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What is Hypnosis
- Monika Benoit
- Feb 9, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 10, 2023
Hypnosis is one of the most effective modalities I have encountered for emotional and physical healing, personally and professionally. It allows people to tap into levels of consciousness that support lasting change. It is gentle enough to use as a means of daily relaxation, and powerful enough to ease the pain of childbirth - and in fact, hypnosis allowed me to enjoy a medication-free water birth for all three of my children - no drugs, no interventions and no doctors.
According to Psychology Today "Hypnosis is a mental state of highly focused concentration, diminished peripheral awareness, and heightened suggestibility. There are numerous techniques that experts employ for inducing such a state. Capitalizing on the power of suggestion, hypnosis is often used to help people relax, to diminish the sensation of pain, or to facilitate some desired behavioral change."
Being hypnotized feels like entering a relaxed, trance-like state. As brain wave frequencies are altered with the use of progressive body relaxation, guided visualization and counting, a person's mind becomes more receptive to affirmations and suggestions.
According to brain imaging scans, researchers have found differences in patterns of brain connectivity during hypnotic induction among different personality types. Hypnotized individuals show heightened co-activation between the executive control center in a part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, and a part of the prefrontal cortex that flags the importance (salience) of events.
Although many people may associate hypnosis with getting sleepy, or feeling like are about to fall asleep - the vast majority of individuals stay completely awake during hypnosis and can remember their experiences afterwards.
With the help of a trained professional, hypnosis can be used to reduce physical pain, treat autoimmune disease, neutralize phobias, and break bad habits, like smoking and overeating. Hypnosis can also help people heal the trauma at the root of stress, anxiety, fatigue, insomnia, mood fluctuations, and more.
While hypnosis feels very gentle and relaxing, it can be extremely powerful. It can be used instead of general anesthesia to lessen and eradicate pain, and reduce anxiety before and after surgery. It has also been used to assist with healing from medical conditions like epilepsy, neuralgia, rheumatism, and skin conditions.
Types of Hypnosis
There are a few different ways that hypnosis can be delivered:
Guided hypnosis: This form of hypnosis involves the use of tools such as guided visualization, progressive body relaxation and music to induce a hypnotic state.
Hypnotherapy: Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis in a therapeutic setting and is practiced by trained professionals to treat clinical conditions including depression, anxiety, PTSD and eating disorders.
Self-hypnosis: Self-hypnosis is a process that occurs when a person self-induces a hypnotic state. It is often used as a self-help tool for controlling pain or managing stress. Recorded audio tracks can be found on Youtube and are included in my signature coaching program The Ultimate Mind-Body-Soul Reset.
Brain Wave Frequencies
5 Types Of Brain Waves Frequencies: Gamma, Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta
It is important to know that all humans display five different types of electrical patterns or “brain waves” across the cortex. The brain waves can be observed with an EEG (or an “electroencephalograph”) – a tool that allows researchers to note brain wave patterns. Each brain wave has a purpose and helps serve us in optimal mental functioning. Hypnosis is identified within two (out of five) of these brain wave states: alpha and theta
Our brain’s ability to become flexible and/or transition through various brain wave frequencies plays a large role in how successful we are at managing stress, focusing on tasks, and getting a good night’s sleep. If one of the five types of brain waves is either overproduced and/or under produced in our brain, it can cause problems. For this reason, it is important to understand that there is no single brain wave that is “better” or more “optimal” than the others.
Each serves a purpose to help us cope with various situations – whether it is to help us process and learn new information or help us calm down after a long stressful day. The five brain waves in order of highest frequency to lowest are as follows: gamma, beta, alpha, theta, and delta.
When a certain brain wave is pointed out, we are actually implying that a particular brain wave is “dominant.” Throughout the day in your waking state, your EEG will display all 5 types of brain waves at the same time. However, one particular brain wave will be dominant depending on the state of consciousness that you are in.
For example, if you are awake, but have severe ADHD, you may have more alpha activity than beta. During sleep usually there are combinations of the slower frequencies, but even gamma has been found to be involved in rapid-eye movement (REM). Below is a brief description of each brainwave state (for more info read: Getting Started with Neurofeedback).
Gamma Waves Present during higher processing tasks as well as cognitive functioning. Gamma waves are vital for learning, memory & information processing. It is thought that the 40 Hz gamma wave is essential for the binding of our senses in regards to perception and are involved in learning new material. It has been found that individuals who are mentally challenged and have learning disabilities tend to have lower gamma activity than average.
Frequency range: 40 Hz to 100 Hz (Highest)
Too much: Anxiety, high arousal, stress
Too little: ADHD, depression, learning disabilities
Optimal: Binding senses, cognition, information processing, learning, perception, REM sleep
Increase gamma waves: Meditation
Beta Waves These are known as high frequency low amplitude brain waves that are commonly observed while we are awake. They are involved in conscious thought, logical thinking, and tend to have a stimulating affect. Having the right amount of beta waves allows us to focus and complete school or work-based tasks easily. Having too much beta may lead to us experiencing excessive stress and/or anxiety. The higher beta frequencies are associated with high levels of arousal. When you drink caffeine or have another stimulant, your beta activity will naturally increase. Think of these as being very fast brain waves that most people exhibit throughout the day in order to complete conscious tasks such as: critical thinking, writing, reading, and socialization.
Frequency range: 12 Hz to 40 Hz (High)
Too much: Adrenaline, anxiety, high arousal, inability to relax, stress
Too little: ADHD, daydreaming, depression, poor cognition
Optimal: Conscious focus, memory, problem solving
Increase beta waves: Coffee, energy drinks, stimulants
Alpha Waves This frequency range bridges the gap between our conscious thinking and subconscious mind. In other words, alpha is the frequency range between beta and theta. It helps us calm down when necessary and promotes feelings of deep relaxation. If we become stressed, a phenomenon called “alpha blocking” may occur which involves excessive beta activity and very little alpha. Essentially the beta waves “block” out the production of alpha because we become too aroused. The beginning stages of hypnosis bring your brain into an alpha state.
Frequency range: 8 Hz to 12 Hz (Moderate)
Too much: Daydreaming, inability to focus, too relaxed
Too little: Anxiety, high stress, insomnia, OCD
Optimal: Relaxation
Increase alpha waves: Breath work, meditation, mindfulness, light hypnosis, relaxant substances
Theta Waves This particular frequency range is involved in daydreaming, deep hypnosis and sleep. Theta waves are connected to us experiencing and feeling deep and raw emotions. Too much theta activity may make people prone to bouts of depression and may make them “highly suggestible” based on the fact that they are in a deeply relaxed, fully hypnotic state. Theta has its benefits of helping improve our intuition, creativity, and makes us feel more natural. It is also involved in restorative sleep. As long as theta isn’t produced in excess during our waking hours, it is a very helpful brain wave range. Deep hypnosis brings your brain into a theta state.
Frequency range: 4 Hz to 8 Hz (Slow)
Too much: ADHD, depression, hyperactivity, impulsivity, inattentiveness
Too little: Anxiety, poor emotional awareness, stress
Optimal: Creativity, emotional connection, intuition, relaxation
Increase theta waves: Deep hypnosis, certain types of meditation
Delta Waves
These are the slowest recorded brain waves in human beings. They are found most often in infants as well as young children. As we age, we tend to produce less delta even during deep sleep. They are associated with the deepest levels of relaxation and restorative, healing sleep. They have also been found to be involved in unconscious bodily functions such as regulating heart beat and digestion. Adequate production of delta waves helps us feel completely rejuvenated after we wake up from a good night’s sleep. If there is abnormal delta activity, an individual may experience learning disabilities or have difficulties maintaining conscious awareness (such as in cases of brain injuries).
Frequency range: 0 Hz to 4 Hz (Slowest)
Too much: Brain injuries, learning problems, inability to think, severe ADHD
Too little: Inability to rejuvenate body, inability to revitalize the brain, poor sleep
Optimal: Immune system improvement, natural healing, restorative/deep sleep
Increase delta waves: Sleep
Hypnosis Results
What does hypnosis feel like? Being under hypnosis feels different for everyone.
For some, there may be a sense of detachment and a comfortable state of mental and physical relaxation. Some people feel like they are tapping into different levels of consciousness. Many people remain fully aware and able to carry out conversations while under hypnosis (particularly if the practitioner suggests that this is possible during the induction phase of the session).
Researchers have proven that hypnosis can be used to dramatically alter perceptions. After instructing a hypnotized individual not to feel pain in their arm, the participant's arm was then placed in ice water. While non-hypnotized individuals had to remove their arm from the water after a few seconds due to the pain, the hypnotized individuals were able to leave their arms in the icy water for several minutes without experiencing pain.
History of Hypnosis
The use of hypnotic-like trance states dates back thousands of years, but hypnosis began to grow during the late 18th-century from the work of a physician named Franz Mesmer.
In the middle of the 19th century English physician James Braid studied the phenomenon and coined the terms hypnotism and hypnosis, after the Greek god of sleep, Hypnos.
Hypnotism emerged front and center in the field of psychology in the late 19th-century and was used by Jean-Martin Charcot to treat women experiencing what was then known as hysteria. This work influenced Freud and his early development of psychoanalysis.
The field of hypnosis has expanded since those early days. There are thousands of variations and types of methods/protocols that practitioners now use to induce the hypnotic state and to achieve impressive results. Hypnosis can be combined with a multitude of different complimentary therapies to produce specific therapeutic results. One of my personal favorites is the combination of emotional acupressure (EFT) with hypnosis.
Summary
Hypnosis can be thought of as a specific psychological state with special physiological characteristics. It usually feels very relaxing, and can look like the sleep to the outside observer. Hypnotized individuals operate within altered states of consciousness that are beneficial mentally, emotionally and even physically. There is commonly a degree of increased receptiveness and responsiveness, with altered perceptions that can ultimately have an effect on the external reality of the individual.
Overall, it is a highly effective healing and transformation tool that has been used for hundreds of years with great efficacy. My signature coaching program The Mind-Body-Soul Reset provides both recorded meditations and 1:1 hypnotherapy sessions as part of a protocol that heals unresolved trauma, reverses the symptoms of burnout, and reconnects you to your joy and passion in life. Find out more: https://www.monikabenoit.com/mindbodysoulreset
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