What Is Hypnosis? Describe the Psychological and Physical Aspects of Hypnosis and Discuss the Role of Relaxation in Hypnotherapy.

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‘What Is Hypnosis? Describe the psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in hypnotherapy.’ Introduction The purpose of this essay is to answer the question ‘What Is Hypnosis? Describe the psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in hypnotherapy.’ Hypnosis is defined as ‘an artificially induced trance state resembling sleep, which is characterised by heightened susceptibility to suggestion’. However, not all hypnotherapists would agree with this definition because a ‘hypnotic state’ is actually a human trait which everyone experiences. Our mind can drift from an alert state into a different level of consciousness when we do something in automatic mode for example, walking, driving and daydreaming. The notable difference between these hypnotic-like trances and clinical hypnosis are specific motivation or suggestions to receive a desired result. In this essay I will explore the psychological and physical aspects of clinical hypnosis and discuss the relationship between hypnotherapy and relaxation. Psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis Hypnosis is often still seen as something mysterious and this is probably due to the fact that there is debate about what is actually going on in the brain when we’re in a hypnotic state. Some people believe that hypnosis produces and altered state of consciousness, some believe nothing happens at all and others believe that hypnotic subjects are acting to please their hypnotherapist. However, studies which have monitored brain activity have shown that hypnosis does have a physical effect on the brain. In a famous experiment at Stanford University, students were connected to a brain imaging machine whilst looking at a black and white picture. Under hypnosis, the students were told that the picture was in fact in colour - and the brain scans
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