What happens if you get hypnotized

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Table of Contents. What Is Hypnosis? Intense Focus. Sensory Changes. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up.

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Alladin, A.. Cognitive hypnotherapy: a new vision and strategy for research and practice. The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis , 54 4 , Golabadi, M. Hypnotherapy in the treatment of opium addiction: a pilot study. Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal , 11 3 , Related Articles. What to Know About Alternative Therapies. We are in a self-induced trance whenever we are highly emotionally aroused in what is usually thought of as a negative way: anger, fury, hatred, fear, anxiety, worrying, depression, envy, greed, selfishness — all such emotions cut us off from our thinking brains and give us a locked-in, limited view of reality.

The same is true when we are in thrall to conditioned belief systems that we cannot see beyond, whether those of religions, cults or politics. We can be in a trance when using skills too. When driving, for instance, we can be totally unaware of passing landmarks or particular roads or even towns, because we have been doing so, in effect, on automatic. Becoming absorbed in creative activities such as cooking, gardening, writing, making art, music, poetry or pottery, singing and dancing put us in a trance, as can reading and studying.

Activities like singing and dancing are highly trance inducing, particularly when done in a group. Performing a sport or using professional skills well is also totally absorbing. This type of blissful trance, when we enter it, seems to function autonomously within us: we become the experience that we are creating.

Trance can also be induced, intentionally or otherwise, by drugs, shock, slow rituals, hypnotic language, unexpected touch, prayer, sexual activity, reflection, staring, being asked to recall particular memories, greed, changing breathing patterns — indeed, any stimulus that arouses strong emotion and, paradoxically, any form of deep relaxation that lowers emotional arousal.

The three most basic forms, which animals experience too, are dreaming, becoming highly emotional and learning — and none require hypnotic induction. The way a focused state of attention is generated can have a direct bearing on the quality, depth and length of trance. For example, one reason for building exquisitely beautiful cathedrals, mosques, temples and palaces was that people entering them were automatically put in a trance state of awe, which made them highly suggestible and more accepting of whatever teachings or instructions were imparted to them in those environments.

It is the most basic form of trance that develops in the womb when the foetus first starts manifesting REM rapid eye movement sleep. The eye movements are the visible sign of the activation of a specific brain circuit, known as ponto-genicula-occipital PGO waves. It was sleep research pioneer Michel Jouvet, now emeritus professor of experimental medicine at the University of Lyon, who had the extraordinary insight that it is during REM sleep that instincts are programmed into us from our genes.

We return to it every time we dream and, as the expectation fulfilment theory shows, this is what maintains the integrity of our instincts.

For dreams are metaphorical translations of emotionally arousing expectations not acted upon in the previous waking period. Dreams deactivate the emotional arousal, freeing the brain to respond afresh to each new day — thus maintaining the integrity of our instincts. In the human givens approach, we refer to trance as the REM state because of the clear physiological similarities with the state of REM sleep.

Deep trance, when induced by hypnosis, mirrors many aspects of REM sleep, such as imperviousness to outside sensory information, less sensitivity to pain, muscle paralysis, etc. In addition, aspects of how the REM state functions when we dream parallel methods used for inducing trance. Many hypnotherapists may use rhythmic movement to help generate trance for instance, making repetitive hand movements or getting people to stare at spinning optical illusions , which links back to the primitive fish brain that we evolved from.

Focusing attention mirrors absorption in a dream. Another similarity is in the orientation of attention: making a loud noise or sudden movement can put a person into trance, as that instantly captures their attention and involves electrical brain activity known as the orientation response — the same PGO waves as seen in REM sleep.

When we first start to dream, the orientation response fires furiously. The expectation fulfilment theory of dreams explains that this is the mechanism for alerting the brain to the presence of unexpressed emotional arousals that need discharging in a dream. There are yet more similarities. The deep relaxation, which psychotherapists use as an induction into trance, parallels what happens as we start to fall asleep.

As we know, metaphor is extremely powerful in therapy, when given to a person in trance; and dreams are metaphors. Research has shown that the same brain pathways are active in both circumstances. In addition to this, phenomena that can be induced in trance are also spontaneously experienced in dreaming, such as amnesia for the dream , anaesthesia and analgesia, body illusions, catalepsy, dissociation and time distortion.

Just as hypnosis is not the trance, however, so the REM state is not the dream. It is, in effect, the theatre where the dream takes place. The REM state, then, is active in all types of trance. It is active. It is involved in programming innate and learned knowledge — all kinds of learning, academic or otherwise including therapy, conditioning and indoctrination — and also when we daydream and solve problems.

When we are being traumatised, the REM state is the medium through which the traumatic event is captured by the brain and becomes a learned part of the survival templates. Depending on our level of relaxation, concentration, or stimulation, brain wave activity changes and can be measured by neuroscientists using devices like Electroencephalography EEG machines. Brainwaves are usually categorized into the following 4 states:. This is the state where our brain is chatting away at us about everything.

As grown-ups with jobs and responsibilities, we have to live a good amount of our lives in this brainwave state but if we overdo it, it leads to stress and anxiety. This state affects the body and the mind in very positive ways: reducing stress and pain, and increasing happiness. Theta brain waves are mostly present during REM sleep. You can have some awareness of your surroundings and your body may still move and twitch, but you are generally still.

This is the state in which we dream. This is the state where we are completely still and heavy, sleeping with no dreams. The body releases several hormones in this state, and this is where most of our physiological growth and repair takes place.

If they do, they would actually come before Beta as being very high frequency. Gamma waves are said to produce the highest level of information processing , visual processing, and hyper-alertness. It has been suggested that this brain wave state is active during bursts of insight, like the type of experience that monks get during transcendental meditation. For the purposes of exploring what happens if you get hypnotized while high , we are going to focus on Alpha brainwaves — my preferred state for hypnosis.

The Alpha brainwave state is believed to be the most relaxed and creative state we can get to without falling asleep. When observing the hypnotized brain, we usually see a significant increase in Alpha brainwave activity. Wellness Institute Blog. Connecting With Different Parts of Your Brain After my clients and I talk about their fears and misunderstandings, I fill them in on the science of hypnosis and hypnotherapy.

In Yoga Class Have you ever noticed that, although you may be contorted into a twist or straining to balance on one foot, you feel perfectly at ease in yoga class? On Your Commute Your brain needs a lot of entertainment, so when it does something over and over again, it no longer pays attention to the details.

Watching TV TV is a guilty pleasure for some, and for many, a constant companion. Listening to Music Watch what happens when you put your earbuds on and crank up the volume on your favorite tunes. Praying and Chanting In many traditions, the act of worship involves the use of a repetitive prayer or mantra, chanting, or both. Provide your email to get these blogs in your inbox:. Most Popular:.

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