# Anyone else here into hypnosis? Ask an amateur hypnotist anything **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 15, 2016, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046 "2016-11-15T09:16:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/21 "2016-11-16T22:00:39Z")
Has anyone ever done studies monitoring brainwaves while a subject undergoes hypnosis? As in, tracking to see if the subject is actually going into one of the lighter phases of sleep? As a veteran of numerous sleep studies, I know there’ve been times when I was relaxed and reasonably aware but the EEG reading said I qualified as being in early-stage sleep, so I’m curious as to whether hypnotism puts you into that state. As far as “nothing they wouldn’t do anyway”, I’m also curious: if someone has a parasomnia that causes them to act out and maybe become violent - something they’d never do while awake - might hypnosis allow that kind of violence? ---
**Author:** ![Kelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@Kelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/22 "2016-11-16T22:44:48Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I tried the induction thing on my wife. She just looked at me like I was an idiot. 😃 Credibility is an important part of the process…if the subject thinks you have the “power” you’re halfway there. There’s nothing magical about the induction itself. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/23 "2016-11-16T22:49:28Z")
> [@Kelby](#): > > Credibility is an important part of the process…if the subject thinks you have the “power” you’re halfway there. There’s nothing magical about the induction itself. That’s certainly not the impression given in the linked video above. ---
**Author:** ![Kelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@Kelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/24 "2016-11-16T22:52:27Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Has anyone ever done studies monitoring brainwaves while a subject undergoes hypnosis? As in, tracking to see if the subject is actually going into one of the lighter phases of sleep? > > As a veteran of numerous sleep studies, I know there’ve been times when I was relaxed and reasonably aware but the EEG reading said I qualified as being in early-stage sleep, so I’m curious as to whether hypnotism puts you into that state. > > As far as “nothing they wouldn’t do anyway”, I’m also curious: if someone has a parasomnia that causes them to act out and maybe become violent - something they’d never do while awake - might hypnosis allow that kind of violence? There have been, and hypnotized individuals are not experiencing and altered state of consciousness, as occurs in sleep. More of a heightened “state of suggestibility”, like you would experience in an Amway sales presentation. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@Kelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/25 "2016-11-16T22:55:20Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > That’s certainly not the impression given in the linked video above. The “handshake” induction? Yeah, I guess we didn’t cover that one in school… ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/26 "2016-11-17T08:34:20Z")
This isn’t a question about recovered memories. We’ll just get that out of the way, because this isn’t about trauma. Is it possible to use hypnosis to accurately retrieve information that has been forgotten? I’ve been trying, for several years, to write about a particular time in my life. I was living in another country, so I no longer have access to certain people and certain memory aids. I obviously do have memories of that time, and I have things like letters and diary entries and photos. I am also still in contact with someone who was with me at that time, and we’ve compared notes. But I keep thinking that if I could get back into that mental space, I would be able to conjure up more details. Do you think a hypnotist would be able to help? ---
**Author:** ![Kelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@Kelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/27 "2016-11-17T13:21:41Z")
> [@Magicicada](#): > > This isn’t a question about recovered memories. We’ll just get that out of the way, because this isn’t about trauma. Is it possible to use hypnosis to accurately retrieve information that has been forgotten? I’ve been trying, for several years, to write about a particular time in my life. I was living in another country, so I no longer have access to certain people and certain memory aids. I obviously do have memories of that time, and I have things like letters and diary entries and photos. I am also still in contact with someone who was with me at that time, and we’ve compared notes. But I keep thinking that if I could get back into that mental space, I would be able to conjure up more details. Do you think a hypnotist would be able to help? It’s possible a hypnotist could help, but you should be aware that information “recalled” through hypnosis is not permissible in court because the technique has been found to be unreliable. Also, under hypnosis, some people’s memories can be contaminated by “false” recollections. ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/28 "2016-11-18T06:56:40Z")
> [@Kelby](#): > > It’s possible a hypnotist could help, but you should be aware that information “recalled” through hypnosis is not permissible in court because the technique has been found to be unreliable. Also, under hypnosis, some people’s memories can be contaminated by “false” recollections. Eh, that’s okay. I don’t expect to be supoenaed. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/29 "2016-11-18T08:45:07Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > **Budget Player Cadet** : What convincer(s) have you found to be most effective with a general population? I tend to use either the balloon-and-book or individual swinging weights/pendulums, but both generally have an efficacy of roughly 50% of any random group I’m hypnotizing. Most of my hypnosis takes place online over text chat\*, so most go-to “convincers” don’t work that well, and I generally eschew them. The cases where I’ve done it in person, I usually just lift and drop their arm to show them how easy it is to go limp, although on skype I’ve taken to having them use balloons to slowly lift their arms, then cutting the string and watching it drop. \*It’s a thing. It works about as well as any other method, although staring at a screen while in a trance state can cause eyestrain after a while. > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Are there any good books or resources on hypnotism? How did you become interested in the subject? There are books on the subject. I have not actually finished reading any of them. Most of my knowledge came from starting as a hypnotic subject, then copying what I saw working, then asking more experienced hypnotists for advice and guidance. Some googling for decent inductions, and information on terms I heard from other hypnotists hanging around in chatrooms like Sleepychat (if you’re interested in hypnosis, this is probably one of the best places to go to learn about it, but it is aimed at adults and there is a fair amount of erotic hypnosis there, hence why I’m not linking to it). > [@Magicicada](#): > > This isn’t a question about recovered memories. We’ll just get that out of the way, because this isn’t about trauma. Is it possible to use hypnosis to accurately retrieve information that has been forgotten? I’ve been trying, for several years, to write about a particular time in my life. I was living in another country, so I no longer have access to certain people and certain memory aids. I obviously do have memories of that time, and I have things like letters and diary entries and photos. I am also still in contact with someone who was with me at that time, and we’ve compared notes. But I keep thinking that if I could get back into that mental space, I would be able to conjure up more details. Do you think a hypnotist would be able to help? I’m not sure. In my eyes, this falls pretty firmly under the realm of “hypnotherapy”, and is not something I feel comfortable doing, nor something I’m that interested in learning to do - maybe if I was interested in hypnosis as a career. But I could imagine using hypnosis to help walk someone through their experience of something to try to pick up on things they forgot. Not sure how effective it would be, though. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/30 "2016-11-18T16:56:45Z")
I know little to nothing about hypnotism, and am innately skeptical of the concept (but open to being proved wrong). What do you think of the hypnotists who work at comedy clubs, who get laughs by making audience members squawk like chickens or pretend to be studs? Are the “really” hypnotizing people, or just getting people to go along with a gag? ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/31 "2016-11-19T17:39:44Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I know little to nothing about hypnotism, and am innately skeptical of the concept (but open to being proved wrong). > > What do you think of the hypnotists who work at comedy clubs, who get laughs by making audience members squawk like chickens or pretend to be studs? Are the “really” hypnotizing people, or just getting people to go along with a gag? Depends on the venue and the routine, but I’d say it’s quite likely that much of it is real hypnosis. Hypnosis is fairly easy to learn, and can happen _astonishingly_ fast - once you’ve established that you are a hypnotist and what’s going to happen, there are some rapid inductions that take a matter of seconds once you’ve gotten the subject ready to fall into trance by asking them up onto stage, and have primed the audience with what you were saying earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Vicsage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e68b1a/32.png) [@Vicsage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vicsage)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/32 "2016-11-19T20:10:05Z")
Could Bill Cosby have used hypnosis instead? And then made the women forget? ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/33 "2016-11-21T08:40:45Z")
> [@Vicsage](#): > > Could Bill Cosby have used hypnosis instead? And then made the women forget? Seems dangerously unreliable and prone to failure. Getting people to do things they really don’t want to do with hypnosis is quite difficult. Getting people to forget things is unreliable, particularly if it’s something quite nasty. I… would not think this is a good idea, even setting aside morality, given how likely it is to fail. Here’s a question for you guys. Anyone here interested in _being_ hypnotized? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/34 "2016-11-21T17:29:47Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I remember talking to my psych professor during a class break about this. I mentioned that I had difficulty speaking impromptu in front of a group. He said “Do you mind if I try something?” I agreed. He placed his index finger about six inches in front of my eyes, asked me to focus on it, then told me to follow it upward, even after in disappeared from view, i.e., trying to see it through the top of my head. Next thing I knew, he told me to open my eyes and he was standing about six feet away. “Very interesting”, he says. “We’ll try something later in class, if you agree.” (I didn’t) I’ll just mention that this sounds similar to the technique that Cecil once [cited](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/14/is-it-possible-to-hypnotize-a-chicken) for hyponotizing a chicken. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/35 "2016-11-22T19:38:16Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Here’s a question for you guys. Anyone here interested in _being_ hypnotized? I want to be hypnotized. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/36 "2016-11-24T01:36:01Z")
Hypnotism is just made up bullshit. All glory to **Budget Player Cadet**! ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/37 "2016-11-24T03:31:21Z")
Me and two of my siblings were born while our mother was under hypnosis. We were delivered by an Osteopath, Dr. Pickering, at Normandy Osteopathic Hospital outside of St. Louis. He worked with her during each of her pregnancies implanting the suggestion that she would “feel no pain and that it would be a beautiful experience.” (My older brother was an Army delivery, where they knocked you out and you woke up later and handed you a baby - that was not the experience she wanted a second time.) My mother swore that she felt no pain and that it was a beautiful experience. If it’s effective enough to deal with childbirth pain (for my mother, at least) it is real. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/38 "2016-11-24T12:06:17Z")
How does one get started as an amateur hypnotist? Are there classes to take? Does one apprentice themselves to an established hypnotist? Do you self-study and take a certification exam when you think you’ve learned enough? Is it completely unregulated? How does one get involved in this as a subject? Are there websites where subjects and practitioners can meet? Does the legality of amateur hypnosis practice vary by jurisdiction? I was under the impression that hypnosis fell under psychotherapy regulation in my state and could only be performed by a licensed clinical psychologist, medical doctor, or other licensed clinical professional. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2016, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/39 "2016-11-25T06:33:34Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > How does one get started as an amateur hypnotist? Are there classes to take? Does one apprentice themselves to an established hypnotist? Do you self-study and take a certification exam when you think you’ve learned enough? Is it completely unregulated? > > How does one get involved in this as a subject? Are there websites where subjects and practitioners can meet? > > Does the legality of amateur hypnosis practice vary by jurisdiction? I was under the impression that hypnosis fell under psychotherapy regulation in my state and could only be performed by a licensed clinical psychologist, medical doctor, or other licensed clinical professional. This is where the line is between amateur and therapeutic hypnosis is necessarily drawn. When what I attempt to do goes wrong, the subject simply doesn’t experience what I want them to experience, and doesn’t have a great evening. When a therapeutic hypnotist fails, it’s a medical invention gone wrong. This has partially to do with the methods used, but far more to do with the situations it’s used in. When I hypnotize a subject, the primary thing I do is help them relax, then play through fun little scenarios with them or give them mild post-hypnotic suggestions, whereas therapeutic hypnosis is used for pain relief and psychotherapy - things I just won’t do, because I’m not qualified. It’s the difference between using your manual dexterity and a knife for field surgery and a very impressive pumpkin carving. Sure, something _could_ go horribly wrong during the pumpkin carving, but it almost certainly won’t if you don’t do something horribly stupid. (I suppose in this analogy, inserting a split personality into someone would be the equivalent of trying to carve the pumpkin by tying a knife to your dick - stupid, stupid _stupid_ idea.) Worst case scenario on my end usually involves someone reacting to something in their mind negatively (like, say, accidentally triggering a really negative memory - I have one subject who made it very clear that she does not want to have a leash put on her, for example), and I try to size up my subjects beforehand to help ensure that an abreaction like that doesn’t happen - with people experienced in hypnosis, it can be as simple as just asking, “What are your limits, what shouldn’t I touch?” For others, I just try to stick to fantasy and exactly what we discussed doing before the trance. This is, more than anything, a party trick. But it’s a fun, effective one. 😉 Good sites for learning… The hypnosis subreddit is quite helpful, but as said, I picked up almost all of my tricks from Sleepychat, a (mildly NSFW) chat site dedicated to recreational hypnosis, and picking up bits and pieces piecemeal. “Oh, what does _that_ mean?” “Why did _that_ induction work on me?” Googling the answers, and trying to get advice from the people there who knew more about it than me. Google was definitely my friend here on a lot of things, and the rest I picked up by just… _asking_ in places that talk about these things. 🙂 @ **Drunky Smurf** : something like 99% of our interactions outside of the Hearthstone thread have been negative. No offense, but I’d rather not, and I don’t think you want me in your mind anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046/40 "2016-11-26T00:44:41Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > If it’s effective enough to deal with childbirth pain (for my mother, at least) it is real. It works well enough you can, with enough planning and training, put someone through a C-section and they’ll be in good shape. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-here-into-hypnosis-ask-an-amateur-hypnotist-anything/772046.md?page=3)