Alpha State The Sub Con Mind example essay topic

Hypnosis: a highly controversial topic in the medical field. Capable of changing a person's behavior, modifying daily routines, causing odd reactions to normal things, plus countless other phenomena's. Many people believe that the mystic of hypnosis does not exist and is just a simple stage routine used for entertainment. But, in this report, I will prove that on the stage, in the therapy office, and in the mass public, Hypnosis does exist and is capable of changing our behavior and that it is a very delicate process and not a power to be taken lightly. First I will start with a brief history of the art of Hypnosis and what it is.

Hypnosis is the term for a state of the body where the mind is subconsciously active but the conscious mind and the body are in a sleep like state (although many consider it sleep, it actually isn't) (Hunter). The change in these states is from 'Beta'; into 'Alpha'; . Beta and Alpha are different terms used to describe the brain waves given off during these states. When the subconscious (sub con) or 'Alpha'; mind is responding, different commands, or suggestions, can be implemented into the mind.

The sub con mind can then execute these imbedded commands without any intervening of the conscious mind and body (Hunter). Hypnosis was first confirmed to be real by a Swedish therapist named Anton Mesmer around 1775. After publishing papers describing the Alpha Mind State, he named the entire process 'Mesmerism'; . When a person was hypnotized, they were considered 'Mesmerized'; (Hyde 84). He would mesmerize them by swinging a watch in front of them while implementing the suggestions that send someone into a hypnotic sleep.

More on this will be explained later on. It wasn't until 1841 that a doctor name James Baird gave the process the name 'hypnotism'; . 'Prior to the time of Mesmer, any practice of hypnosis would have qualified... as witchcraft or black magic'; (Hyde 85). What most people don't understand is how hypnosis works. Hypnosis is, as defined before, communicating with the sub con mind. In order to do this, the conscious mind must be relaxed or confused to the point that it no longer responds to action.

In a sense, it shuts down, leaving way to the sub con mind, which unknown to us, is always active. It's what automatically controls our heart, thoughts, dreams, and millions of other things, without your personal intervention. You don't have think to make your heart beat. It happens automatically because of your sub con mind. In order to communicate with the sub con mind the hypnotist must put the conscious mind out by inducing a trance.

(Hypnotebook). A trance is the Alpha State of mind where the sub con mind can be communicated with. When inducing a trance, as before stated, the conscious mind must be relaxed or confused. By relaxing the mind to a great extent, it forgets to think and falls into a sleep like state (called the Delta State (Hunter).) By confusing it, it becomes overwhelmed by the situation and blanks out.

There are 6 confirmed ways to do this. These include Eye Fixation, Progressive Relaxation, Mental Confusion, Mental Misdirection, Loss of Equilibrium, and Shock to the Nervous System. Eye Fixation is the type used most in the 1800's and also the most popularized by Hollywood. This is where you stare at an object (such as a watch) and loose your awareness of the situation around you. Fact is, this method does not work on most people. Progressive Relaxation consists of extreme relaxation and confusing to the mind.

The hypnotist fills the patients mind with imaginative imagery and creates a false belief that they are somewhere other then the place there conscious body is actually residing in. Mental Confusion methods are used to confuse the mind with so many imaginary things to think about that it drifts off. Mental Misdirection combine imaginative imagery with a body movement caused by a physical touch by the hypnotist. This confuses the mind out of reality. Loss of Equilibrium is just that. It uses a rocking motion to cause the patient to gently loose balance and control of the situation.

This is implemented into the mind at birth when mothers use rockers to send crying babies into this state. Shock to the Nervous System is a fast induction that will surprise the mind into a short state of passivity where it will either fall into a hypnotic trance our will resist the shock and regain sense of what is happening (Hunter). These are only categories however. Hundreds of different scripts, or set of commands given to use one of the categories above to hypnotize the subject, falls into the categories because of the way they are used. By using these methods, a person becomes hypnotized. Once in the Alpha State the sub con mind will be open for suggestion.

(Hypnotebook). 'Suggestion'; is the term given to a command implemented into a person's sub con while they are in hypnosis. The mind will instantly accept this suggestion and command the body to respond to it, just as it would tell the heart to beat. If the hypnotist suggested that the person act like a chicken after the hypnotist snaps his fingers, the suggestion will instantly be registered as an involuntary reaction.

When the snap occurs, the sub con will instantly cause the body to start, well, acting like a chicken (Hypnotebook: Show Skits)! This, however, is not a way to make someone go out and kill someone. If the suggestion is implemented that the patient kills the person next to him, the sub con will not make the body do it. The body may come as far as raising a knife in the air, but they will not murder the person. Why? It's against a human's moral values not to do it.

This also goes for killing themselves, robbing a bank, or anything else you would not ever do. However, if your patient is, say, a very bad convict or the like and would have not second thoughts about killing someone, then the total opposite applies (Hyde). The best use of hypnosis to mankind is the power of suggestion. Take a simple situation into consideration. You are a hypnotist and have a patient who smokes.

No matter how hard they try the person's mind and body cannot accept the fact that they need to smoke. But this is a self-induced idea. The person has become so adjourned to smoking that they believe or feel they need to relax. But, by using hypnotic suggestion, a hypnotist can implement the fact that they do not need smoking for anything. It may take many sessions, but idea can be implemented they there body does not need the effects of smoking. It's really quite amazing.

It's been recorded that over eating, smoking, asthma, bad study habits, bed wetting, phobias, and hundreds of other things can be removed from a person's mind using hypnosis (Hyde 97-99, Hypnotebook). What's even more amazing is ideas of physical occurrences can be implemented. The suggestion that pain in one's arm can occur when they reach for a snack or a cigarette. But this can also be very dangerous... or entertaining. The suggestion of physical surrounding changes is often used in stage performance. When in a light trance, where a person can still respond but their sub con mind is still very under control.

If a stage hypnotist suggests to the person that they have just received a check for $10,000 and they must hide it, the person can go running into the crowd trying to find a hiding place for their imaginary check. Or, imagine a situation where someone has badly fractured there arm and no anesthetic is available, by using physical suggestion, their pain can be forgotten about by the conscious mind. So, physical suggestion can be very funny and helpful, but, if the same sort of suggestion is used in the wrong way, the results can be deadly. Imagine a stage hypnotist has taken his act into the direction of suggesting to a person that they are in places they aren't. This can be entertaining. If he suggests the person is frozen solid, their bodies will actually freeze in place because there is such a strong belief that this is really happening.

But the same situation can turn ugly with a change of words. If the hypnotist suggests that the person is trapped in a burning building, and goes along to describe the intense heat and inherent danger of the building collapsing in a flaming inferno, the person can become so overcome with fear that have a heart attack and die (Hyde 88). Just because you never visit a hypnotherapist or go to a stage hypnotist show does not protect you from hypnosis. Every time you watch television, you see commercials. And what do commercials tell you?

You nee their product. Their product is totally better then anybody else's. This can eventually build a sub con belief in what they are saying. This is true especially if imagery is used in the commercial that can overwhelm the mind (Hypnotebook). A perfect example of this is an occurrence that happened in Japan in December. During an episode of the hit cartoon Pokemon a flashing pattern of full-screen blue and red showed for about four seconds straight.

This caused such an overwhelming of the mind that it caused 700 people to have epileptic shock (seizures caused by mind overwhelming). 100 people also reported seeing people go into a trance like state cause by the Mental Confusion (remember?) like pattern (CNN. com) Another unwanted form of hypnosis can be accidental self-hypnosis (self-hypnosis is a whole other form of hypnosis that is like this kind only administered on one's self using special methods). If you always say, 'Oh... I'm terrible with names'; well then you will forget people's names. You create a belief that you cannot remember people's names, therefore, your sub con will intercept this and send it into your conscious mind (Hyde 93-95). I hope now you, the reader of the report of this report, have a better understanding of the many stages, steps, and uses of hypnosis.

You now grasp a better understanding of the phoneme that is hypnosis. You realize that on the stage, in the therapy office, and in the mass public, Hypnosis does exist and is capable of changing our behavior and that it is a very delicate process and not a power to be taken lightly.

Bibliography

Aaron's Hypnosis Notebook. Collected from Alt. Hypnosis, 1999 Human Change Technologies.
Hypnosis. com. ' ; Hypnosis. com. 1999.
web (March-April 1999) Hunter, Roy.
Official Hypnosis FAQ of the alt. hypnosis Newsgroup. ' ; C. Roy Hunter, M.S. 1999.
web (April 1999) Hyde, Margaret O.
Mysteries of the Mind. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1972.