Question: What is Hypnosis?

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Answer: Throughout history, hypnosis has always given people a sense of mystery.  Some people believe that hypnosis is a kind of black magic that controls people's minds and deprives them of their consciousness. Others believe that hypnosis only works for the weak-minded. In fact, hypnosis is just a tool to unleash the potential within a person. It allows the hypnotised person to communicate with their subconscious and improve their psychological state, achieving breakthroughs in everyday life.

At a recent online seminar held by the Royal Medical Society, we discussed the use of hypnosis as a means of helping clients with depression to overcome their condition. During the seminar, some scholars suggested that patients with depression may not be mentally prepared to relax in order to enter a hypnotic state, as they may have been in a heightened state of alertness for a prolonged period of time. At first, this argument sounds reasonable, as many people believe that the primary requirement for hypnosis is a relaxed state of mind. However, as we further explored the definition of hypnosis, we arrived at an interesting conclusion: Clients with depression (especially those who are also struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder) are actually the true masters of self-hypnosis.

Simply put, hypnosis is like experiencing a dream. As the subconscious mind becomes more receptive to hypnotic suggestions, the senses of the person undergoing hypnosis (or self-hypnosis) are more likely to be dominated by their inner world, temporarily disregarding the sensations of the real world.

Returning to the topic of clients with depression and PTSD, despite their loss of interest in things around them and their tendency to overlook details in life, once their pain is triggered, their traumatic experience is likely to be replayed in their minds to the finest details, causing the client to relive the pain all over again. Isn't this essentially a hypnotic state?

Some might ask: "Well, then isn't hypnosis very dangerous?"

In fact, hypnosis is but a natural state and has no positive or negative connotation. Whether it is positive or negative depends entirely on the psychological state of the person involved. For example, if you had a very pleasant dream last night and woke up this morning still savoring the experience, even being lost in that sweet feeling in the afternoon, how would you describe that as a form of self-hypnosis? Alternatively, if you have received recognition for your abilities in a certain area and your self-image is in an excellent state, and you are able to immediately return to a state of mental and physical excellence when needed (such as during a public speech), how would you feel about that?

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Question: Does Hypnotherapy Work?​

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Answer: Hypnotherapy, as the name suggests, involves inducing a hypnotic state and then conducting psychological or physical therapy. In fact, hypnosis has been recognized as a form of psychotherapy in Europe and the United States since the 1950s.

In recent years, both Harvard Medical School and Stanford University School of Medicine in the United States have conducted research on hypnotherapy and found that in addition to significant effects on phobias, low self-esteem, insomnia, sexual dysfunction, stress, smoking, colitis, headaches, and high blood pressure, hypnosis also appears to aid in the recovery of bone fracture patients. Researchers found that bone fracture patients who received hypnosis suggestions recovered about 30% faster than those who did not receive hypnosis suggestions. Although the study only covered a small number of cases, it has shown a potential correlation between the two. From a medical perspective, this is definitely a breakthrough.