Conversational Hypnosis: Is Hypnotism Real?

Most people are pretty skeptical about hypnosis and if you tell them that conversational hypnosis can make significant changes to a persons psychology just through apparently normal conversation they think you're plain nuts. Personally I'm all for skepticism. The very basis of scientific exploration is that you come up with a theory and then try everything you can think of to disprove it. Logically, if you've exhausted all possibilities and the theory remains intact it is probably true.

We need skepticism and should be critical of ourselves and others. This is central to the processes of cognitive and social development. As Socrates said “all I know is that I know nothing.” Clearly we now have access to a body of scientific knowledge far beyond even Socrates hopes, but the basic principle that there is always much more to learn remains true. We know a lot but we certainly don't know everything. Most reasonable people would accept this as a fairly universal truth.

Similarly, most people assume that hypnosis is only real in that it has an apparent effect upon some people. Many attribute this apparent effectiveness to the gullibility or suggestibility of the person being hypnotized. However is hypnosis real in the empirical sense? Has it been scientifically proven to be an effective psychological intervention with quantifiable results?

There can be, in fact, few disciplines that have been so thoroughly examined as hypnosis. More scientific research and medical case study has been devoted to hypnotism and its effects than pretty much any other kind of psychological intervention. It's methods have been clinically proven time and time again. Hypnotism, and especially the combined form of conversational hypnosis, is based upon, not only thousands of years of recorded human history but also the most modern neurological and linguistic science.

So is hypnotism real and, if so how does it work? This is central to the question of it validity and is also the reason why so many people doubt it. The problem is that although science can prove the effect of hypnosis, as this can be seen and can be measured, science still does not fully understand why hypnosis works. There is indeed a gray area where science can not provide definitive answers. We can say that hypnotism is real but we can not say that we fully understand it. Some leading skeptics will leap upon this as “proof” that conversational hypnosis is just a scam.

This argument is nonsensical. As yet we know very little, in relative terms, about outer space. Similarly we are only just starting to explore some parts of our deepest oceans. However, no one in their right mind would suggest that outer space or ocean beds don't exists. We know that they do because we can prove it, it's just that we don't know everything about them. Our exploration of neuro linguistic science is continuing and every day we learn more and more about the brain functions that are controlled and effected by language. Science continues to theorize and explore because the potential benefits to all our lives are beyond measure. There is clearly a massive potential within our minds that is yet to be utilized and scientific research is trying to unlock it.

Understandably, because of the gaps in our knowledge, it is reasonable to ask “is hypnotism real?” However that does not mean that we don't know anything about hypnosis. We know that the conscious mind deals with every day function such as talking, driving, cooking etc. We also know that the subconscious stores all the information that we acquire when we learn to talk, drive or cook. Without this 'knowledge' our conscious mind would not be able to perform these tasks. Therefore changes made to the subconscious have a profound effect on our understanding and subsequent behavior.

Similarly we can also prove that the conscious mind can be so intensely focused on a task, object or conversation, that it leaves the subconscious relatively exposed. Given our understanding that language is the means by which we communicate and, more importantly from a hypnotic perspective, describe the internal images that enable us to think, it is clear that language effects us on a subconscious level. Conversational hypnosis is simply the use of language to effect change in the subconscious mind of subjects. The technique has been greatly refined by leading scientific research, such as that of Milton Erickson an Richard Bandler, and is now a clearly defined skill that can be learned by anyone interested enough to do so.