Hypnosis - The Five States

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It is imperative that a hypnotist learn people reading and body language. This process involves interpreting and reading people's minute movements. As a hypnotist assists an individual or group to attain a desired state, he must recognize several subtle signs, at a glance. Watching for these changes actually must become second nature, as he hones his skills as a hypnotist.

In my series of articles on hypnosis, I am attempting to expose the value of hypnotic states and their purpose, by removing some of the fears and misconceptions that people have about hypnosis. Perhaps, then, it will be viewed in the positive and useful light for which I believe it was discovered.

In most cases, the hypnotist will narrow his field of non-verbal communication to only those signals that pertain to his concerns. A stage hypnotist may watch for signs of resistance in his subject and choose to send that individual back to his seat. He simply does not have the time to deal with resistance because "the show must go on." On the other hand, he might still be watching for those individuals who are displaying a natural tendency to go into a somnambulistic state, of which I will discuss, shortly.

The hypnotherapist takes his time to help an individual work through his fears, thus eliminating the resistance. Each hypnotist has his own style and, therefore, his own combination of signals he watches for during the hypnosis process. Whatever the reason a person seeks hypnosis they will either go through one of the five states of hypnosis or go directly to a particular state. It is the hypnotist's responsibility to recognize these hypnotic states and when the individual has achieved his desired level.

The state of hypnosis (depth of relaxation) depends on the purpose. If the individual is seeking physical relaxation, it is much different than the level needed to have dental work or surgery. This is why it is very important that the hypnotist recognizes these signs and states of hypnosis. However, it is not necessary for the person being hypnotized to recognize or to know how it works in order for these signs and states to take place.

The five states are: The waking state, light or superficial, somnambulism, coma, and hypnosis attached to sleep. When I speak of waking hypnosis, I must also mention waking suggestions and their differences. An example of waking suggestion would be when someone in the room yawns and others witness this and begin to do the same. The next thing you know, the room is full of people yawning.

With waking suggestion, there is no bypassing of the critical faculty (factor). Another example of waking suggestion would be when someone says, "please come in and have a seat over here." You are simply making a suggestion, statement, or request. As a reminder, the critical faculty is that part of your mind which passes judgment. When it is bypassed, the hypnotist is able to substitute selective thinking for conventional judgment making. Suggestions, which are received in a normal state of consciousness, and do not bypass the critical faculty, are called waking suggestions. Waking suggestions can be used to reassure and comfort someone who is in fear of something. For example, words given by a doctor to a patient, "you'll be all right" or "it's not that serious," will ease the person's fears and bring some instant relief.

Waking hypnosis involves bypassing the critical faculty and implanting selective thinking without the use of the trance state. It can be used when resistance to the trance state is encountered. It may also be used to produce short-term amnesia or anesthesia to save time and when seeking short-ranged results. To achieve waking hypnosis, the mind of the person being hypnotized must focus around a given idea and it must be a suggestion that the person desires.

To make this happen, the hypnotist or the person giving the suggestion must give the suggestion with complete confidence and leave no room for doubt. If the suggestion is given without absolute assurance and there is doubt, the suggestion will likely become ineffective. It is important the person hears the words he is anxious to hear. Those individuals' who suffer intense pain, face the prospect of pain, or those with emotional pain, all seek relief and are open to suggestions. This is much like a child believing that if his mother kisses his boo-boo, the hurt will go away.

In light or superficial hypnosis, physical relaxation is achieved. The person is more critical of suggestions given in this state, than in deeper states. Suggestions given in the light state do not reach as deep or last as long, as they do in the deeper trance states. A mild analgesia (absent of the sense of pain) can be achieved in the light state, whereas complete anesthesia can be achieved in the deeper states. The light state would barely scratch the surface of severe pain, as opposed to the individual experiencing relief for hours, days, weeks, and in some cases longer using a deeper state. After the individual has been physically relaxed (light state), then it might be time to go to a deeper state, by relaxing the mind.

This deeper state, where the body and mind are relaxed, is called somnambulism. Everyone goes through this somnambulistic state, everyday. It is that moment just before you fall asleep, when your mind becomes blank that best describes this deep state of hypnosis. There are a small percentage of people who spontaneously go directly into somnambulism. These individuals are great for the stage hypnotist, as well as themselves, when it comes to instantly using the benefits of this deep state of hypnosis.

The hypnotist must be skilled in the art of suggestion, in order to assist his subject in attaining the somnambulistic state. He must help the individual to remove any and all disturbing thoughts and fears. He also must make sure that the person is comfortable and not distracted in any way. The brain is ready for suggestions only when it is receiving messages of contentment. At this point, the individual welcomes the suggestions for deeper physical relaxation, as well as his mind.

Through the compounding of suggestions, the hypnotist can help the person to cause his mind to become blank for an instant or longer, concerning a specific thing, thereby bringing on amnesia. A common suggestion for bringing on amnesia is to suggest the individual will not remember numbers. Roughly, the technique follows this pattern: The person is relaxed, as explained above, and is given the suggestion the he will not remember numbers. The hypnotist then instructs the person to count backwards from 100 and relax more and more as he says each number. As he relaxes further and further with each number, the numbers fade from his mind. The mind becomes blank concerning numbers. This is referred to as numerical amnesia. Only when amnesia has been produced, do you have the somnambulistic state.

The hypnotist must be very cautious because, in this process, he can hit upon two entirely different states. These two states look alike from the outside however they are having two completely different effects on the inside of the person. This other state is called aphasia, or "artificial somnambulism." In this state, the person becomes unwilling to talk rather than having the inability to remember. The qualified hypnotist knows how to test for aphasia before he proceeds with the process. In the aphasia state, the person does not achieve anesthesia. Only in the true somnambulistic state, will he experience complete anesthesia.

Let me stress at this point, that somnambulism is "not a zombie-like" state. In fact, it has been estimated by various authorities on the subject of hypnosis, that awareness is increased up to two-thousand-percent above normal consciousness. This is one of the very reasons why it works so well in the use of pain relief, dental procedures, surgery, as well as, making behavioral changes. I have successfully used it in my clinical hypnotherapy practice for anger resolution, accelerated learning, fears, phobias, etc.

The fourth state of hypnosis, coma, is also very interesting in hypnotic phenomenon. Though hypnosis can be traced back to ancient times, it was an English surgeon by the name of James Esdaile who really rediscovered its great power. When Esdaile began working with hypnosis, it was called mesmerism. Before that, it went by several names, including magnetism. In 1845, before modern anesthesia, Esdaile went to India and set up his practice. He worked diligently to develop and perfect this state we now call the Esdaile or coma state, to alleviate the pain from surgery for his patients. He performed many types of surgeries, including deep abdominal surgery and amputations using the coma state of hypnosis to attain anesthesia. In those days, the mortality rate from surgery was fifty-percent. Esdaile reduced his to eight percent and the recovery time was greatly reduced.

During the coma state, the individual becomes completely anesthetized and completely immobilized. They also become catatonic and do not respond to requests made by the hypnotist to move their arms or legs, nor do they respond to the suggestion to open their eyes. Their extremities become wax-like. No matter the position you place them in, limbs included, they stay in that position, indefinitely. At no time is there any rigidity, and there is a perfect balance between the flexor and extensor muscles.

It took Esdaile an hour and a half or more, to get his patients into the coma state. Keep in mind, these people were motivated and wanted the hypnotic state to alleviate the pain that they were about to encounter. As this technique has been improved upon, this state can now be achieved in just minutes. This is not a sleep state the individual can hear everything that is taking place around him. If left alone, for an indefinite period of time, the person will rouse himself. When interviewed after being brought out of the coma (Esdaile) state, people were asked "Were you asleep?" They replied "No, I just did not want to be disturbed." Never, has anyone who has ever been in any state of hypnosis, not been roused.

In the true coma state, the person cannot take or respond to physical suggestions. They can, however, take mental suggestions, in which there is no physical movement. Although this state is used for surgery, it can be used for child birth, dysmenorrheal (painful menstruation) and even severe headaches. There are four signs of the coma state. When assisting someone to enter the coma state, the hypnotist must recognize each sign and test for that sign before going to the next.

These four signs are: First, anesthesia must be achieved and verified; the second is testing for large muscle group movement, such as an arm or leg; the third is a small muscle group as in an attempt to move the muscles around the eyes; the fourth is catatonia (the inability to move). These signs and tests must be performed in the correct order to assure this hypnotic state, referred to as coma. Not all hypnotists are versed in using the coma state. For those who are, they possess a skill that can be of great value to those who are allergic to drugs, or for some other reason, cannot take them and need this type of service.

Hypnosis, as it is attached to sleep, is the deepest level known at this time. Sleep and hypnosis are two entirely different states. When hypnosis is attached to sleep, the sleep changes to a hypnotic state. This dynamic state can be used to create the most powerful anesthesia, relieve the tension and anxiety as it pertains to surgery, and promote quick recovery. It can also be used for those individuals who suffer from traumatic events buried deeply below their conscious awareness. This state has been coined, "hypnosleep." There is a slowing down of the mental process during sleep, and in deep sleep, there seems to be an apparent loss of consciousness.

During hypnosis this does not occur, reflex actions remain normal. Although the vital signs can be affected and slowed down by suggestions, they can't be affected simultaneously, as it occurs in natural sleep. As the bodily functions slow during sleep, i.e., respiration slows and becomes deeper; blood pressure and heart slows as do the reflexes of the body. During hypnosis, there may be the slightest of slow down, but in most cases, those vitals are not affected. This does not mean that suggestions cannot be used to produce natural sleep, if the right techniques are used.

There are five steps to induce hypnosleep. The first is to make sure the person is soundly asleep by monitoring their respiration. The second, there must be a very gentle approach as the critical faculty is bypassed. This bypass must occur instantly. The third, ideomotor signals must be set in place. Fourth, proceed with the use of compounding suggestions. And fifth, remove the hypnotic state so the person can continue with his natural sleep.

Many years ago, when I was learning this technique, I practiced on my young son. When I felt we were in rapport, I would give him suggestions. Some of which I could observe the following morning. These suggestions included, shortly after he wakes in the morning, he would take out the trash, empty the dishwasher, etc. As I became more efficient, it was amazing to me how he would perform the suggested tasks, just as though they were a normal part of his morning routine (and, of course, they were not).

I was not always successful. One night, while pacing his breathing, I changed mine a little more and a little sooner than I should have. Immediately, from a very deep sleep, he sat straight up in the bed, looked at me with a startled glazed look in his eyes and promptly asked me "What's wrong?" In a calm voice, I said "Nothing, I was just saying good night to you." Since I was really concentrating on the procedure and not expecting that kind of reaction from him, I can tell you it startled the daylights out of me.

Learning the art of hypnosis is not a weekend event. It takes years of research and practice to attain the skills needed to use the many aspects of this dynamic, often misunderstood, method of healing. Its success, in the treatment of so many conditions, is often over-shadowed by modern medicine. And the quick-fix mind set in much of today's society relies on pills and a willingness to suffer from their side effects.

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Source by Dr. Ron Bailes