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What about people who have surgery under hypnosis without anesthetic? Do they just really really want to believe in it, and ignore the fact they are being cut open?

There isn't too much of that going on but it does happen. There is a book called "Life and Times of an Irish Hypnotist" by Dr Jack Gibson which details a number of instances where this happened. Dr Gibson was a surgeon who at times was forced to do this in emergency situations since there was no time for anaesthetic preparations. However, there is a book published by Prometheus Publications and written by Robert Baker which explains how a "hypnotised" person can go through surgery and not feel anything. Alas, although I read the explanation and was convinced by it I can't remember what the bloody hell it said. All I can recall is that once you get into the body people don't feel anything anyway. It is cutting the body open in the first place when the pain comes. You should probably ignore me and read the book since I am sure I have it all wrong. The title of the book is "They Call it Hypnosis" and it is a highly sceptical book about the subject. It contends as I do that hypnosis is a load of old cobblers.

It is not that difficult to endure the pain of surgery. I have had three teeth removed and replaced with a bridge without anaesthetic because of damage to my gum in an accident. Because there was no choice (apart from general anaesthetic, which I will not have) I just had to grin and bear it. Not that difficult really. And Mark is right - the pain receptors are on the surface. Once you make the cut, there is no pain from what the surgeon does inside.

He is wrong about all Irish hypnotist not believing in hypnosis. I met one who does. But he does a third rate show. All good Irish hypnotists (and it is widely accepted that Ireland has produced probably the two best ever) believe that hypnosis is a load of cobblers. But we don't let our subjects know that.

Intriguing, so what is happening then when I stick someones hand to their head, for example?

One of two likely things. Either you've made them believe it is stuck, or they are pretending in order to save face (yours and/or theirs). Hypnotism is about compliance. As I think Anthony says, no one really knows why it works, but that doesn't stop us having fun with it.

I think it is a mixture of panic and confusion. Like seeing a troublesome event happening in front of you and freezing up not knowing what to do. But if you calm down for a second you know what to do and can take action. That happens quite frequently but you don't have to be "hypnotised" for it to occur.
The hand is stuck to the head because of the distraction of the hypnotist talking. The human mind cannot concentrate on two things at once. If you are listening to the hypnotist it is difficult to concentrate on the simple action of taking your hand away. He is telling you one thing and your own mind is telling you another but your own mind isn't getting the message to you because of the distraction. If the guy would just shut up there would be no problem.

Social compliance is part of the operator/subject relationship but I really do not believe it is the entire reason that people go along with this daft stuff.There is a bit more to it than that.

I am now full of mischevious curiousity about the Irish hypnotist that actually is silly enough to believe in it and has a bad show. It must be someone new who has just sprung up since I left the country. I must say that Ireland is a good place to be a stage hypnotist because of the complete lack of restrictions that are the bane of British hypnotists.

Ted wrote:Either you've made them believe it is stuck

Is that not hypnosis then?

I think I'm confused.

mark lewis wrote:The hand is stuck to the head because of the distraction of the hypnotist talking. The human mind cannot concentrate on two things at once. If you are listening to the hypnotist it is difficult to concentrate on the simple action of taking your hand away. He is telling you one thing and your own mind is telling you another but your own mind isn't getting the message to you because of the distraction. If the guy would just shut up there would be no problem.

Agreed, to an extent, if you tell someone to roll their eyes back in their head and open their eyes, they'll find them locked. But I've made people forget things, I've seen videos of Anthony making people think they're great big liars, etc. The hypnotist stops talking and simply asks questions to see the reaction, no leading - so there's no "you can't do this can you?" and still they comply.

I'm genuinely interested in the theory that 'hypnosis doesn't exist'. There is definitely something at play here, and I think whatever that is I'm calling hypnosis, even if it's not. Is that what's confusing me?

We can't call it, 'you pretend it works and I'll pretend it works to save any embarrassment!' so I guess we had best call it hypnosis and agree (for the greater good) that is exists.

Alec

I would prefer to call it self delusion but if you insist on calling it "hypnosis" at least use inverted commas.

Alec Kobain wrote:We can't call it, 'you pretend it works and I'll pretend it works to save any embarrassment!' so I guess we had best call it hypnosis and agree (for the greater good) that is exists.

Alec

But that definitely isn't what's happening Alec. Hence my confusion.

Mark, the one hypnotist who believes over here is new since your time here. He doesn't do much, but he has a moderate therapy business. I won't say more, for fear of causing embarassment.

The lack of regulations here makes no difference, because if there were regulations we would ignore them. We are not a nation that believes in rules and laws. The rest of the world could learn from us.

Oh yes. I had forgotten about that. How silly of me.
I once asked a Dublin taxi driver why nobody took any notice of law and order in Ireland. He blamed it on the evil British. I asked, "How so?" and he explained to me that when the Brits ruled Ireland there was great resentment against them and as a result nobody paid any attention to British laws and in fact broke them as much as possible. I protested, "What does that have to do with we British? That was decades ago. You have had your own country for the last 70 years. The British left 70 years ago. How can you blame all the lax law enforcement nowadays on the British?" He replied, "Ah well, we just got into the habit of it and carried on where we left off"
Logic is not an Irish trait I am afraid.
The same taxi driver told me that the solution to the troubles in Northern Ireland was very simple. He said that the United Kingdom should come under Irish rule and the problem would be solved. He stated, "We would consider the application most carefully and wouldn't necessarily reject it." The scary part is that I think he was serious. Come to think of it perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea.

I once read that the longer you stay in Ireland the more foreign it becomes. I found that to be perfectly true. The above is an example of why.

mark lewis wrote:I would prefer to call it self delusion but if you insist on calling it "hypnosis" at least use inverted commas.

You may call it what you like sir. I think you are getting caught up in the interpretation of hypnosis. No matter how it works, the act and result of the act is refered to as hypnosis.

I would explain in greater detail but I've just completed a 300 mile journey after a 12 hour shift at work so I really can't be bothered at the moment.

Alec (trainee hypnotist)

Alec my boy, you will never gain promotion if you have a "can't be bothered" attitude. And if you indulge in that silly "street hypnosis" while walking the beat your career will most certainly be done for. At the moment you are a mere "trainee hypnotist". I am a fully qualified one therefore if I say there should be inverted commas then there should be. My word really is gospel in these matters. You really need to purchase my DVD course on the subject either from me directly or from lybrary.com in order to progress in your studies. And the most important thing to realise in "hypnosis" is that is a load of bunkum and THAT is the reason for the inverted commas. Accuracy in writing is very important and I do hope your written reports at work are conducted with this in mind.