A Conversation About Hypnosis

(click here for a conversation about EMDR)

Question:  Doctor Arnett —
Dr. Stacey Arnett:  Please, call me Stacey.

Q:        Thank you.  So, can we start with hypnosis?
SA:      Sure, but since I also use EMDR in my practice, often with the same client, I can’t promise to keep them entirely separate during our conversation. 

Q:        OK, let’s start with the basics?  Just what is hypnosis?
SA:      Hypnosis is a trance state that’s characterized by relaxation, heightened imagination and extreme suggestibility.  It’s not really like sleep because you’re always alert.  It’s more like daydreaming, or when you “lose” yourself in a book or movie and  “wake up” to discover that hours have passed like minutes.  At the deepest level, trance feels a lot like the relaxed mental state we all pass through between waking and sleeping.

Q:        Can anyone be hypnotized?
SA:      Yes.  Of course, you have to want to be hypnotized; it can’t be done against your will.  It also helps if you believe that you can be hypnotized, although believing isn’t really necessary as long as you’re willing to relax and follow instructions.  I know that some people say they can’t be hypnotized, but I’ve never found that to be the case.  Most people who insist that they can’t haven’t allowed themselves the opportunity and so are making an assumption based on inexperience, and perhaps also some fear.  Or, they may have been hypnotized but misunderstood the experience; because they remained conscious in trance they assumed that hypnosis did not occur.

Q:        I’d like to come back to the fear of hypnosis in a minute.  But before we do, can you tell me, where does hypnosis come from?
SA:      Well, that’s a good question.  From everything we know, it seems to have been a capacity of man’s brain and mind from before recorded history.  The earliest hypnotists were probably shamans, magicians and priests who used the technique for healing and religious purposes.  Many centuries later an Austrian doctor, Franz Mesmer, “rediscovered” the technique, called it “mesmerism” and attributed its effects to “animal magnetism.”  Scientists of the day (including Benjamin Franklin) denounced Mesmer as a fraud.  Instead of “animal magnetism,” they declared that any therapeutic benefits — and they were many and undeniable — had to be due to the patient’s imagination.  But still no one was quite sure how.  Other scientists and doctors continued to study the use of techniques to relax, focus attention and foster peoples’ ability to access otherwise inaccessible bodily processes and mental abilities.  It’s said that even Freud got into the act, although he soon abandoned the technique because he disliked sharing credit with his patients - it’s a truism that all hypnosis is really self-hypnosis.

Q:        Just how does hypnosis work?
SA:      The short answer is, no one knows for sure.  There are, however, some theories supported by brain research.  We know that in trance, when the brain is calmed, it produces a distinctive EEG pattern called alpha waves.  These waves are associated with dreaming.  According to one theory, during the alpha state the conscious mind relaxes its vigilance, and when that happens there’s a more direct access opened to the unconscious mind.  Other brain studies that support this theory show that during hypnosis there’s a decrease of activity in the left hemisphere of the brain and an increase in the right hemisphere.  The left hemisphere is thought by many to be what’s been called the “logical control center,” responsible for reasoning and social convention (and much more, of course).  The right hemisphere is thought to be the source of imagination and creativity.  While this left brain/right brain concept is far too simple, a decrease in left hemisphere activity and an increase in right hemisphere activity would be consistent with the hypothesis that hypnosis subdues the conscious mind’s inhibitory influence and stimulates the imaginative, creative unconscious. 

Q:        But how - ?
SA:      If you will, let me say a bit more about the neurological process of hypnosis.  I’m quoting now from a recent article in the New York Times: “Recent brain studies of people who are susceptible to suggestion indicate that when they act on the suggestions their brains show profound changes in how they process information.  The suggestions … literally change what people see, hear, feel and believe to be true.” (“This Is Your Brain Under Hypnosis, Sandra Blakeslee, NY Times, Science Times Section, November 22, 2005)

Q:        “The Manchurian Candidate.”
SA:      Well, let’s stay away from melodrama, but I see your point. In that book and film the POWs were convinced through the power of “brainwashing” (suggestion reinforced by other methods that are never specified in either the book or film) that they are at a garden party rather in a prison camp. But I believe that’s an interesting science fiction, not a scientific fact.  While it’s a useful premise for a thriller, in fact no person who is unwilling could be hypnotized against his will, much less compelled through the power of suggestion to commit murder.  So let’s stick to the proven benign and healing uses of hypnosis, shall we?

Q:        OK.
SA:      What the researchers have found is that people who were hypnotized and given certain suggestions “saw” colors where there weren’t any, while others lost the ability to make decisions or looked at common English words and thought they were gibberish.

Q:        But how?
SA:      Scientists who study the process of cognition – thinking – have known for a long time that perceptions can be manipulated by expectations. When we see a flower, for example, the photons bouncing off of the flower enter the eye where they are turned into a pattern that is sent to the primary visual cortex.  There, the brain recognizes the rough shape of a flower.  The pattern is then sent on to a higher region – by higher we’re talking about brain function – where color is recognized, and then to a higher region where the flower’s specific identity is encoded – say, a rose or a tulip – along with other details such as scent.  The same stream of processing, from lower to higher regions, happens for all of our senses – hearing, smell, taste, touch.  Scientists call this “feed forward.” As raw sensory data moves to a part of the brain that creates a comprehensible, conscious impression, the data is moving, so to speak, from the bottom to the top.

Q:        OK, I get that. Any hypnosis influences this how?
SA       Before we get to the specifics, let’s remember something that most people just don’t know: while there’s a lot of traffic from the bottom to the top, there’s ten times as much coming from the top to the bottom. Literally, there are ten times as many nerve fibers carrying information down than there are carrying it up. These feedback circuits mean that what we see, hear, feel and believe is based on what scientists call “top down processing.”  What we see  is not always what we get because through experience the brain has built a framework that stands ready and able to interpret the raw information we receive.  If the “top” is convinced that something is true, then no matter what we actually see, the “bottom” will be overruled. So now we know more about why placebos work: even though there’s no chemical reason a sugar pill will make you feel better, if the “top” is convinced that it can then you will feel better.  Since hypnosis is designed to create powerful top-down processing, then it makes sense that suggestions can overcome reality as it is perceived.  To take an extreme example, why should hypnosis work to relieve pain? Because at the same time the body’s nerve cells are sending messages up the line saying “This really hurts!” after successful hypnosis the brain is sending ten times the number of messages down the line saying, for example, “These sensations feel like cool water.” Make sense?

 

Q:        It does. But I guess I thought that hypnosis was useful mostly just for relaxation.
SA:      “Just?” Let’s not dismiss the positive effects of relaxation.  These days we’re all so busy and stressed that anything that can help us relax contributes to health.  I mean true relaxation, of course.  Many activities that pass for relaxation — drugs and alcohol come to mind — may feel relaxing, but for the body they’re really not.
            But let me answer the question I think you’re still wondering about: how does hypnosis help? So let’s come at an answer another way.
We all live our lives consciously, or so we think.  When you have a problem you consciously think it over, consciously choose the words that you say, consciously try to remember a name or where you left your keys.  But in all these activities there’s another part of your mind, the unconscious, that’s helping you.  The unconscious is a vast reservoir of information that your conscious mind is unaware of.  We’ve all had the experience of failing to solve a problem, and then suddenly, “out of the blue,” the answer just appears.  Where did it come from?  Most scientists now accept that it came from the unconscious.  And then there are all the “automatic” activities we engage in every day, such as driving a car.  I don’t know about you, but when I first learned to drive it was white-knuckle time.  I had to think about everything I was doing — the accelerator, the brake, my Dad beside me, the traffic, the red light, the clutch — “clutch?”  I guess I’m showing my age.  Anyway, at first driving feels overwhelming.  But after you’d done it awhile everything that you once had to think about becomes “automatic.”  That’s your unconscious at work.  It learns and perfects all the behaviors of driving and now, except in rare situations, you hardly have to think about it anymore.

Q:         I think I see where you’re going. But could you be more explicit about what this has to do with hypnosis?
SA:      Sure.  When you’re hypnotized your conscious mind quiets down.  You don’t hear all the internal chatter we’re all used to — what the Buddhists call “monkey mind.”  In trance most people feel relaxed and uninhibited, presumably because the ceaseless thinking, worrying, wondering and planning the conscious mind is always engaged in gets tuned out.  In this state you are highly suggestible.  That is, your “top” is ready to  receive and accept a different interpretation of reality than your “bottom” perceives. So  when the hypnotist makes a suggestion, as long as the suggestion is physically safe and doesn’t violate your morality (doesn’t conflict with more powerful top down messages), you’ll probably embrace it completely.
The important point to emphasize here is that when you’re in a hypnotic trance, the hypnotist can communicate directly with your unconscious mind – or, if you prefer, with that “top” part of the mind that creates patterns against which to test incoming sensory data.  [sentence deleted]When your conscious mind is out of the way your unconscious mind, the seat of imagination and impulse, is suddenly more suggestible and also freer to become more creative.  Of course, we see this often in daily life —

Q:        With artists?
SA:      Artists, certainly, but also scientists and — well, lots of creative people seem to have more direct access to their unconscious, as well as a greater ability to listen to it and accept what it’s saying.

Q:        Even without being hypnotized?
SA:      Sure.  Although what artists describe as a state of “reverie” is probably a kind of self- induced light hypnotic trance.

Q:        So people can hypnotize themselves?
SA:      Yes, of course.

Q:        You say, “of course,” but is that usual? I mean, to hypnotize yourself intentionally?
SA:      It’s not only usual, it’s something desirable, at least in my practice.  In the first place, it’s important to remember that the hypnotist is only a facilitator.  All hypnosis is self-hypnosis.  But most people don’t realize that until after we’ve worked together for a time.  Part of my task is to teach my clients techniques of self-hypnosis so that they can facilitate their own healing trance.

Q:        I’m sorry to change the subject, but can we talk about stage hypnosis? And fear?  A lot of people seem to think that when they allow themselves to be hypnotized, they’re going to lose control and do things, or be made to do things that are immoral or dangerous.  Is that true?
SA:      No, it’s not.  There are a couple of things we have to keep in mind here.  First, remember that the unconscious mind keeps track of all the things we do automatically.  Well, one of the things we do automatically, without consciously thinking about it, is to keep ourselves clear of anything that will put us at risk of injury.  This means that if the hypnotist suggests that you jump off a cliff or in front of a car, you’ll refuse.  For most people, fear of injury also includes doing things that would violate their moral code — say, undressing in public. 

Q:        Or shooting people.  I’m thinking again about The Manchurian Candidate.
SA:      Exactly.  As I said, an entertaining movie, but unrealistic as far as hypnosis is concerned.  But let’s get back to the people on-stage.  For many of them, another kind of injury they’ll avoid is social embarrassment — for many, but not all.  That’s why stage hypnotists are so careful about who they select to go on stage.  Or, more accurately, who they allow to self-select.  People volunteer, remember.  And not that many, at least in the shows I’ve seen.  When a stage hypnotist asks for volunteers, a few hands go up right away but most members in the audience are saying to themselves, No way, not me.  It’s a common misconception that people volunteer to participate in stage hypnosis because they’re more easily hypnotized, more open to suggestion — and even that the hypnotist has used hypnosis to get them to volunteer.  The truth is, those folks who volunteer are less inhibited than the rest of us even before they’re hypnotized.  Or, if they seem reluctant to get up on stage, my guess is that they secretly wish that they could be more uninhibited.

Q:         You’re saying, then, that people who come to you for hypnosis don’t have to be afraid of losing control?
SA:      Absolutely.  Hypnosis is safe.  There always has to be trust between a client and a healer, whether that healer is a hypnotist or a doctor or a clergyman.  That’s why I always spend some time talking with people who come to see me, getting to know them and letting them get to know me. 
            What is different about hypnosis is the mythology that people bring to the experience. As I said before, science still can’t explain just how hypnosis works, and that creates an aura of mystery.  But the real myth is the one we’ve been discussing: that a hypnotist can take control of your mind and your body, and will then have the power to make you do things against your will.  This is the myth that makes people nervous.  And it’s not true.  Even when you’re in trance, no matter how deep that trance might be, no hypnotist has the power to make you do something if you don’t want to do it.

Q:        OK, does my conscious mind really know and express what I want?  Especially as far as healing is concerned?
SA:      Let’s start again with the basics.  We know that the unconscious mind regulates our bodily sensations.  For example, we may think we’re in pain, but that thought comes only after the sensation itself.  Our unconscious mind makes sure we jerk a hand away from a hot stove automatically, before our conscious mind formulates the thought, I got burned.  The same is true of emotions.  We feel sad long before we think, Gee, I’m sad.  Also, it’s important to remember that the unconscious mind makes no distinction between imagination and our perceptions in daily life.  When you’re in a hypnotic trance, the hypnotist can speak to your unconscious directly, without her words having to pass through the filter of your conscious mind — that is, through your doubts, fears, beliefs, inhibitions, convictions and the like.  Just by suggestions she can evoke, or trigger, both sensations and emotions.  For example, if she tells you that you’re tasting a chocolate milkshake, that’s what you’ll taste.  If she tells you you’re relaxed, you will be.

Q:        But how does this relate to healing? Not just getting people to relax; I accept that. But what about actually treating an illness?
SA:      The process is exactly the same.  Except that someone who comes to a hypnotist for help is probably more motivated than, say, someone who just wants to experience trance for the fun of it.  I emphasize this because motivation is always a large part of healing. 

Q:        Can you give me an example?  Something simple?
SA:      Sure.  Let’s talk about a common habit, nail biting.  It’s something probably everyone has done at one time or another, partly because you don’t need any tools like cigarettes or food.  If you’ll pardon the bad pun, fingernails are always at hand.  For most people, it’s a minor problem and they can stop by just deciding to, or by coating their fingernails with a bitter substance that they’ll taste whenever their fingers drift into their mouths.  But for a lot of people, adults as well as children, nail biting is a compulsive behavior that’s impossible to stop and does as much damage to self-esteem as to appearance.  A lot of women are so ashamed that they try to cover up the problem with false nails.  Men can’t do that.  Imagine worrying at a business meeting about shaking hands with nails chewed down to the quick and bloody cuticles.  And then there are the health risks that come from germs, yeast infections, spreading diseases of the mouth such as gingivitis, infected nails and, in extreme cases, nails that fall out.  And, finally, by negatively affecting self-esteem and causing additional stress, the visual damage done to a nail biter's image only amplifies the original cause and creates a feedback loop so that a person feels even more compelled.
Why do people bite their nails?  There are a number of theories: it’s an “oral fixation,” or it’s a symptom of stress and anxiety, or it’s  “just a habit.”  But whatever the cause, by the time someone considers hypnosis for the problem they’ve usually bitten their nails so often and for so long that now they find themselves gnawing without being aware that they’re doing it.  They may be OK when they’re monitoring themselves, but who can do that all the time?  It’s become an unconscious activity that’s no longer under the conscious mind’s control — if it was, stopping would be easy.

Q:        So, what do you do?
SA:      First, the client, you — you don’t mind if I pretend that you’re the client?

Q:        Go ahead.  I don’t bite now, but I used to.
SA:       During our first session, you and I will talk about hypnosis and discuss the problem, so I can get some idea about when it started, how long it’s been going on, how you feel about it, why you’ve decided to try hypnosis and how motivated you are.  Then I’ll ask you what suggestions you would like me to make while you’re in trance.  Positive suggestions work better than negative ones.  A suggestion that you’re going to do everything you can to keep your nails looking healthy and attractive will be more effective than suggesting “Don’t bite your nails.” 
Once we’ve agreed on our objectives, you’ll sit in a comfortable chair, either a recliner or a zero-gravity chair made especially for hypnosis.  When you’re ready, I’ll induce a trance — that is, I’ll facilitate as you induce your own trance. 

Q:        How do you do that? Induce a trance?
SA:      There are several methods of induction.  Perhaps the most universal is one most of experienced as infants: rocking.  That’s a bit more difficult to manage with adults.  The one you often see in the movies is called Fixed Gaze.  The hypnotherapist has the client focus intently on an object  — remember the proverbial swinging pocket watch? — as he speaks in a low, lulling tone.  That one’s not used much anymore because it doesn’t work with a lot of people.  The method I use is called Progressive Relaxation and Imagery.  By speaking in a quiet, soothing voice the hypnotherapist gradually brings on complete relaxation and focus and eases the client into hypnotic trance. Then, once you’re fully in trance —

Q:  How can you tell?
SA:  It’s usually pretty obvious.  Relaxation sets in, muscles loosen, breathing slows, speaking slows or even slurs a bit. 
So now that you’re in trance, let’s step back for a moment and consider what’s happening.  Your conscious mind has been lulled.  As a hypnotherapist, I now have direct access to your unconscious; that is, to that part of your mind you’re usually not aware of but that has the power to direct your hand to your mouth whenever your conscious mind is not on guard.

Q:        Then what?
SA:      Each situation is different, but I’ll give you a general idea of how a session might go.  In conversation, I’ll ask some questions to see if you have some unconscious awareness about why you’re biting your nails.  If you do, that will be helpful in formulating suggestions.  If there is no awareness, that’s OK, too.  It’s a question we can always come back to, and as you get more comfortable and trust the process, the answer may come.  But it’s not really necessary.  Even if you never know why you bite your nails, you can still stop biting them.  When you’re in trance, I’m able to speak directly to the unconscious mind that controls the habit.  I’ll guide you to find a place of safety; that is, a place in your memory or imagination where you always feel safe.  I’ll then make one or more suggestions that will encourage your unconscious to create circumstances in your conscious, daily life that will support what you want; that is, to become someone whose nails are healthy and beautiful.   

Q:  So you don’t just, like, order the unconscious to stop?
SA:  No.  We don’t “cast out” the habit.  This isn’t an exorcism.  What we do, together, is  engage the mind, the unconscious mind, to affect the body.  And, in a case where the nail biting is associated with trauma – I’ve never come across such a case, but it’s certainly possible to imagine – I would combine hypnosis with EMDR in order to release any locked energy that could be contributing to the behavior.

Q:  Does it work?
SA:  Almost always.  Sometimes in just one or two sessions, sometimes it takes longer.  And there doesn’t seem to be any correlation between the level of trance and success. Some people who don’t think they go into trance stop biting their nails immediately, and of the people who go into a deep trance, a few don’t ever stop. 

Q:  Does it last?
SA:  It does.  For some, relief lasts for years.  For others, months or, rarely, just a few weeks.  But the good news is, even if the habit resumes, hypnosis will continue to work. 

Q:        And hypnosis works the same way with physical illness?
SA:      Essentially.  It’s important to always remember that even though we often speak of the mind and the body separately, they are really just aspects of the same organism — us.  Mind and body are always connected and always interacting.  One affects the other.  If I have a physical illness, that has an effect on my mind, usually in the form of emotion and mood.  If I’m stressed or worried or fearful, sooner or later those mental states will manifest in my body in the form, say, of muscular tension or ulcers.  With physical illness we’re using hypnosis to affect the mind-body connection for healing.  It makes sense, then, that at this stage of our understanding, hypnosis is most effective with those physical illnesses where there is most clearly a mind-body connection.  However, as we become more sophisticated about the way the mind affects the body, and vice versa, we continually discover that hypnosis, alone or with conventional medical care, can help with physical illnesses in ways we didn’t anticipate, such as healing bones and burns and boosting the immune system. 
            Also, because any kind of illness or injury inevitably causes trauma – imagine a burn victim’s memory of fire, or the pain he feels when his wounds are being cleaned, or simply the sudden shock a woman feels when she’s informed she has breast cancer -  EMDR can also be very healing.

Q:        What about problems that are purely psychological? Do you handle those differently?
SA:      Not really.  As I’ve suggested, I don’t see any problem as purely physical or psychological; it’s all a continuum.  But you’re right, there are some problems that seem to be primarily psychological.  Phobias are a good example.  However, I deal with these in basically the same way, with discussion, induction, trance and suggestion.

Q:        And traditonal psychotherapy?
SA:      Sure; remember, both hypnosis and EMDR are always in the context of psychotherapy, which always involves some talking. 

Q:        What’s the difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy?
SA:      In my practice, probably not as much as in some.  There’s a technical distinction between the two that I find a bit arbitrary.  By definition, hypnosis is the use of trance for healing without psychotherapy.  Hypnotherapy is hypnosis in combination with psychotherapy.

Q:        In your opinion, what are the advantages of hypnosis and hypnotherapy?
SA:      I’ve been practicing psychotherapy for many years, and certainly believe it can be helpful in many situations.  However, as a psychotherapist, one of the things I’ve noticed is that people come to psychotherapy with a many problems that either aren’t helped by talk therapy, or that can be helped more quickly and directly by hypnosis.  Again, phobias are a good example.  In psychotherapy we try to work through the conscious mind to reach the unconscious and affect some change.  This usually takes quite awhile.  With hypnosis, we go directly to the unconscious and after a few sessions, the phobia is gone. 
            Also, there’s a considerable difference in cost.  While the fee per session may be about the same — where I live hypnosis costs a bit less — psychotherapy typically requires many more sessions.  Unfortunately, many insurance companies don’t cover psychological health services, and many of those that still do have drastically reduced their coverage.  If people are forced to pay a high co-payment, or an entire fee, out of pocket, then it seems to me that as a responsible health care provider I should offer whatever service will be the most effective for the cost.  In many cases, that will be hypnosis or hypnotherapy. 

Q:        Do you think being such an experienced pyschotherapist helps you as a hypnotherapist?
SA:      Actually, I do.  I know that some people would disagree with me, and I want to say that I know many fine hypnotists who have not been trained as psychotherapists.  However, in my practice I’ve found that my psychotherapy experience helps me in several important ways. 
First, with diagnosis.  Not everyone who wants hypnosis will benefit from it, and in some cases it could be harmful.  For example, say a man came asking for help to deal with his reclusiveness and suspicion of people.  This could be a case of social phobia, but it could also be paranoia.  With mental illnesses such as psychosis, bi-polar disorder and severe depression, to name just a few, hypnosis is not going to help, and it could be harmful.  My experience as a psychotherapist helps me decide who can benefit from hypnosis and who I should refer for other or additional treatment, usually medication. As it happens, I work closely with a psychiatrist who doesn’t do therapy but is an expert in psychopharmacology. When I see a client who I think needs medication either instead of or in support of psychotherapy, hypnosis and EMDR, I refer.
Second, my prior experience gives me insight into the nature of the client’s problem, and also helps me assess the client’s willingness and ability to do what is necessary to help me help him.  Remember, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis, and the ability and willingness to learn self-hypnosis is vital for long-term successful treatment.
Third, I’ve spent tens of thousands of hours talking and listening to people in a therapeutic setting.  I’ve trained myself to hear with a third ear; that is, with an intuition that’s been refined through many years of experience.  All this I find very useful when I’m helping a client identify his problem, and when we’re discussing his life and what suggestions might make it better. 
Finally, there are some people who seek hypnosis not to work with a specific problem, but to explore their lives in order to deal with change, make decisions and discover who they are.  With these clients psychotherapy is as important as hypnosis.

Q:        Are you talking about Magical Pathworking?
SA:      Yes.  Of course, I love working with people and helping them to help themselves to better physical health and emotional well being. As a therapist, however, I find it especially exciting and count it as a great privilege to combine deep hypnosis and powerful techniques of psychotherapy, such as active imagination, in order to assist those who wish to make their unconscious, conscious, and to further their quest toward wholeness and the Divine.

Q:        I see our time’s almost up.  I, for one, know more about hypnosis than I did two hours ago.  Anything else?
SA:      I don’t think so.  Good questions.

Q:        Thank you, Doctor — Stacey.  Perhaps we should mention that there’s a lot of specific information on your web page at rockymountainhypnosis.com.  As well as some pretty impressive testimonials.
SA:      And if someone wants to ask me questions, I’m always available by phone and e-mail.

Q:        Any last words?
SA:      Only this:  hypnosis is … well, it’s just amazing!