Hypnosis - Part One

A man with a curly black moustache waves a watch back and forth in front of your face. His voice is deep and he speaks slowly, as he repeats, "You are getting sleepy...very sleepy..." You struggle to stay awake, but eyes begin to close...

Hypnosis has long been associated with certain stereotypes, such as people going into a trance and being ordered to perform outlandish actions while under hypnosis. Truth be told, that's not how it works. Hypnosis used for therapeutic methods, known as hypnotherapy, does send a person into a trance, but people are not commanded to do anything out of the ordinary. Instead, therapists guide clients through their state of unconsciousness in order to influence change in their conscious lives. The practice has been credited with assisting athletes in reaching their physical goals, helping with insomnia, stress and anxiety, and even lessening the painful side effects of cancer treatments.

Dr. Robert Kupferman, a licensed clinical social worker and hypnotherapist in New York, said the misconceptions people possess about hypnotherapy are some of the reasons they are reluctant to pursue it. He credits many of these misunderstandings to the entertainment industry, referring to films where a sinister-looking man sends a young damsel into a trance, or comedic skits where someone is hypnotized and forced to perform ridiculous tasks.

"The skepticism has to do with the history of stage hypnosis," he said. "In the past, hypnosis has been used for entertainment. People think when they're hypnotized, they're going to cluck like a chicken. You can even find it on cruise ships.

For the average Jane (or Joe) hypnotherapy is used for relaxation and anxiety control in dentistry, to control certain medical conditions, smoking cessation, weight control and many others.

The next part of this series will explain how hypnosis works, and how it can help people.