Susceptible to Hypnosis on Stage
Why Some People Seem More Susceptible to Hypnosis on Stage
Perhaps you’ve seen group hypnosis on stage or tried hypnosis in a private setting to overcome certain habits. If so, you may have wondered why some people appear to fall so quickly into hypnosis and why others can’t seem to or look as if they’re pretending. It may even be frustrating if you tried hypnosis to treat something once before and felt you couldn’t relax into it. After all, the potential benefits can be astounding. Hypnosis treatments can range from anxiety and stress issues, weight loss, and even to cancer treatment. To understand this, we must explore what hypnosis is and is not.
It’s Not Black Magic
Clinical hypnosis is not Voodoo or magic, but rather a state of extremely focused attention. Where relaxation is often part of aligning a subject into this altered state or “trance.” It is not merely putting a person to sleep and telling them what to do. The subject’s mind is being guided into such extreme concentration on what to focus, or not focus, on that all else seems to fall away. The relaxation can be helpful in reducing distracting mental noise. So, it may not actually be that some people are more susceptible to hypnosis, but rather than they’ve allowed themselves to focus on a more profound state of pure, undistracted concentration.
Awareness of Being Watched
In the Harvard Group Scale study of Hypnotic Susceptibility, it states that a person’s susceptibility to hypnosis can change at certain times and under different circumstances. So, if they’re particularly stressed or unable to concentrate, hypnosis can become more difficult. The good news is that in a quieter setting, or at a different time, a person can undergo hypnosis with ease. If you’ve attempted to be hypnotized before and found yourself unsuccessful in relaxing into it, or walked away thinking it was a hoax, it could be worth another shot. In the right setting, you might be able to revel in the benefits with a less scattered mind-frame. Participants in the study were aware of being directly observed. Being distracted by the awareness of others watching you can dilute the concentration you need to relax into a full hypnotic state.
Those Who Fake It during hypnosis on Stage
The Efficacy of the Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility also found that social interactions could alter assessments of hypnotic responsiveness. Group testing (or perhaps even in the case of stage hypnotism) can amplify peer pressure. The peer pressure created a sort of behavioral submission. This peer pressure could be a large part of the cause of certain participants pretending to fall into the “trance” state during state hypnotism. People often want to conform, so they go along with the event because they feel they must.
The downfall of this is perpetuating the idea that it’s all a show for skeptics. At certain times, some people simply can’t focus enough on the guidance into a hypnotic state. However, if you watch any true hypnosis session, even in group settings, you can often spot those who are pretending and those who truly experience the altered state of mind. Unclutter the mind, block out everything around you, and see if hypnosis on stage works for you. make sure you consider contacting Richard Barker for more CONTACT
Article by Jennifer Dawson
