Devin Whitworth

11\29\13
Final essay
Mr. Reed

Hypnosis
Hypnosis is defined as an altered state of consciousness characterized by
suggestibility and the feeling that ones actions are occurring involuntary. The main
point of hypnosis is leading people to expect that certain things will happen to them
that is outside their conscious.
To induce hypnosis, a hypnotist may ask a volunteer to sit quietly and focus
on some item (such as a spot on the wall) and then suggest to the person what
effects hypnosis will have (for example, Your eyelids are slowly closing or Your
arms are getting heavy). Most of these suggestions seem to cause the actions, just
thinking about their eyelids getting heavy, for instance, may make many people shut
their eyes or at least blink. Hypnosis, a series of suggested behavior that can change
some ones state of mind that makes them susceptible to very unusual suggestions,
such as acting like a dog down on all fours.
From watching hypnotism, you may think the only effect is making people do
strange tasks. In fact hypnosis has been touted as a cure for lost memory. The claim
that hypnosis helps people to unearth memories that they are not able to retrieve in

normal consciousness, however, seems to have surfaced because hypnotized people

often make up memories. One well-established effect is hypnotic analgesia, the
reduction of pain through hypnosis in people who are hypnotically susceptible. For
example, one study found that for pain induced in volunteers in the laboratory,
hypnosis was more effective then morphine or any of the other pain killers.