of sleep. However, hypnosis is not sleep. You are not ‘put under’.

Hypnosis is a common human experience that can be induced in many ways:

- Through relaxation.
- Through confusion.
- Through shock.
- Through repetitious exercises.
- Through visual or auditory stimuli (e.g. music, TV, or the hypnotic spinning wheel).

It is worth remembering that, in a therapeutic setting, hypnosis is almost always induced through relaxation.

Common, everyday experiences of trance include:

- Driving comfortably for a while and then, on completing your journey, realising that you can’t actually remember how you got there. During the bits you can’t remember, you were in hypnosis. (Amnesia is a classic ‘hypnotic phenomenon’).

- When watching TV and noticing (or not!) that the whole evening has just flown by. (Time distortion is a classic ‘hypnotic phenomenon’).

- Sustaining some kind of injury and only realising later that it is bleeding/there is pain. (Anesthesia and sensory deletion are also hypnotic phenomenon).

- Daydreaming about things that have happened in the past. This is age regression, another classic hypnotic phenomenon. Worrying about things in the future is also hypnosis (this being an example of ‘age progression’).

There are many more examples of everyday trance. Most of these examples can be categorised as a state of inner absorption.

There are several physical characteristics of hypnosis:

Muscular Relaxation. You can be in hypnosis without being relaxed, but relaxation of mind and body is commonly associated with being hypnotised. People sometimes fear hypnosis (e.g. “losing control”) but in fact hypnosis is usually a pleasant and deeply relaxing experience.

Catalepsy and Sensory Shifts. In hypnosis, people tend to make very few movements, and they often report a feeling of pleasant detachment from their body. Sometimes a person might feel comfortably heavy, or that they’re gently floating. An obvious exception to this would be stage hypnosis, where – whilst still in hypnotic trance – a person might jump around, sing, or even walk like a chicken*…

* It goes without saying that this never happens in a therapeutic setting – ever.

Eye Flutter and other signs. Sometimes, Rapid Eye Movement occurs in hypnosis, particularly if a person is involved an a process that requires a lot of visualisation. A person might swallow more, or the eyes might become a bit more watery (this is known as increased lacrimation). There is often a change in breathing (usually slowing down, but occasionally it can become shallower as a person becomes absorbed in the process). Also, the pulse often slows down as a person becomes more and more relaxed.

There are also many psychological characteristics of hypnosis:

Selective Attention. Our conscious awareness is limited in the number of things it can pay attention to at any one time. If I were to give you a list of 10 things to remember, you would begin to forget items on that list somewhere around the 7 – 9 items mark. However, it has been estimated that our senses are bombarded with over 2 million items of information every second. So, from this we can understand that a lot of information just stays in the background. It is handled unconsciously.

For example, notice that you are (probably) surrounded by walls. Notice how they look for a moment. They are doing an important job in stopping the roof from collapsing in your head, but you paid them no attention, because they’re not important right now. They stayed in the background.

(Although, now that we’re discussing them, they’re in the foreground, in a few moments time they’ll be back in the background).

This, then, is selective attention. When experiencing hypnosis a person usually lets the outside world fade into the background (they are still aware of the room they are in, the sound of the therapist’s voice, etc, it’s just that you become less aware, just like – a few moments ago – you were not really aware of the walls that surround you). Instead, the inside world – the one of your thoughts, feelings, emotions, become the main focus of attention.

Dissociation. This refers to a kind of separation of our conscious awareness and those mental processes that exist unconsciously, which basically means everything else. This is important because, when a person is experiencing hypnosis, often their consciousness will be paying attention to the process of being hypnotised (“Is this working? Am I doing it right? Is that supposed to be happening? This feels so relaxing!”)

However, whilst a person’s consciousness has been occupied with the details of whatever has been on its mind, they have also unconsciously listened to the suggestions and interventions spoken by the therapist. This means that the “unconscious mind” has searched for symbolic meaning, learning, and understanding in a way that is not conscious. This results in a deeper understanding of whatever it is they are hoping to change.

Throughout this blog I have referred to the “Conscious Mind” and the “Unconscious Mind”, often as being distinct entities. There are two important things to bear in mind whenever you encounter these ideas:

- They are not entities or objects or things, but processes that function through the dimension of time as a result of the dynamic nature of mental processing.

- The conscious/unconscious split of the ‘mind’ is just a model; a useful one for the purposes of both describing and doing hypnosis, but only a model nonetheless.

Increased Responsiveness to Suggestion. This is not to be confused with gullibility. Instead, understand that hypnosis increases the willingness a person might have to be guided by a therapeutic suggestion. Some people fear that they will lose control in hypnosis, but actually research shows that hypnosis amplifies a person’s ability to choose.

Under hypnosis, if I were to point out that “smoking is deadly, and you do have a choice to stop…” this would make sense to you unconsciously. If I were to try and say “And on the count of three you’ll jump out of the window/walk like a chicken/take off all your clothes” you’ll likely just come out of hypnosis and punch me on the nose, because those suggestions make no sense in a therapeutic setting.

To re-iterate: you cannot be made to do anything in hypnosis that isn’t a clear and valid option already. Hypnosis just allows you to have more choice.

Trance Logic. I am sure you have had the sort of dream where, although it was completely irrational, you just went along with it. For example I had a dream where I watched a person racing against rally cars in a go-kart (She was doing well too!) I thought to myself “It is impressive to win under such dangerous conditions” rather than “That would never happen” or “It would be impossible for her to win”).

In other words, I accepted the suggested reality of my dream, despite the fact that it was illogical and unrealistic. This trance logic occurs in hypnosis too, and it can offer a way into seeing difficult situations differently (for example being able to imagine and accept a life free of depression will teach a person just what they need to do to heal…)

So, to recap:

There are many different theories as to what hypnosis is. It is worth remembering that hypnosis is an everyday occurrence: driving, watching TV, spending time with a loved one (and the hours fly by) are all examples of hypnosis…

In a clinical therapeutic context, it is a relaxing, trance-like state. When experiencing this state, there are various physiological and psychological changes to a person’s being.

In this state, the unconscious mind gives symbolic meaning to words and ideas put to that person. This causes new insights, new strengths, new ways of behaving. Also, it is possible to harness ‘trance phenomena’ such as age-progression for therapeutic purposes.

So, what you hear in hypnosis can facilitate positive change because you learn something different – an idea, a way of being, a way of looking differently at the past, etc that gives you the choice to choose. If I just tell you “Stop overeating” the chances are you will ignore me. If I use hypnosis to embed the idea that “You can enjoy smaller portions just as much as larger ones, because this will mean that you’ll lose weight and feel happy…” your unconscious mind can think “That sounds like a good idea – lets go for it!” and this is how hypnosis can help.

To read more about what hypnosis can do, try the Why Hypnosis Works page.

To read about some common misconceptions of hypnosis (e.g. that it’s dangerous, or that it can make you reveal all of your secrets, etc) read my posts ‘Common misconceptions in hypnosis’ Part 1 and Part 2.

For a brief overview of ‘trance’, and how it plays a part in the difficult behaviours that can limit us, try this series of posts: What is trance, Unhelpful trances (Part 1), Unhelpful trances (Part 2).

For a brief overview of how our past experiences affect our present being consider these posts on memory and significant emotional events.

Adrian
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