CWhat is hypnosis? What about self-hypnosis? Why can it be useful to resort to these forms of psychotherapy? There are many questions surrounding the topic, also because the topic is very intriguing. Thanks to films and TV series, we have a unclear idea of these two phenomena which, as the expert explains, they do not differ much from normal half-sleep, the condition that precedes actual falling asleep. Is that it can be of great help to deal with anxieties, stress but also to improve one’s performance.
Hypnosis and self-hypnosis: what are they?
Hypnosis comes from Greek hypnos and it means sleep. Not by chance the hypnotic condition is a transitory modification of the state of unconsciousness, very similar to half-sleep: «It is therefore one natural condition, which we all experience in that space that shortly precedes sleep, while we are about to fall asleep but are still awake and our attention gradually withdraws from the external world to turn inward” explains the doctor Mariella Dal Farra Psychologist, EMDR psychotherapist Specialized in Hypnotic Psychotherapy c/o AMISI – Italian Medical Association for the Study of Hypnosis.
It is at this moment that ideas, thoughts and sensations are recombined to find new solutions thanks to thought patterns that loosen, giving rise to freer and less linear processes: «You find yourself in one “semi-automatic” state, when actions are performed automatically. For example, it can happen while we are behind the wheel of the car and we travel along a road that we know by heart: we begin to follow our train of thought and, once we arrive at our destination, we realize that we do not have a clear memory of the route travelled. Or again, trance can also be experienced when we carry out intense physical activity and we enter the “flow” condition. It’s a complete immersion in the task with loss of subjective awarenessunderlying mind-body synchronization and characterized by an intrinsic sense of gratification” explains the expert.
In both cases what happens the mind oscillates between conscious and unconscious functions automatically: it’s as if, when he carries out an action he knows very well, he “lowers his guard” and no longer pays particular attention.
How to control unconscious states
This natural alternation between conscious and unconscious can also be controlled. In this case we are talking about hypnosis and is a recognized form of psychotherapy suitable for relieving and alleviate symptoms of anxiety and stress, physical pain and a general improvement in psychological well-being.
“It’s a scientifically proven form of psychotherapy implemented through the modulation of states of consciousness. The process was theorized by Milton H. Erickson, an American psychotherapist who recodified the parameters of use of hypnosis in contemporary clinical psychology: directive hypnosis, aimed solely at removing the symptom, is replaced by a more natural use of the trance condition, which becomes a way to access emotional resources and ideas contained in the unconscious.”
The slight modification of the state of consciousness, defined as trance, is carried out through standardized protocols: «The therapist speaks to the patient using a metaphorical language rich in images, as are dreams and supposedly also unconscious processing processes, delicately guiding the person towards a procedural mode of functioning. The patient does not have to do anything special, not even try to follow the therapist’s words, it will be his own unconscious to decide what can be useful or significant and what, instead, to leave out».
As the expert points out, there are no “right” ways to enter trance: everyone has their own that is discovered by undertaking this type of therapy. Changing one’s state of consciousness is in fact a form of learning and, as such, must be learned and mastered.
Hypnosis and self-hypnosis, what are the differences?
Hypnosis is a hetero-directed mechanism, i.e. initiated by an external person; the moment you begin to be familiar with the “anchors” that allow you to to enter trance in a self-sufficient way, you can resort to self-hypnosis.
«The so-called “inductive maneuvers”, both in the case of hetero-directed and self-induced hypnosis, can be of different types but almost always involve, in the start-up phase, concentrating on a point of fixation that may be outside of us , a mark on the plaster of the wall, an object on the desk, or inside as a mental image or a sentence. These “fixation points” become over time conditioned stimuli in the sense that, being associated with the hypnotic state, they facilitate the passage to a procedural mode of operation.”
Contraindications: yes or no?
At the moment, hypnosis does not have any particular contraindications: «The worst thing that can happen is that it doesn’t work, or which is not effective for the purposes of the set objectives. However, given the contiguity between hypnotic states and dissociative states, It is recommended to learn hypnosis from someone who has specific training on the subjector through courses at recognized schools or in sessions conducted by a psychotherapist” concludes the expert.
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