Anyone been hypnotized?

I was, as a group, at a college function. The presenter had six or seven of us sit in chairs onstage, did his thing, then asked us to raise our arms above our head and stick our legs out in front of us. (in an L shape)

I was fully aware of what was going on and didn't think it was working until he brought up more people from the audience. We'd been holding our positions for about a minute when he had the newcomers do the same. They didn't last very long but those of us who were hypnotized lasted several minutes longer, until he told us to stop. I didn't think it was a big deal except I never felt fatigued. At all.

Were were really under? I don't know, but it seemed like it. Afterwards I just felt very relaxed.

Hi Dusty - I "supposedly" was hypnotized quite a few years ago and learned about self hypnosis at the same time. In my opinion, it's pretty much bunk. I really don't think a person who doesn't want to be hypnotized can be (regardless of all the images of swinging watches). The method used was basically a matter of deep relaxation and then counting backward until you supposedly were in a deep "trance" (at the count of 20). At that point the hypnotist was supposed to be able to implant ideas into the subconscious. And you could repeat the process on your own by the relaxation technique, backward counting, and listening to a tape. In my opinion, it didn't work and it never would work on me (for one because I am too curious). I'm not saying it might not work on others who are more receptive - but I wasn't. Puma

I took a self hypnosis class in college. I really wanted it to work. THe teacher hypnotized us, regressed us back to our childhood, and then asked us to come up to the board and write our names.

I was fully aware but I went through the motions anyway.

I felt like a fool, acting like a little boy, and then he pointed out that I had written my name in script, so I couldn't have been really hypnotized. I felt guilty, as though I had been trying to dupe him, but I was just following his instructions.

I've tried several times since then and have never been hypnotized. I really wish I could be, it's not a question of me trying to fight it. It just doesn't work for me.

Yeah, I've been hypnotized. A therapist I worked with is a follower of Erikson's philosophy on hypnosis.

I can give you more info, but essentially, it is guided relaxation. Imagery was used to enhance the experience and to make a safe place, mentally.

I was asked to communicate without my own self knowing, using finger signals. I have no idea what I might have said. I also was given a pen and some paper, and I had no idea what I was writing, except in answer to his questions. I had the impression I understood what was going on at the time, but with a very short memory of it--like flowing through like water.

A few months later, I had a dream where I was trying desperately to communicate, and I was a small child writing in the snow. I was either using my right hand to write, or my left hand but writing backwards. (I'm a leftie, actually.) When I told the therapist my dream, he pulled out all the papers I'd written on showing me writing mirror image. I was shocked, actually.

I have. On stage, at a comedy club. I remember what I was doing, but I just didn't care that I looked foolish. It felt almost like being intoxicated.

I worked at the club in college, and this hypnoist came several times. I'd be happy to tell you more about his "act" and the things that some people did. PM me if interested.

A friend tried to hypnotize me as part of his work on his doctorate in Psych. His voice was very compelling, very soothing, very deep and even. He told me to hold my hand in a certain way while he was putting me 'under'. And he had me right up to the point where he said, "You can no longer move your hand." I thought, "Oh, yeah?" and moved my hand. He wasn't able to get anywhere close to that level again with me... I guess I was too determined 'not' to be told what I could and couldn't do! But I remember how relaxing it was and how I wished I could have 'given in' to it - just for the rest.

Stage hypnosis is not the same as clinical hypnosis. Stage hypnosis is a form of entertainment usually done at parties or clubs. Many times the participants are buzzed or drunk and all have been pre-screened to determine which might be willing to "perform."

I often hypnotize myself using either prerecorded MP3's or my own scripts recorded on a regular tape recorder. It's basically boring (relaxing) the conscious mind to such a degree that the subconscious mind (which has no rational thought) can accept ideas without question, emotion or argument.

Do I remember? Not really. Usually it feels like 30 seconds have gone by when in fact 30 minutes have passed. And I feel as though I've slept for hours.
Did it work? Yes. But like anything else (writing for example), it takes practice and repetition. It's not instant, though a clinical hypno-therapist might have quicker results. Also, I wasn't trying to overcome a major issue or problem.

You reminded me of one of the funniest YouTube clips I've ever seen. There's no nudity, but be an adult before you go there, okay?

I've been hypnotised with a group of about 100 others. The sesson took about two hours but I don't remember any of it. When the hypnotists told us to wake up, I thought about ten minutes had passed until I looked at my watch.

I was hypnotized once in a large group with people who wanted to quit smoking. I felt aware the entire time and utterly relaxed. The suggestion was not that you would quit, but only that you would have no urge to smoke. We were warned at the end that we should simply except the fact that we no longer needed another cigarette, not test it out. Of course, I eventually became curious and broke the parting rule.

Another time a man I knew offered to hypnotize me again to quit, but it was impossible to relax. I think you need to know you are in a safe situation, to let go of your controls.

It's typical for you to feel very relaxed, and a bit detached.

I'm an erratic subject. It sometimes works on me, sometimes doesn't.

Medical hypnosis works - I've seen someone get their aorta patched with hypnosis as the only anaesthetic. The patient was calm. almost drifty, chatting with the MD who was doing the hypnosis, and reporting feeling "pressure" as the surgeon sliced him open, rummaged through his innards, patched the huge artery, and sewed everything back up. **added - the OR staff were all told how to act. If we had ruined the trance it would have been really bad! We were silent, mouths taped as a reminder to not say anything, working from hand signals, moving calmly, and there was some white noise playing to cover any clinks and rustling cloth - the only people talking were the patient and the hypnotist.

And, a few of the OBs habitually used hypnosis on the women in labor - I watched one of them take a frantic young woman he had never seen before and get her calm, comfortable and focused in about 5 minutes ... the guy was really good! She was brought in in mid-stage labor, no pre-natal care, and had heard nothing from the women around her but how agonizing the process would be.

I use it often on others, at a low level, for calming and pain control while I'm working with skiers with injuries. A "light trance" state is easy to place on someone else, especially if they are looking at you as the solution to their problems ... they want me to make them hurt less, so I do it. No formal declarations, no counting, it's all voice and attitude. Much like soothing a frightened horse.

My dad went to see a stage hypnotist once. At one point, the hypnotist told the audience that they were all feeling very cold - this is not people called up on stage, but the audience. Dad was sitting next to someone who was very clearly hypnotised at this point - and he felt cold on that side of his body, but not on the other.

Scott Adams (he of Dilbert fame) is a trained hypnotist. He's had some really interesting things to say about it on his blog - http://dilbertblog.typepad.com
Also really interesting is the book by Derren Brown - Tricks of the Mind

Tsu Dho Nimh said:

Medical hypnosis works - I've seen someone get their aorta patched with hypnosis as the only anaesthetic. The patient was calm. almost drifty, chatting with the MD who was doing the hypnosis, and reporting feeling "pressure" as the surgeon sliced him open, rummaged through his innards, patched the huge artery, and sewed everything back up. **added - the OR staff were all told how to act. If we had ruined the trance it would have been really bad! We were silent, mouths taped as a reminder to not say anything, working from hand signals, moving calmly, and there was some white noise playing to cover any clinks and rustling cloth - the only people talking were the patient and the hypnotist.

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Gyaaah! I don't care how little pain there is, if there's someone rooting around inside me, I don't want to know anything about it!

I've done this a few times for different conditions (got a shrink in the family who practices hypnotism on occasion), the one that worked the best was getting rid of planters warts on my foot that the dermatologist wanted to burn out, but I didn't want to go through it.

We did guided visuals and they disappeared pretty quickly. I also worked a bit with test taking anxiety in school and it helped me get a good night sleep. My brother when he was little got violently ill on airplanes, but was hypnotised and never suffered from it again.

I took most of the tools from it and practice more self-hypnosis when I'm feeling rough. From what I hear the science says that about 25% of the pop is highly hypnotizable and 25% cannot be hypnotized and the rest are in between. According to that study, you don' know until you try. I think it was in Scientific American

dud

i tried once. it was for weight loss after having a baby. the man was a doctor. he had a great rep. and i gladly paid up the 100$. but it didn't work. i kept fighting it--reciting spanish verb tables and english poetry. kind of like michael caine in the ipcress file. he finally said i was not a good subject. something about being a control freak. he gave me back my $. seemed miffed. on the drive home i ached in my neck and shoulders like i had been wrestling grizzlies---s6

First to Schwebb - a Joel Welden fan, eh?

Ok Dusty. I've been hypnotized and used it in my private practice (counseling) at times at a lesser level. Hypnotism (I'm gonna call it HY) is concentration coupled with relaxation. You can't make a person do what they would morally oppose. Like make a decent person kill. Someone gave percentages, but what I understand is that those who are highly suggestible make the best subjects. Those who are skeptics don't. An important ingredient is trusting the hypnotist. Better yet is wanting to please the hypnotist. My supervisor also studied under Erickson; he used to use me to demonstrate his techniques. I remembered everything. Or nearly. The first time he did this was in a group gathering (therapeutic, not social) and I was skeptical as he was putting me under, but I badly wanted it to work as a solution to anxiety. I figured nothing had happened but boy did I feel relaxed. The supervisor never had me "do" anything, except the arm raising thing, but talked in a meditative way about trusting myself and gaining self-confidence. A technique I used with clients as well.
Good luck.
Judi

I was hypnotized on stage back in college, over a decade ago, but I still remember it. The hypnotist said you can't be put under if you don't want to and you can't be forced to do anything you didn't want to do. As someone else here said, it was like being intoxicated (but without the negative side effects). I remember some of what we did but mostly that the effect was deep relaxation and giving up my inhibitions. It is about trust and you can pull yourself out at any time, or at least you feel that way.

At the end he said we would all feel relaxed and in about an hour wide awake.

An hour later, when I was trying to go to sleep, I was wide awake and fully alert as if I'd had a good night's sleep.

My girlfriend is a hypnotherapist and uses hypno anesthesia (controlling pain with hypnosis). She's hypnotized me several times, and it's kind of like daydreaming. I'm completely aware of everything going on around me, but time seems to fly by. An hour under hypnosis often feels like only a few minutes. And yes, it did work.

Hypnosis can't make you do anything unless you want it to. It makes things easier to do (stop smoking, lose weight, etc.), but you still have to work on it when you're not under hypnosis.

Have Fun,
Jeff