Does hypnosis work?

[ecstatic]

Poll question: Does hypnosis work?

I'm at my wit's end! Need to get serious about dieting and also remove a certain person from my thoughts. Does hypnosis work?

[nickinSTL]

1. not sure, but my mom had success with it

My mom used hypnosis to stop smoking, and it worked.

[bhunt70]

2. mine too a;though she picked it up again about 8 years later

though only intermittently.

[Shoeempress]

3. Worked for me. Got me over a fear of Motorcycle riding after a very

nasty MC accident. (Totally not my fault)

[ecstatic]

8. how long did it take to work? nt

[Shoeempress]

11. Immediate improvement and got better from there. Only had 2 or 3 sessions

and the guy gave me a tape to use at home. Listened to it every night as I fell asleep for probably 2 months. I was a mess going back to riding the next year after I was all healed, and would just burst into hysterical tears while riding for no reason. Still have a twinge or two fear when the same type of situation arises, but the wreck was over 10 years ago and I still love to ride.

[KittyWampus]

4. We're ALREADY Hypnotized. Just A Matter Of Becoming Consciously Aware

of that and then controlling the subjects of our Attention.

[Eloriel]

5. For some things -- and some people -- extremely well

And it also depends a little on the skill of the practitioner.

In addition, here's something that can help with a LOT of things, including the 2 you name, and it's totally free. It could be useful with or without hypnosis:

Emotional Freedom Technique
http://www.emofree.com/newcomer.htm
Tutorials: http://www.emofree.com/tutorial.htm
Articles: http://www.emofree.com/art.htm
Case Studies http://www.emofree.com/default.htm#EFT%20at%20work
Download manual: http://www.emofree.com/eftmanl.pdf

[ecstatic]

9. thanks for the links!!

checking them now

[notadmblnd]

6. I went for hypnosis once

to quit smoking, I couldn't stop giggling.. it was so hokey.....I couldn't relax.. my mind was wandering despite the eerie music the hypnotist played. I was supposed to go three times and only went two.. I'm sure that's why it didn't work :sarcasm:

[etherealtruth]

12. Unfortunately, that was my experience also...

... attempting to quit smoking as well. I showed up (and paid) for all sessions. I think I had an 'idiot' doing it...

I think it's worth a try, though ...

[notadmblnd]

19. sounds like we went to the same person

I went to a woman at Oakland University. Where did you go?

[etherealtruth]

20. Graduated from OU but ....

...saw some jack a$$ in Delaware.

[SmokingJacket]

15. Eerie music? Sounds like a bad hypnotist.

The whole point is to relax and focus your mind; if you couldn't do that, the person wasn't doing their job very well...

I'm a skeptic about most things, but hypnosis is real -- though not always effective.

[ET Awful]

7. I'd say it does, I once got hypnotized into thinking I was a chicken . . .

I haven't had to buy eggs since.

:shrug:

[BeTheChange]

10. Week 5 of no smoking for me..

Im a pretty true believer in hypnosis. I had smoked for almost 15 years and had no will power.

[etherealtruth]

13. Congratulations! n/t

[BeTheChange]

30. Thanks...

I was amazed that I was fully aware during hypnosis. Infact, I wouldnt have even known I wasnt anything more then relaxed if I wasnt experiencing the effects. If my therapist had told me to cluck like a chicken I would not have done it.. hypnosis isnt like you fall asleep and loose control.

I think that is a common misconception.

[Zero Division]

14. Stopped my anxiety attacks using hypnosis.

There are probably a number of factors that determine how effective hypnosis will be for an individual.

[Ian David]

16. I used hypnosis to get over my addiction to hypnosis.

I've never felt better.

[Ready4Change]

17. Other: Of course hypnosis works. You are getting sleepy, very sleepy.

You are happy and safe when under hypnosis. Very sleepy...

You want to give me all your Krispy Creme donuts...

Sleepy...

:)

-SNAP-

Don't be so silly. Hypnosis is a scam.

[Lerkfish]

18. in college, we had a hypnotist act come to campus...

turns out because of my high imaginative tendencies, I'm very open to hypnosis (who knew?) for me it works, but I've only used bought cassettes for self-confidence and relaxation. Never tried it to quit smoking cause I never smoked.

sorry can't be more helpful.

but it DOES depend a great deal the state of mind of the hypnotizee. If you don't take it seriously, it won't work. If you relax and let it happen, it will.

[mnmoderatedem]

21. Jim Wand?

I remember him coming to our campus once a year. Very entertaining!

[Lerkfish]

22. don't recall his name...this would have been 1978

[ecstatic]

27. my imagination isn't that good

In fact, it's horrible! That's why I'm unable to enjoy games like The Sims, etc. So I wonder if that would hold me back or make me a bad candidate for it.

[Endangered Specie]

23. to quote Nofacts, its Bullshit

along the lines of perpetual motion machines, astrology, dianetics and alchemy.

[steve2470]

24. it was approved by the British Medical Association in 1955 and..

by the AMA in 1958.

[dr.strangelove]

25. I had a teammate in college who

was very skilled. He could get people to cluck like a chicken, take off their clothes and make out with someone else, without them remembering at all. He was a riot at parties. He once had me drinking shampoo and thinking it was beer. I had no idea and did not believe it happened, even after I saw it on video.

[ecstatic]

28. thats funny

But was it the hypnosis or inebriation that caused this? LOL

[dr.strangelove]

31. for me it was

I imagine some of the girls and guys who got naked were doing it for fun without the trance.

[bananas]

26. the power of suggestion

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/nutrition/la-sci-diet2aug02,1,3577213.story

August 2, 2005

Swallowing a Lie May Aid in Weight Loss, Research Suggests
A team found it could make people believe that some foods sickened them as children.

By Rosie Mestel, Times Staff Writer

In their battle against the bulge, desperate dieters have tried drugs, surgery, exercise, counseling, creams and even electrical
fat-burning belts.

Now some psychologists have a new idea: subtle brainwashing.

A team led by psychologist Elizabeth F. Loftus of UC Irvine found that it could persuade people to avoid fattening foods by
implanting unpleasant childhood memories about them - even though the memories were untrue.

In a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team said it successfully turned people off
strawberry ice cream and, in earlier studies, it had done the same with pickles and hard-boiled eggs - in each case by manipulating
the subjects to believe that the foods made them sick when they were children.

<more>

[ecstatic]

29. great article! thanks for that nt