Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Trainee Hypnotist Stuck in Trance?

So the latest article about hypnosis appeared in this morning’s newspapers. Trainee hypnotist puts himself in trance using mirror. Is this possible?

As explained by hypnotists everywhere all hypnosis is self hypnosis. The hypnotist is there simply to guide the client into hypnosis, in doing so teaching them a powerful tool that they can then use for themselves. Reputable hypnotherapists train for a long time to learn how to help clients, to guide them in the right direction in relation to their ailment, to help a client who abreacts (the reliving of an experience in order to purge it of its emotional excesses) and many more tools related directly to therapy. The simple act of putting someone into hypnosis is actually not the most important part of the course and once learnt straightforward and natural. Why then if hypnosis is self hypnosis would someone be able to put themselves into hypnosis but not get themselves out?

There could be many reasons why Helmut Kichmeier’s wife could not get him out of the hypnotic state he was in. Beginning with some similar theories to why a stage hypnotist’s subjects do as they are ordered.

Susceptibility; many people are hugely suggestible. They want to be, there is a lot of peer pressure or subconsciously they go along with what they are being told to do without consciously thinking about it at all (well this is hypnosis you may say!) Kichmeier is a trainee hypnotist who wanted to put himself into trance and therefore did so. There is nothing in the article about how long he wanted to stay in this trance or whether he was happy when brought out of it. The relaxed state that is hypnosis is actually a very beautiful state of mind to be in. When I bring many of my clients out of hypnosis the first words I hear are “ohhh that was nice”. If this was the way Kichmeier was feeling why would he want to come out of it? It is important here to note that during my hypnosis training I was taught what to do if someone chooses not to come out of hypnosis. The method was to try using the normal count up once more, or maybe twice more. If this does not work we must be very stern with the client and tell them that if they do not come out of hypnosis on the count of five I will not guide them back into that state ever again. Although I have never had to do this the reason behind the method is that people may choose to stay in the hypnotic state because it is such a nice place to be. If there is the possibility that they will not go there again they will come out.

Attention; it is a shared opinion that many subjects of a stage hypnosis show do what they are ordered because a; they would behave like that anyway in front of friends or b; they would like to have the confidence to behave like that in everyday life but do not. Under the guise of hypnosis they gain this confidence. Now Helmut Kichmeier is a sword swallower who goes under the name of Hannibal Helmurto. His job is to perform on stage in front of a lot of people. He likes to perform, this was simply another performance and without saying any more I will say he now has his name, his stage name and minor details of the tour he is preparing for in many English newspapers and all over the internet. Not too dissimilar to the work of Colorado based Richard Heene recently!

Now it could also be that Kichmeier simply fell asleep. I have known clients to fall asleep during my session. I simply start speaking a bit louder, maybe say their name or ask a question and they soon come back up a little into hypnosis. Now it is unlikely Kichmeier was asleep as we know from the article that his wife tried to ‘wake’ him when she found him. We do not know how she tried to wake him or whether she just panicked after asking him one question and immediately phoned his hypnosis mentor, Dr Roberts. We also do not know what Dr Roberts said to Kichmeier on the telephone that afternoon.

There was a program on Channel 4 last year titled Britain’s Youngest Sleepwalker. The documentary told the story of Jess a four year old who would fall asleep at bedtime but then awaken in a trance like state around midnight every night. She had been doing this for over three years. When she woke she would play for the rest of the night with imaginary friends. Jess’ parents worried she would hurt herself took her into their bed and for those three years she kept them awake most nights, they would often try and talk to her during these awake hours but she was unresponsive – much like Kichmeier was when his wife found him. Her eyes were open, she was animated and even spoke with her imaginary friends but was in her own world.

After numerous tests doctors found out that Jess was in an awake state during these episodes but has alpha brain waves during them. Brain waves are categorised into four categories Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta.

Beta 14-30Hz; this is the state of normal wakefulness and how we spend much of the day. One is awake and alert.

Alpha 8-13Hz; this is how we are when we are relaxed, eyes closed and daydreaming for example. These are the brain waves that come into use when we are really using our imagination. The conscious mind becomes less dominant and the subconscious comes more to the fore. These are the brain waves that become apparent when in a light state of hypnosis. These are the brain waves we get when zoning out and using meditation. When the alpha brain waves are in force we are in a light state of hypnosis.

Theta 4-7Hz; the theta state can be achieved by repetitive movement or sound. In this state the subconscious mind is totally dominant. When you are dreaming, in deeper hypnosis, meditating, or in the zone in sports, you are in theta. The theta state is what you will be in if in deep hypnosis, for some hypnoanaesthesia can be achieved. Hypnoanaesthesia occurs when clients are so deeply relaxed that surgeries can occur with sensation but without pain. Although theta occurs during drowsy, meditative or sleeping states it does not occur during the deepest stages of sleep.

Delta 0.5 – 4Hz; Delta is the unconscious state. It is where we are during the deepest stages of sleep and the state at which we will not remember what is happening. The delta state could be a reason why many people forget what has happened during their hypnosis sessions. It is however not a state that any hypnotist wants their subject to go into because it goes against the definition of hypnosis, which is (defined briefly) a heightened state of concentration achieved through deep relaxation.

On finding out these results Jess’ parents were advised to put Jess into her own bed at night. As she was in an awake state she knew what she was doing and there was no more chance of her hurting herself than at any other time. After three nights of sleeping in her own bed Jess stopped waking up during the night to play. Due to Jess’ age no one really knows why she was waking in the night to play maybe it was because she subconsciously knew that if she did this she got to spend the night in her parent’s bed. Maybe it was because she enjoyed the dreamy feeling so much or maybe it had just become habit.

There are many similarities between the state Jess was in during her alpha hours to the state Kichmeier was in when found by his wife. Both had their eyes open, both were unresponsive yet both came out of the state at some point. The stark difference was that Jess came out of the state naturally but Kichmeier was brought out by his hypnosis mentor. This could lead us to the conclusion that Kichmeier put himself into a very nice state of hypnosis; he was relaxed and felt good. He may have fallen into the delta state but I believe he was probably in the theta state and feeling quite nice. When he chose to he would have brought himself back to the beta stage but with Dr. Roberts on the other end of the phone he was pressured into doing so sooner, if not goodness knows who his wife would have called next!