Is Hypnosis For Real? | Answers With Joe

Hypnosis has a long history, starting as a medical treatment, then becoming pure entertainment, and eventually becoming a psychological tool. But it's had its share of controversy. Today we're looking at the history of hypnosis, how hypnosis works, and the dark side of taking a peek at your subconscious mind.

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[duncanday]

I did my PhD on hypnosis. Specifically the false memory stuff you started talking about around 10' 30" into the video. I researched hypnotically obtained narratives with folks who believed they had been abducted by UFOs. I did this in the late '90s, when X files was popular. Fun stuff. It was a very interesting study. I switched direction in my career and left hypnosis behind professionally, but I think you did a great job representing our understanding of it here. Thanks.

[mienaikoe]

I was hypnotized on a stage once at my local state fair. I was 100% aware of what I was doing but also strangely calm. It was more of a "ah whatever I'll just play along". I've been to a few meditation sessions since then and they all use the same hypnosis technique to get into that calm, focused state. At some point, you realize it's a placebo, but you also realize that the placebo makes you feel good, so you stop worrying and learn to love the theta.

[LEDewey_MD]

Immediately was reminded of your previous "placebo effect" video. There is much overlap between hypnosis, placebo effect, power of suggestion, etc. The common thread is that the mind, indeed, is more malleable, adaptable, and powerful than most people are aware. The mistake often made is to believe these effects are "not REAL" - thereby trivializing or devaluing them - when in fact the effects are very real. Think about the phrase, "It's all in your head.". If your health is being adversely affected by your mind, then it is very real.

[MrCrankyface]

"You're feeling sleepy" Jokes on you mate, I'm always sleepy.

[dezwolfe]

This actually helped explain why I'm so hard to hypnotize (People have tried at entertainment events, and a therapist even tried a couple times, but it never worked). I have ADHD, which makes it very hard for me to filter out 'background noise' to the point that I'm actually oftentimes hyperaware of it.

[Soliton]

10 years ago I walked into a hypnotist to quit smoking, I closed my eyes, he gave me several instructions, I cried at possibly not seeing my daughters wedding, he told me to open my eyes and that I was a non-smoker. I have not even desired a cigarette since. He said I was a talented client. It certainly worked for me.

[miatra]

joe: look at my eyes
me: looks at his eyes and doesnt read anything else he says afterwards

you didnt think this through, huh joe?

[reesevirgin]

I never realized that when running a long distance race when I was a high schooler, that I was actually in a hypnotic state when I got in "the zone" (only aware of the steady state of breathing) and didn't feel actual pain or exhaustion until after the finish line. Thanks for the Mr. Greenjeans moment, as he would often say on Captain Kangaroo: "you learn something new everyday".

[heronimousbrapson]

"Hell" in German means "bright".

[atrunkfield]

Quit smoking after 25 years using the Allan Carr Easyway group method, the session finished with 15 minutes of hypnotherapy. Don’t know how it worked, but I’ve never had a craving since.

[xXSingMusiceverXx]

Thank you so so much that you mentioned pseudomemories and the dangers of it! This is a topic that is very dear to my heart as I am a psychology student with great interest in forensic psychology. Volbert (2011) wrote an article in which she collected studies and experiments about dissociation and repression and whether there is a different memory for traumatic experiences. Her conclusion was, that there, sorry, isn't good reliable evidence for it.

Please, if a therapist tries to convince you, that your depression of other psychological problem originates from traumatic events in early childhood and tries to "resurface" them with imaginary techniques, RUN.

[SixDasher]

There's a town in Norway called Hell. Has a nice city sign that freezes over in winter.

[VideoCallInShow]

Hypnotism is complete bunk. I could never be hypnotized, believe me, it's been tried.
Now if you will excuse me, I have a rabbit to buy.

[PrinceAllen]

I've been a part of the stage version and it wasn't so much that the hypnotist was controlling me but that it was a mega dose of "power of suggestion" it felt like when you get drunk and are more likely to do what your friend says because your inhibitions are down and you get that feel good crowd energy a performer would get.

[wk]

Crap, it’s taken me 6 times of watching this video to make it past the intro. For some reason I kept falling asleep. And why is Amazon telling me I bought a gray toy rabbit?

[dangreving]

My friend Scott quit smoking immediately after being hypnotized, after 30 years of smoking, were all shocked.

[RufusCapstick]

I had hypnotherapy for PTSD in the early nineties, I was in the Balkans and anyhoo, it worked for me.

[bradenf]

In the 1970s, I had an elderly dentist attempt to use hypnotism on me instead of Novocaine. Didn't work.

[rjmiller]

This is a cool channel. I love the idea of spreading knowledge while being entertaining.

[timsullivan]

A couple years back watched a YouTube video designed to give viewers a chance to be hypnotized. Gave it a shot, and after being told we temporarily would be unable to open our eyes, to my astonishment I found I could not open them. I began giggling as my genuine inability to perform what must be the easiest of all muscular tasks - opening one's eye, a failure persisting right until the moment I was told that it would now be possible. Unreal!