If you ever watch old movies, you may have seen a doctor, magician or evil genius use a swinging pocket watch to hypnotize someone. As the person’s eyes follow the swinging watch back and forth, he slowly falls into a trance.
The hypnotist then suggests that the hypnotized person do something, such as remember a key fact, cluck like a chicken or divulge a secret. Is hypnosis just movie make-believe? Or is it real?
Believe it or not, hypnosis is indeed real. However, it’s quite different from what you may have seen in the movies.
Hypnosis is a trance-like mental state. When hypnotized, you have a high level of focus and concentration on your inner thoughts. You feel relaxed and calm, which helps you block out distractions and focus completely on a certain thought, memory or feeling.
Today, hypnosis is considered a safe alternative form of therapy that may help with a wide variety of conditions. Hypnosis is often referred to as hypnotherapy or hypnotic suggestion. Some of the things people get hypnotherapy for include pain management, weight loss, quitting smoking, reducing stress and improving athletic performance.
There are many techniques for hypnosis. A hypnotherapist usually induces hypnosis — a process called hypnotic induction — by talking slowly in a soothing tone. In addition to using relaxing images to create a sense of safety and well-being, the hypnotherapist usually speaks at length about what is happening and why hypnosis is being used.
Once the subject is in a relaxed trance-like state, the hypnotherapist speaks more directly to the purpose of the hypnosis, such as suggesting ways to manage pain or reduce cravings to smoke or overeat. The hypnotherapist may also suggest visualizing what it will be like to reach a goal.
Hypnotherapy is different from hypnosis performed for entertainment in front of an audience. That type of hypnosis — called stage hypnosis — is done purely for fun and doesn’t necessarily involve the same level of deep relaxation as hypnotherapy.
Because of stage hypnosis and the way hypnosis is portrayed in the movies, there are many misconceptions about hypnosis. Contrary to what many people believe, hypnosis is not like sleep and does not make a person unconscious.
During hypnosis, a person stays fully awake, but often experiences a decreased awareness of what is going on around himself as he focuses intently on one thing. Hypnotized subjects often respond more readily to suggestions, which explains why hypnosis can be effective as a form of therapy to change behavior.
Even though hypnotized people are more open to suggestions, they still retain their free will. Hypnosis does not make people lose control over their behavior. Unlike things you may have seen in the movies, a hypnotist can’t make you do things you don’t want to do.
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I was almost right! Is tomorrow’s wonder about dinosaurs?
GREAT job, Rahul! We think your guesses are AWESOME! We can’t tell you for sure what tomorrow’s Wonder will be about, but we think you’ll like it a lot. It’s a MONSTER of a Wonder!
It makes you wonder if speakers and even politicians use techniques from hypnosis for their speeches…
That’s an interesting thought, Neil! Thanks for adding a little more WONDER to today’s Wonder of the Day®!
Wow, I never knew that hypnosis was used for helping someone! I think that it is cool how people are trained to do hypnotherapy as an occupation. I am wondering who first used hypnosis on a person or invented hypnosis. The video was helpful in showing how hypnotherapy works and what the person who is using it does. I thought that hypnosis wasn’t real. Lastly I will make sure to visualize, exercize, and meditate to relieve stress and reach a goal.
We think it’s AWESOME that you learned so many cool new facts about hypnosis, James! Thank you for sharing them with us in your comment!
The hint reminds me of Monsters, Inc.! Ha, ha!!
That’s a funny one, Rebecca! We’ll have to visit Wonderopolis tomorrow to see what kind of monsters the clue was talking about!
Wow, I thought this wonder was amazing. I did not know that you can actually hypnotize somebody! Also I learned that it is not to get somebody to do something, it is to get them relaxed to get them to think of a certain thought, feeling or memory. It is usually done by talking slow and staying on the same pitch to get them to fall into a trance. Then, hypnosis can be used to help a person overcome bad habits like smoking or overeating. So thanks for all the new facts and I know I will keep wondering!
That’s what we like to hear, Matthew! Thank you for letting us know you will keep WONDERing…we think it’s an AWESOME thing to do, don’t you?
Hello, this is McKenna from Mrs. Caplin’s class. This was a superb wonder that taught me so many new and interesting facts. I have always wondered if hypnosis was real and now I know that it really exists. Some of the facts I learned were that the person being hypnotized is fully awake during the process, there are two different kind of hypnosis, they are hypnotic induction and stage hypnosis, and lastly hypnosis is a form of therapy to focus your mind on achieving your goals. Now whenever I watch a movie with hypnotists, I will know the correct trance that the person should go through instead of the fake trance the actors and actresses go through. Now I have a boatload of questions to ask you guys. What do hypnotists use to put their patients into a trance? Will hypnosis work on everybody that does it? Does stage hypnosis contain different materials than hypnotic induction? How long have hypnotists been treating patients to reach their goals? Does the patient being treated always have their eyes closed during the process of hypnosis? Thanks a lot for the exquisite wonder! I learned so many new facts.
P.S. Maybe if I find out the materials used to hypnotize, I will try it out on my friends or family.
WOW! Those sure ARE a boatload of questions about hypnosis, McKenna! We’ll have to do a LOT more WONDERing to be able to find the answers to them all. Thanks for sharing the great facts you learned by exploring this Wonder of the Day®, though. We really appreciate your comment!
Dear Wonderopolis,
Cool video! I’m happy I learned some new facts! I was way off on my guess, but oh well. I agree with Rahul that tomorrow’s wonder is going to be about dinosaurs. Happy 2012!
XOXOXOXOXO,
Paige
It’s OK if you’re not right all the time with your guesses, Paige! The “guessing” is the the fun part, don’t you think? We’re proud of you no matter what!
Dear Wonderoplios,
Hello, it’s me Leilani, I learned that you can actually hypnotized! I thought that was very interesting!
I was surprised at what the WOTD was today. My mom and I are on here and we both thought the clip was cool, but the coolness doesn’t end there for us, we both found out that the person is fully awake!
We love wonderopolis so much, and we are thinking that tomorrow’s WOTD is going to be about a roller coaster! But, I know we’ll just have to wait and see!
Oh, by the way can you e-mail my mom the address of wonderopolis? We wanted to mail a couple of letters to you guys! I’ll write on tomorrow’s WOTD!
Sincearly,
Leilani Avafaye Sarlea
What a GREAT comment you left for us, Leilani! It’s really nice to hear from you! We’re glad you learned some cool new things about hypnosis by visiting this Wonder of the Day®, and we’re super excited about the letters you are going to send to us! Here is the address for Wonderopolis:
Wonderopolis HQ
325 West Main Street, Suite 300
Louisville, KY 40202-4237
Thanks for being such an AWESOME Wonder Friend! Have a WONDERful day!
My dog was WONDERing what I was doing!
We bet pets do a lot of WONDERing, too, Leilani! Some animals are pretty smart that way!
Hi, I’m Nour. I haven’t posted in a while because my parents want to move all of a sudden. Anyway, cool WONDER. I was just WONDERING, do you have a wonder about superheros?
Happy New Year!
It’s great to hear from you, Nour! We hope you and your brother (and your whole family) are having a GREAT New Year so far! We know WE are because we get to visit with awesome Wonder Friends like YOU!
As a matter of fact, we DO have some Wonders about superheroes! Here are two we think you might like to explore:
Wonder of the Day® #15 – What Is Your Secret Superhero Identity? http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/calling-all-superheroes/
Wonder of the Day® #343 – Do All Heroes Have Superpowers? http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/do-all-heroes-have-superpowers/
Have a WONDERful day and have fun learning some new things!
That is so cool! I use to think hypnosis isn’t even real! WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOW! We really like your enthusiasm for this Wonder of the Day®, Raquel! Thank you so much for letting us know that you stopped by and learned some new things about hypnosis today!
Thank you for the info.
You’re welcome, Leah! Thank YOU for visiting Wonderopolis and for letting us know you enjoyed learning something new today!
This was a good topic and I think you could have added just a little more, like a link on hypnotism. But I still like the topic.
Thanks for letting us know you enjoyed exploring this Wonder of the Day®, David! We’re glad you liked it and we hope you learned some new things!
This article was really cool. I would like if you made more hypnosis type articles, thanks a bunch.
Hello! Thank you for sharing that you enjoyed this Wonder about hypnosis and that you’d appreciate seeing more Wonders like it, Shannon!
I really enjoyed this article. I learned many new things and found it very interesting that you are fully awake during a hypnosis process, you do not do anything you do not want to while you are in hypnosis, and hypnosis can be used to help people. I LOVE this website and love this article.
Those are three awesome facts about hypnosis, Wonder Friend! Thank you for sharing what you learned in Wonderopolis today!
What? I am so confused on this one ????????????????????????????????????????? Someone please explain this to me.
Love Julia
Hello, Julia! This Wonder is all about hypnotism! We encourage you to explore this Wonder of the Day® again to learn more about it!
Two new vocabulary words I learned on this wonder were: divulge and hypnotherapy. Divulge means revealing and hypnotherapy means treatment of a system, disease, or addiction by means of hypnotism. I already knew that hypnosis in movies wasn’t real. And I learned that hypnosis is existent in real life. I know that people can be bad with the power of hypnotism. And then I learned that you are actually in a trance when you are hypnotized. I know that there are different types of hypnosis. I learned that you are totally oblivious to what happens around you during hypnosis. I wonder if hypnosis is the same with animals. And I also wonder how you hypnotize some people. If you hypnotize someone, does that mean they’ll do anything you want them to do?
Three new wonders I want to explore are: How fast can a tank move?, Who is the Unknown Soldier?, and Is there a punch line for every joke?
One question I have after learning all this is: Is hypnosis 100% effective all the time?
We’re not really sure if hypnosis is 100% effective all the time, Team McNeil 14, so we’ll both have to do some more WONDERing about that! We are SUPER excited to hear that you want to explore those three other Wonders! Way to go!
Two new vocabulary words that I learned on this wonder is…
Divulge: To make known.
Induction: Bringing out, in a hypnosis state.
I learned also that hypnosis only last 1 to 3 weeks. I also learned that some people do hypnosis for New Year’s resolution. Just Curious, why do people expect so much about being hypnotized?
Thanks For Listening’
Team Mcneil 17
Thanks for checking out this Wonder about being hypnotized, Team McNeil 17! We really enjoyed hearing the great facts and vocab words you learned! We think some people expect a lot from being hypnotized because they have tried other things to break bad habits or improve their health. Some people need help when these things, and they look to hypnosis to give them the assistance they are seeking.
HI PEOPLE FROM MR.JOHNSON’S CLASS.
Thanks for stopping by this Wonder of the Day® and leaving us this great comment, Bubble!