Journal of Pain & Relief
Open Access

Hypnosis is a state of consciousness characterised by focused attention (the selective attention/selective in attention hypothesis, SASI), less peripheral awareness, and an increased ability to respond to suggestion [1].

There are several hypotheses that attempt to explain hypnosis and related phenomena. According to altered state theories, hypnosis is a trance or altered state of mind distinguished by a different level of awareness than normal consciousness [2]. Non-state theories, on the other hand, see hypnosis as a type of placebo effect, a redefinition of a therapist's contact, or a form of imaginative role enactment.

A person's focus and concentration are reported to be enhanced during hypnosis, as well as their response to suggestions. Hypnosis is usually started with a hypnotic induction, which involves a series of instructions and suggestions [3]. "Hypnotherapy" refers to the use of hypnosis for therapeutic objectives, while "stage hypnosis," a type of mentalist, refers to the use of hypnosis for entertainment purposes.

In most people, hypnosis for pain management "is likely to reduce acute and chronic pain." Evidence supports hypnosis-based therapy for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome and menopause. The use of hypnosis to address various issues, such as smoking cessation, has yielded inconsistent results. Within the scientific community, the use of hypnosis as a type of therapy to recall and integrate early trauma remains divisive. According to research, hypnotising someone can help them generate false memories, and hypnosis "does not help people recall events more accurately [4]."

In hypnosis, a person's attention is concentrated and their suggestibility is increased [5].

The hypnotised person appears to pay attention exclusively to the hypnotist's messages and replies in an uncritical, automatic manner, ignoring all features of the surroundings other than those mentioned by the hypnotist. In a hypnotic state, a person tends to see, feel, smell, and perceive in line with the hypnotist's instructions, [6] even if these ideas appear to be in conflict with the actual stimuli present in the environment. The effects of hypnosis are not confined to sensory changes; suggestion can affect the subject's memory and knowledge of self, and the effects of the suggestions can be carried over into the subject's subsequent waking behaviour (post-hypnotically).

It may be argued that hypnotic suggestion is designed specifically to take advantage of the placebo effect. Irving Kirsch, for example, described hypnosis as a "non-deceptive placebo" in 1994, i.e., a treatment that openly uses suggestion and applies strategies to magnify its benefits [7].

Hypnosis usually begins with a brief explanation of the method, during which the client is told that he or she will be given suggestions for imaginary experiences. The hypnotic induction is a longer version of the first suggestion to use one's imagination, and it may include more details about the introduction. To stimulate and analyse responses to recommendations, a hypnotic method is performed. When someone is hypnotised, they are guided by another person (the hypnotist) to respond to suggestions for changes in subjective experience, perception, feeling, emotion, thinking, or behaviour. Selfhypnosis, or the act of performing hypnotic techniques on one's own, is also something that people may acquire. It's assumed that hypnosis has been induced if the person responds to hypnotic suggestions. Many people feel that hypnotic responses and sensations are the hallmarks of hypnosis [8]. While some believe that using the word "hypnosis" as part of the hypnotic induction is not necessary, others believe it is.

Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy is a use of hypnosis in psychotherapy. It is used by licensed physicians, psychologists, and others. Physicians and psychologists may use hypnosis to treat depression, anxiety, eating disorders, sleep disorders, compulsive gambling, phobias and posttraumatic stress, while certified hypnotherapists who are not physicians or psychologists often treat smoking and weight management [9].

Hypnotherapy is viewed as a helpful adjunct by proponents, having additive effects when treating psychological disorders, such as these, along with scientifically proven cognitive therapies. Hypnotherapy should not be used for repairing or refreshing memory because hypnosis results in memory hardening, which increases the confidence in false memories. The effectiveness of hypnotherapy has not yet been accurately assessed, and due to the lack of evidence indicating any level of efficiency, it is regarded as a type of alternative medicine by numerous reputable medical organisations, such as the National Health Service [10].

Preliminary research has expressed brief hypnosis interventions as possibly being a useful tool for managing painful HIV-DSP because of its history of usefulness in pain management, its long-term effectiveness of brief interventions, the ability to teach self-hypnosis to patients, the cost-effectiveness of the intervention, and the advantage of using such an intervention as opposed to the use of pharmaceutical drugs.

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