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Hypnosis, in good hands can be beneficial, can help manage pain, control stress, anxiety and phobias. However, some people actually use hypnosis for the wrong thing. You may have to be vigilant if suddenly being poked by a stranger while walking alone, fearing that the person will hypnotize you and then rob. However, did you know that not everyone is hypnotized easily? Some people are easy, others are not.
Why are some people so easily hypnotized?
Hypnosis works by changing activity in brain areas associated with attention or alertness. When hypnotized, you will achieve a very high level of focus or concentration, so that the suggestions given to him will be more easily accepted. That way, hypnosis goals (such as to control behavior or phobias) can be more easily achieved because you are very focused on the content of the suggestions received.
It turns out that not everyone is easily hypnotized. There are some people who are difficult to hypnotize. According to dr. David Spiegel, a mental health specialist and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, about 25 percent of people are not easily hypnotized.
Spiegel explains in the Archives of General Psychiatry that there are differences in the brain area of people who are not easily hypnotized and people who are easily hypnotized.
In people who are not easily hypnotized, the active brain areas associated with executive control and attention tend to have less activity. Meanwhile, people who are easily hypnotized have a larger active brain area in the executive control and the part that plays a role in focusing attention.
So in other words, people who find it easier to concentrate on one thing at a time are more likely to be hypnotized. Meanwhile, people who have difficulty concentrating will be more difficult to hypnotize. This is contrary to the theory that is widely believed by the layman, which is that people who have difficulty concentrating are easily hypnotized.
Am I easily hypnotized?
It's not easy to know whether someone is hypnotized or not. Hypnosis itself is easy to do if the person concerned deliberately wants to be hypnotized. If the person does not agree, then hypnosis will also be difficult.
If you haven't tried to be hypnotized yourself, it can be difficult to determine whether you are easily hypnotized or not. But, you might try to do a test from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute below to find out.
Try to answer all the questions below with "yes" or "no". Give one (one) point for all “yes” answers and add it up.
- Do you have a lot of memories that you still remember often from your childhood?
- Do you tend to get carried away when watching movies or reading books?
- Are you likely to know what someone is going to say before that person does?
- Has a strong visual image ever triggered you to feel a physical sensation because of it? For example, suppose you feel thirsty while watching a movie scene in the middle of a desert.
- Have you ever gone to a place and wondered how you got there?
- Do you sometimes think in pictures instead of words?
- Have you ever felt someone's presence in the room, before even seeing them?
- Do you like to see the shape of the clouds?
- Do you like to remember strong memories just because you smell them?
- Have you ever thought about something deeply when alone and in a supportive atmosphere?
Result:
- Score 0-2: You may not be easily hypnotized and may have problems responding to suggestions while being hypnotized.
- Skot 3-7: You may not be easily hypnotized but also not difficult when hypnotized. You may also not easily accept suggestions when hypnotized.
- Score 8-10: You may be easily hypnotized.
However, once again the test results above are not fixed. How easily you get hypnotized depends on many other factors. For example, the condition of the environment around you, who hypnotized you, and what is the purpose of the hypnosis.
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