Hmmmm, interesting. The programme that aired recently on BBC2 took a look at hypnotherapy. The main question on the mind and lips of it's presenter, Kathy Sykes, seemed to be "can I be hypnotised?"
Well, what does it mean to be hypnotised? The definition of hypnosis that I use and agree with is "The bypassing of the critical factor of the conscious mind and the establishment of acceptable selective thinking".
Your critical factor is the part of the mind that controls your common sense, it tells you the difference between sweet and sour, hot and cold etc. and also controls your ego, what is acceptable behaviour for you and what is not. It is quite usual to have run around on a beach naked when we were 2 or 3 years old, but most of us wouldn't do it at 22 or 23 years old.
When your critical factor is bypassed your subconscious mind, which is illogical and can't tell the difference between real and imagined events, takes charge.
Mother nature ensures that we will only do things that are acceptable for us to do, that is the "acceptable selective thinking" bit, and that also means that no-one can be "made" to do anything that is unacceptable to them. Advertisers are the biggest hypnotists on the planet but not all of us will buy every chocolate bar, washing powder or car that we see or hear being advertised.
If Kathy has ever cried when watching a weepy film or read a book for 20 minutes but then realised that 1 hour and 20 minutes had passed or if Kathy has ever daydreamed, then she was in a state of hypnosis. Common sense tells us that ET is a puppet but when our critical factor has nipped off for a quick cup of tea and a biscuit our subconscious mind believes that ET is real and that is why people cry when watching a weepy moment on the telly.
Common sense says that Eastenders is filmed in Borehamwood but thousands of people cried when they saw Nana Moon die on the TV because they were in a light state of hypnosis (advertisers take full advantage of this knowledge, why do you think the volume sometimes changes during advert breaks?).
The question that Kathy was asking was wrong. There is a world of difference between "can I be hypnotised" and "do I want to be hypnotised"?
Can Dave Sabat wear make up? Yes, it is physically possible.
Does Dave Sabat want to wear make up? No.
The rest of the programme showed some good things associated with hypnotherapy and some cringe worthy moments especially the hypnotherapist doing the smoking cessation session with the policeman.
I've said many times that us hypnotherapists are as different as chalk and cheese, as night and day, as are the techniques and methods that we use.
From a personal viewpoint I was disappointed to see the old fashioned 30 minute progressive relaxation techniques still being used and even more disappointed to notice that not one of the hypnotherapists did any form of test to see if the subject was indeed in a state of hypnosis. Relaxation is not hypnosis, hypnosis is not relaxation. Just because someone has their eyes closed does not mean that their critical factor has been bypassed.
I can't help but think that if Kathy Sykes had done a bit more homework on the simple question that she was asking herself, the programme would have taken a different direction.
As a clinical hypnotherapist, all I do is talk. That's it. I know what to say and when to say it, but all I do is talk. The power of words can be incredible.
Be happy,
Dave.
