Answers to Hypnosis Quiz

1) Hypnosis is a paranormal, supernatural phenomenon.

There is nothing further from the truth. Hypnosis is natural phenomena that occur in ordinary daily life in every person. It is built in innate trait. Just like your IQ (intelligence Quotient) is an innate trait, so is HQ (Hypnosis Quotient) (No correlation was found between Hypnosis and IQ). Every person may drift on and out of a state of hypnosis numerous times during the day. Hypnosis is not a force from the outside world and it is not subject to special powers of the hypnotist. As a matter of fact every person in this room had experience and is experiencing hypnosis in one form or another. You just don’t call it hypnosis Example A- You are driving a car (or commute on train). All of a sudden you realize that you were unaware of how you got there? Maybe you even missed your exit/station. This is a light form of Highway Hypnosis. Your conscious mind was preoccupied and you naturally shifted control to the subconscious mind. And the subconscious mind took care of you very safely.

Example B- You are watching TV. Your significant other says something to you. Even though you know someone is talking to you, it goes right over your head. And you did not comprehend a word. You were so focused on the TV that you were in a form of hypnosis. Now you have a good excuse why you don’t hear your spouse…

2) Hypnosis is sleep.

The name Hypnosis was coined by the British Dr. James Braid in the mid 19^th century. Although Hypnosis comes from the name of the Greek God of sleep, Hypnos, it is not sleep. A persons eyes may be closed but he is not unconscious. Hypnotized people are fully aware and responsive. They hear everything, they can talk and move. As a matter of fact, the senses become hyper acute and one can concentrate much better and become more aware. Dr. Braid recognized his mistake in naming this phenomenon and tried to change it to Mono-Ideaism. But the name Hypnosis stuck.

3) A hypnotized person has a weak willpower and surrenders

to the strong willed hypnotist.

False. Hypnotized people retain control and can terminate the hypnotic state at will. If it was true that the hypnotist has full control over a hypnotee, wouldn’t I be the richest man in the world. I would simply hypnotize people command them to bring me all their money and jewelry and to forget about it. The perfect crime. A hypnotist can do nothing to you nor have you do anything against your will. As a matter of fact people become stronger with hypnosis. In hypnosis you learn how to use your dormant power and take control over your life. You learn how to stop destructive behaviors. How to increase your focus and ignore distractions. How to become motivated to achieve your goals. Not only can people not be hypnotized against their will and without their cooperation, but also a session is totally useless if they do not, deep in their heart, desire the change. You have probably heard the adage: “You can lead a Horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink”. The hypnotist acts as a guide leading the client to self-improvement, but cannot force change. I had a client. Pregnant woman. She came to me for a stop smoking program. We were scheduled to have 3 sessions. However after the first session I canceled the rest and refunded her the money. It was obvious to both of us that the sessions would be a total waste of time and money. Why? Because she did not really want to quit smoking. She succumbed to family pressure. Her uncle paid for sessions. She came just to get them off her back. She could say, “You see nothing works”… So stop bothering me.

4) Hypnotized people involuntarily reveal secrets.

We get it from married couples. One wants to question their spouse who is hypnosis. Alas, one cannot be made to reveal something one does not want to disclose. To the contrary, one can lie, fabricate and confabulate when one is in hypnosis. More over, the confabulation is more convincing because it appears more real and believable to a person in hypnosis.

5) Relaxation is not necessary for hypnosis.

False. Hypnosis can be induced during vigorous physical activity and under emergency situations. A typical example is a tribal ceremonial “Trance Dance”. Being hypnotized may and often brings about profound relaxation but it is not a prerequisite.

6) People cannot get stuck in Hypnosis and never wake up.

True. Hypnosis is a natural state of mind. We naturally drift in and out of this state of mind in cycles, it is impossible to be stuck in one state. Left alone, a hypnotized person will emerge naturally into the awake state or drifts off to a natural sleep.

7) Hypnotized people do not remember what happened

during the session.

While most people remember everything , some experience spontaneous amnesia. The hypnotist may choose to instruct a person to forget in order to facilitate subconscious processing. With due time people will recall the details.

8) People of certain personality types are more likely to be hypnotized.

There was no correlation found between personality types and hypnotizability. Hypnotizability is a character trait all on it own. Some people are easier to hypnotize then others. This trait can be measured and qualified.

9) Hypnosis can enable people to perform impossible feats of

strength, endurance and sensory acuity.

False. Hypnosis can help people operate at their natural physiological limits but not exceed it. People cannot be turned into a flying superman. Hypnosis can help people achieve pick performance, develop their abilities both physical and mental.

10) Hypnosis is dangerous.

False. Hypnosis is no more dangerous intrinsically, then listening to a lecture. You hear things that you may or may not agree with. However, an unscrupulous hypnotist may try to develop a high level of rapport and trust with the client, and then use it to take advantage. A con man need not use hypnosis, but usually does incorporate the same principles of influence.

11) Responding to hypnosis is like responding to a placebo.

Hypnotic responsiveness is a trait that proved to be by far more effective then Placebo alone. Physiological tests of brain waves, heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, galvanic skin response etc. had shown that the responses are real and cannot be faked.

Professor Norman Cousins from UCLA was a champion of a relatively new science of “Psychoneuroimmunology”. This science explores the biochemical affects that thoughts, beliefs and emotions have on the physical body. Every new drug that is introduced into the market must prove that the drugs effectiveness is better then that of a Placebo. One group of patients are given the real drug and some are given a sugar pill. In every test of this kind it is shown that a certain number of the sugar pill group had the same reaction and improved health as the patients who were given the actual drug. The Placebo effect goes a step further in proving the power of our mind over our body. In an experiment one group of students were given a blue pill. They were told the pill is a barbituate (Tranquilizer) and what to expect including some side effects. Another group was given a red pill and was told it is an amphetamine (speed). Both groups experienced their relative expected outcome including the side affects. The kicker in this whole experiment is that the actual chemical composition of the pills was the opposite of what they were told. So the students who were given a tranquilizer experienced elevated energy and excitement and the group that was given amphetamines experienced a calming effect just like they expected to feel.

Dr. Bernie Siegel wrote many books. The most known is “Love Medicine and Miracles”. In that book Dr. Siegel lists scores of case studies and research showing that positive attitude, love and happiness manifest chemical changes in the body that help people overcome stress and recover from terminal diseases.

Mr. Write: The New York Times Science section published an article dated Oct. 13 1998. Mr. Write was a terminally ill patient at Long Beach Hospital in Ca. with tumors the size of oranges. He heard that scientists had discovered a hors serum Krebiozen that appeared to be effective against cancer. He demanded that his physician Dr. Phillip West administer that drug. To the doctors amazement Mr. Write was fast recovering. His tumors had melted like snowballs on a hot stove. Two month later Mr. Write read medical reports that the horse serum was a quack. He suffered an immediate relapse. His doctor however told him that they have developed a new and improved serum and injected him with saline water. Again the tumors melted away. Two month later Mr. Write a definitive report stating that Krebiozen was useless. He died two days later. That brings us to the Nocebo Effect (Voodoo Effect).

Belief in and expectation of negative outcomes tends to be a self fulfilling prophecy. Self inducing stress included.

A) Research found that women who believed that they were prone to heart disease were nearly four times as likely to die as women with similar risk factors who didn’t hold such fatalistic views.

B) In a study of Aspirin, one group of patients was warned of possible side effect of gastrointestinal problems. Another group was not advised. In the first group almost three times more patients experienced gastrointestinal problems then in the second group.

The relationship between stress and emotions is a two way street.

Just as stress can cause emotional chaos, our control over our emotions and reactions can counter the physical affects of stress. If we can create stress through the power of our brain alone, we can also use our brainpower to counter the effects of stress. Thoughts & feelings manifest in our body (Positive and Negative)

12) Only about 33% of all people are hypnotizable.

Actually only a small percentage of the population is not hypnotizable. Young children till the age of 6-7 and people with IQ lower then 70. They simply lack understanding and concentration and thus cannot follow instruction. Deeply emotionally disturbed people and paranoid schizophrenics. They distrust everyone and will not allow themselves to by hypnotized.

13) A person’s ability to enter the state of hypnosis depends

on the technique used and the skill of the hypnotist.

Neither. A persons responsiveness is ones own character trait that is not dependent on outside influences. A person can go into the hypnotic state by listening to a recorded induction that may have been recorded by someone who has absolutely no education or experience in hypnosis. The real issue is what is done with a person in the hypnotic state. A skilled Hypnotherapist can affect change and healing where as another may not.

14) How many hypnotists does it take to change a light bulb?

Only one. But the light bulb must want to change.

(People cannot be hypnotized and helped unless they want to).