Hypnosis, Biofeedback, and Meditation Reader s Guide Main Idea Hypnosis, biofeedback, and meditation are altered states of consciousness that can occur when we are awake. Vocabulary hypnosis posthypnotic suggestion biofeedback meditation Objectives Determine how hypnosis relates to consciousness. Describe research into such techniques as biofeedback and meditation. Exploring Psychology Not Feeling the Pain Victor Rausch entered a hypnotic trance by focusing on Chopin s Lush Nocturne in E-flat, as it was played in the movie The Eddy Duchin Story. Rausch visualized scenes from the movie and wrapped his mind in appealing thoughts. Rausch s blood pressure and pulse rate remained steady for 75 minutes. During this 75 minutes Rausch was undergoing a gallbladder operation! He had refused the anesthetic, and during the surgery, he swears he felt no pain just a little tugging. He even talked and joked with the surgical team during the procedure. After the surgery, he stood up and walked down the hall, riding the elevator to his hospital room. from The Healing Power of Hypnosis by Jean Callahan, 1997 Surgery without anesthesia may sound like a trick, but such operations have been performed by hypnotizing the patient. Although hypnosis still conjures up images of a circus magician saying, You are getting sleepy, very sleepy..., researchers are learning more about this mind-body connection. Doctors and therapists use hypnosis to help people quit smoking, lose weight, manage stress, overcome phobias, and diminish pain. WHAT IS HYPNOSIS? So what exactly is hypnosis? Hypnosis is a form of altered consciousness in which people become highly suggestible to changes in behavior and thought. By allowing the hypnotist to guide and direct them, hypnosis: a state of consciousness resulting from a narrowed focus of attention and characterized by heightened suggestibility Chapter 7 / Altered States of Consciousness 191
Profiles In Psychology Franz Anton Mesmer 1734 1815 Truth is nothing but a path traced between errors. Franz Anton Mesmer missed the narrow path of truth; he also missed the signs in his path that his science was faulty. Mesmer, however, became the first person to study and practice hypnosis. Mesmer believed that the human body is filled with a magnetic fluid that can become misaligned, causing illness. Realignment would restore health. Mesmer treated medical problems by placing his patients in a tub filled with water and iron filings; large iron rods protruded from the tub. Mesmer would then pass a magnet back and forth across the patient s body to redirect the flow of the blood, nerve activity, and fluids. Some of his patients reported dramatic results. Later, Mesmer got rid of the magnet and used his own hand, claiming that he himself was the magnet. He called the force he discharged animal magnetism. Before Mesmer treated his patients, he told them to expect certain reactions, and his patients responded as anticipated. After his death, his followers called this healing technique mesmerism or hypnotism. Although Mesmer was denounced as a fraud, and Mesmer s magnetic fluid was never proven to exist, he paved the way for studies relating to the readiness of some subjects to obey hypnotic suggestions and enter an altered state of consciousness. people can be made conscious of things they are usually unaware of and unaware of things they usually notice. Participants may recall in vivid detail incidents they had forgotten or feel no pain when pricked with a needle. It happens in this way: At all times, certain sensations and thoughts are filtered out of our awareness. For example, as you read this sentence, you were probably not aware of the position of your feet until I called attention to that. By mentioning the position of your feet, your attention shifted to your feet an area of your body that seconds before was outside your consciousness. Hypnosis shifts our perceptions in the same way. Hypnosis does not put the participant to sleep, as many people believe. A hypnotic trance is quite different from sleep. In fact, participants become highly receptive and responsive to certain internal and external stimuli. They are able to focus their attention on one tiny aspect of reality and ignore all other inputs. The hypnotist induces a trance by slowly persuading a participant to relax and to lose interest in external distractions. Whether this takes a few minutes or much longer depends on the purpose of the hypnosis, the method of induction, and the participant s past experiences with hypnosis. In an environment of trust, a participant with a rich imagination can become susceptible to the hypnotist s suggestions. Psychologists using hypnosis stress that the relationship between hypnotist and participant should involve cooperation, not domination. The participant is not under the hypnotist s control but can be convinced to do things he or she would not normally do. The person is simply cooperating with the hypnotist. Together they try to solve a problem or to learn more about 192 Chapter 7 / Altered States of Consciousness
how the participant s mind works. Anyone can resist hypnosis by refusing to open his or her mind to the hypnotist. However, people under hypnosis can be induced to do things against their will. Mutual trust is important for hypnosis to be successful. Theories of Hypnosis Psychologists do not agree about the nature of hypnosis. Some, like Theodore Barber (1965), argue that hypnosis is not a special state of consciousness but simply the result of suggestibility. If people are just given instructions and told to try their hardest, they will be able to do anything that hypnotized people can do. Others, like Ernest Hilgard (1986), believe that there is something special about the hypnotic state. People who are hypnotized are very suggestible; they go along with the hypnotist and do not initiate activities themselves; and they can more easily imagine and remember things. Hilgard believes that consciousness includes many different aspects that may become separated, or dissociated, during hypnosis. This view is called the neodissociation theory, which includes a hidden observer a portion of the personality that watches and reports what happens to the hypnotized person. Another explanation of hypnosis is based on the importance of suggestibility in the hypnotic induction (Green et al., 1998). According to some theorists (Sarbin & Coe, 1972, 1979), hypnotized people behave as they do because they have accepted the role of a hypnotized subject. We expect that hypnotized individuals will forget certain things when told or will recall forgotten material, and we play the role. Whether hypnosis is a special state of consciousness or not, it does reveal that people often have potential abilities that they do not use. Continued study may help us understand where these abilities come from and how to use them better. Uses of Hypnosis Although people have often seen hypnosis as a part of an entertainment act, it has serious uses in medical and therapeutic settings. Hypnotists can suggest things for their participants to remember or forget when the trance is over. This is known as posthypnotic suggestion. For example, the hypnotist can suppress memory by suggesting that after the person is awakened, she will be unable to hear the word psychology. When she comes out of the trance, the participant Reading Check What type of relationship is needed between a hypnotist and participant? posthypnotic suggestion: a suggestion made during hypnosis that influences the participant s behavior afterward Hypnosis and Athletics Olympic athletes use self-hypnosis to achieve peak performance. Many coaches and trainers realize the power of mental rehearsal before competition begins. Although selfhypnosis cannot turn an average soccer player into a world-class athlete, it can help you achieve your personal best. The next time you need a top performance, apply the following steps. Write a short summary of the event and the usefulness of self-hypnosis. 1. Relax. (If you have prepared physically for the upcoming challenge, relax and think about it.) 2. Set your short-term, specific, and achievable goals. (What is your objective?) 3. Concentrate, eliminate distractions, and visualize a peak performance. 4. Design a plan of action and mentally rehearse it by visualizing yourself performing to perfection. Chapter 7 / Altered States of Consciousness 193
Can you hypnotize yourself? Sometimes just thinking of an action can result in producing that action if you can imagine that action clearly enough. Procedure 1. Stretch your arms in front of you, making sure the palms are facing each other at the same height and about two inches apart. 2. Close your eyes. Imagine that your right arm is getting heavier and heavier, while your left arm is getting lighter and lighter. 3. To help yourself, imagine that your right hand is holding a strap wrapped around several heavy books, while your left hand is holding a string tied to a helium balloon. Analysis 1. After about a minute, open your eyes and see how far your hands have actually moved. Are they one or two inches or several inches apart? 2. Using what you have learned about hypnosis, explain the results in a brief report. See the Skills Handbook, page 622, for an explanation of designing an experiment. biofeedback: the process of learning to control bodily states with the help of machines monitoring the states to be controlled may report that some people around her are speaking strangely. They seem to leave out some words occasionally, especially when they are talking about topics involving the taboo word psychology. The participant is not aware that part of her consciousness has been instructed to block out that word. Memory can also be aided or enhanced through posthypnotic suggestion. Posthypnotic suggestion has been found to be particularly helpful in changing unwanted behaviors, such as smoking or overeating. Hypnosis is sometimes used to reduce pain. Hypnotic analgesia refers to a reduction of pain reported by patients after they had undergone hypnosis. In these situations, the hypnotist works with the patient to reduce his or her anxiety and encourage relaxation. Therefore, a patient s perception of pain is reduced. Therapists use hypnosis to help clients reveal their problems or gain insight into their lives. For example, hypnotherapists use hypnosis to allow their patients to think of their problems in a new way. Hypnosis, though, is not for all patients. Some fear the loss of control associated with hypnosis. Therapists often combine hypnosis with other therapies to help patients work through their problems. BIOFEEDBACK A technique in which a person learns to control his or her internal physiological processes with the help of feedback is biofeedback. For example, you can be hooked up to a biofeedback machine so that a light goes on every time your heart rate goes over 80. You could then learn to keep your heart rate below 80 by trying to keep the light off. Biofeedback has been used to teach people to control a wide variety of physiological responses, including brain waves (EEG), heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature, and sweat-gland activity (Hassett, 1978a). The basic principle of biofeedback is simple: feedback makes learning possible. Biofeedback involves using machines to tell people about very subtle, moment-to-moment changes in the body. People can then experiment with different thoughts and feelings while they watch how each affects their bodies. In time, people can learn to change their physiological processes. Some of the best-documented biofeedback cures involve special training in muscular control. Tension headaches often seem to result from constriction of the frontalis muscle in the forehead. Thomas Budzynski and others (1973) used biofeedback to teach people to relax this specific muscle. The practice went on for several weeks, while other people were 194 Chapter 7 / Altered States of Consciousness
given similar treatments without biofeedback. Only the biofeedback group improved significantly. Biofeedback used without drugs seems to help many people. MEDITATION When a person focuses his or her attention on an image or thought with the goal of clearing the mind and producing relaxation, or an inner peace, that person is practicing meditation. Meditation has been practiced in various parts of the world for thousands of years. There are three major approaches to meditation. Transcendental meditation involves the mental repetition of a mantra, usually a Sanskrit phrase. The participant sits with eyes closed and meditates for 15 to 20 minutes twice a day. Mindfulness meditation was developed from a Buddhist tradition. This form of meditation focuses on the present moment. For example, the participant may move his or her focus through the body from the tips of the toes to the top of the head, while paying particular attention to areas that cause pain. Breath meditation is a concentration on one s respiration the process of inhaling and exhaling. Researchers generally agree that most people can benefit from the sort of systematic relaxation that meditation provides. Meditation has been found to help people lower blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration rate. The issue is not clear-cut, however. The people who benefit from meditation continue to practice it. Thus, the reported benefits may come from a biased, self-selected sample of successful practitioners. Other data suggest that while meditating, some people may actually be sleeping. If so, the reported benefits of meditation may result simply from relaxation. Assessment meditation: the focusing of attention to clear one s mind and produce relaxation A mandala is used to focus one s attention during meditation. 1. Review the Vocabulary Explain how a person can alter his or her consciousness by using meditation. 2. Visualize the Main Idea Using a diagram similar to the one below, list some explanations of hypnosis. Explanations of Hypnosis 1. 2. 3. 3. Recall Information What types of medical conditions could be helped through biofeedback? 4. Think Critically Why is it so important that the person being hypnotized trust his or her hypnotist? 5. Application Activity Try this meditation technique: (1) Take a few moments and form your lips into a half smile; (2) Hold this half smile for at least 10 minutes as you go about your ordinary activities. Did you notice a shift in how you acted and responded to others? Did others respond to you differently? Record and analyze your experiences. Chapter 7 / Altered States of Consciousness 195