It is the process of planting thoughts into the minds of others. They are also referred to for their work as mezmerizers.
Hypnosis can be classified into various categories, based on the type of inductions the hypnotist uses to do her work.
For instance, in our day, hypnotist and mesmerist Jon Finch sometimes uses hypnosis to apparently discern minds.
The hypnotist`s skills incorporate psychic suggestion, ideomotor action, catalepsy, visualization.
Hypnosis refers to a state of human consciousness that involves focused attention as well as a decrease in peripheral awareness, as well as an increased ability to react to suggestions. The term may be used to refer to an art, skill, or the process of creating hypnosis.
Theories of what happens during hypnosis fall into two groups. The theories of altered state view the hypnosis process as an altered mental state, also known as trance, marked by a level of awareness different from the ordinary conscious state. In contrast, `nonstate` theories see hypnosis as an act of imagination or playfulness.
The most well known
mesmerism
is to obtain dreams through suggestion, however other forms are often included.
In hypnosis, an individual is believed to have increased concentration and focus. Attention is narrowed down to the topic to be focused on The person who is hypnotized is believed to be in trance or sleep, with an increased capacity to respond to suggestions. A person might be able to experience partial amnesia, which allows them to forget items or completely forget past or present memories. They are also said to exhibit an increased response to suggestions, which could explain why the person might engage in activities that are not the normal behavior patterns.
Some experts believe that the susceptibility to hypnotics is linked to the personality characteristics. Highly hypnotizable people with psychotic, narcissistic, or Machiavellian personality characteristics may feel the hypnotic experience to be more like controlling another person rather than being in control. People who have an altruistic nature will be able to remember and take in suggestions more easily and respond to them willingly without feeling threatened.
Theories describing the hypnotized state explain it in various ways as a state that is characterized by high intensity and attentional focus as well as shifts in the brain`s activity or levels of awareness, or dissociation.
In popular culture the word “hypnosis” often brings to mind stereotypical portrayals of stage hypnosis involving spectacle-like transformations from the state of being awake into the state of trance, typically marked with the subject`s arm dropping hypnotically to their side, with the idea that they`re either drunk or asleep and a subsequent request that they perform some action. The stage hypnosis process is typically performed by an entertainer taking the role of the professional hypnotist. The subject`s compliance is enacted through putting them into a trance state where they`re willing to listen and accept the advice given to them.
The term “hypnosis” can be used to describe non-state phenomenon. It is also believed that the effects observed in hypnotic inductions are simply instances of classical conditioning and reactions learned through previous experiences in hypnosis. But, it is widely agreed upon in the field that during artificially induced states with high suggestibility (known as trance logic), there is an elevated level of language, logic, and cognitive functioning that behaves normally even though it could be highly focused. This paradoxical effect has been theorized as the result of two interconnected processes operating against each other: one becomes more focused, while the other process becoming less focused. The hypnotic subject has a diminished concentration, and simultaneously an increased ability to focus on the issues that are relevant to the suggestion of the hypnotist.
There are multiple theories about the actual process that takes place in the brain when someone is hypnotized. However, there is some consensus that it`s the result of a focus concentration and a state of altered consciousness.
People who are under hypnosis tend to have their attention restricted to the area of the brain that the voice of the hypnotist is emanating from. This leads to a heightened attentional processes, by shutting out all other sensory information. People who are hypnotized can concentrate intensely on the suggested behavior, but are still able to carry out tasks that aren`t in the normal patterns of behavior. The intense concentration causes an altered state of the brain.
