Hypnosis

[danie]

In the past few months, I’ve read a couple books (Stir of Echoes by Matheson, and Last Words by Koryta) and watched a movie (Get Out) that had hypnosis as part of the plot.

I was wondering what you think about hypnosis. Have you ever been hypnotized or know someone who says he was? Does it really help people stop smoking, lose weight, be less anxious, etc? What other books do you like that dealt with hypnosis in some way? Can anyone be hypnotized if they want to be? It’s all very interesting to me.

This guy claims you can hypnotize yourself:
Try it and let me know if it works!

I know there is a great deal of information on hypnosis out there, but I’m more interested in people’s personal experiences.

Thank you!

 

[not_nadine]

Me. I have.

My sister was (is) a Registered Hypnotherapist. And I was her guinea pig, of course.
Nothing will make you do anything that you do not want to do. Or would morally do.

Suggestions. And it does work.

You will not bounce around like a chicken if told. That's for TV.

 

[danie]

Me. I have.

My sister was (is) a Registered Hypnotherapist. And I was her guinea pig, of course.
Nothing will make you do anything that you do not want to do. Or would morally do.

Suggestions. And it does work.

You will not bounce around like a chicken if told. That's for TV.

I remember your telling me that now. What suggestions did she give you?

 

[not_nadine]

Well, she did the smoking thing. Felt like my mouth tasted like an dirty ashtray.
But, it was more of an 'opening the mind' thing. Writing. Drawing. Seeing things in a different way.

 

[Mr Nobody]

Well, apparently I can't be hypnotised. It's been tried three times and has failed three times.
But then it also seems that I can see subliminal messages (or I'm at least consciously aware of them). Unlucky, advertisers.

 

[swiftdog2.0]

SwiftMom went to a hypnotist to stop smoking. That was about 30 years ago. She hasn’t smoked since.

 

[no bounce no play]

Hypnotism of any kind scares me I equate it with mind control

 

[doowopgirl]

Hypnotism of any kind scares me I equate it with mind control

I kind of feel the same way. Glad to hear a different view.

 

[GNTLGNT]

 

[staropeace]

It is suggestion...nothing more, really. It did not work for Sigmund Freud. It just was not reliable as a diagnostic tool.

 

[Out of Order]

Was hypnotized in high school. Still act like a chicken until this day. A wonder I have any friends at all, until they need a few eggs and fertilizer.........cluck!

 

[Doc Creed]

Hypnosis is central to the plot of Woody Allen's The Curse of the Jade Scorpion. It's not his funniest but I like it. Also, in The Prince of Tides, Dr. Lowenstein tries to help her patient's brother, Tom, remember certain painful and repressed memories in order to understand his family and his sister's recent suicide attempt. I think Lowenstein uses some form of hypnosis to accomplish this.

 

[danie]

Hypnosis is central to the plot of Woody Allen's The Curse of the Jade Scorpion. It's not his funniest but I like it. Also, in The Prince of Tides, Dr. Lowenstein tries to help her patient's brother, Tom, remember certain painful and repressed memories in order to understand his family and his sister's recent suicide attempt. I think Lowenstein uses some form of hypnosis to accomplish this.

I’d forgotten to mention, too, that hypnosis also played a role in another novel (and Netflix series) I’d recently read: Alias Grace by Atwood.

 

[DiO'Bolic]

I tried hypnosis once... Didn’t work, didn't achieve an altered state of consciousness. The hypnotist said I wasn’t right in the head.

 

[Sundrop]

I tried hypnosis once... Didn’t work, didn't achieve an altered state of consciousness. The hypnotist said I wasn’t right in the head.

Tell me something I didn't already know.......

 

[mal]

I was at my small town bar one night years ago when one of those travelling hypnotists was passing through and putting on a show. I was quite impressed as I knew most of the folks selected to be onstage (there were about 6 or 7) and I got to query them afterwards. They all had no memories of what they did. I then tried telling one of them that the hypnotist had them ask me for $50.00 and that I wanted it back now. It didn't work...

 

[VampireLily]

Yes, i was hypnotized several times when i was a teenager.... i can honestly say that Richard Matheson either had the 'sight' or knew someone who did. 'A Stir of Echoes'...both the book and the movie (with Kevin Bacon) are some of the closest things to the actual experience that i've ever read/watched. People that have the gift of sight shouldn't be put under because it tends to open doorways in your brain that are sometimes meant to remain shut. Once open, you become susceptible to many factors that you can no longer control, most of which are controlled poorly to begin with (especially as a kid). They were left dormant for a reason. I personally wish that i had never kicked that bee hive.

 

[Out of Order]

Yes, i was hypnotized several times when i was a teenager.... i can honestly say that Richard Matheson either had the 'sight' or knew someone who did. 'A Stir of Echoes'...both the book and the movie (with Kevin Bacon) are some of the closest things to the actual experience that i've ever read/watched. People that have the gift of sight shouldn't be put under because it tends to open doorways in your brain that are sometimes meant to remain shut. Once open, you become susceptible to many factors that you can no longer control, most of which are controlled poorly to begin with (especially as a kid). They were left dormant for a reason. I personally wish that i had never kicked that bee hive.

I thought all vampires could hypnotize their victims..............."Out of Order.......look deep into my eyes..........."

Oh my...........

 

[not_nadine]

Yes, i was hypnotized several times when i was a teenager.... i can honestly say that Richard Matheson either had the 'sight' or knew someone who did. 'A Stir of Echoes'...both the book and the movie (with Kevin Bacon) are some of the closest things to the actual experience that i've ever read/watched. People that have the gift of sight shouldn't be put under because it tends to open doorways in your brain that are sometimes meant to remain shut. Once open, you become susceptible to many factors that you can no longer control, most of which are controlled poorly to begin with (especially as a kid). They were left dormant for a reason. I personally wish that i had never kicked that bee hive.

Agree.

 

[Grandpa]

I kinda did a self-hypnosis thing once. It was back circa 1972, a presentation on yoga. No positions, just achieving relaxation. At the culmination, I was floating free, completely relaxed, felt disassociated from the body. He brought us out to a conscious state, and that's when I thought that this is what hypnosis must be like.

I've had friends who got hypnotized at a presentation I attended. Like mal, I talked to them afterwards. They did have a memory but felt it was normal at the time to do what they were doing. I remember that the hypnotist went through the group and now and then would tap someone on the shoulder, which meant they were to leave the stage. Apparently, the hypnotist could tell who was suggestible and who was not.

It's an interesting concept. I don't want to do it myself as part of a presentation, because I get anxious enough when I do well in front of people. On the private level, it's really, really tough for me to surrender personal control. However, I have gone back to the method of that yoga seminar from so long ago and used it to relax from time to time.