What can be cured with hypnosis. What is treated with hypnosis? How to contact the clinic, the duration of hypnosis treatment

Helped us:

Vyacheslav Goncharenko
Psychotherapist, hypnotherapist

Daria Suchilina
Psychologist, psychotherapist

Since we immediately set a serious tone, we will do without introductory passages, leave the gypsy hassle alone, and talk about myths and witchcraft along the way. “In general, hypnosis is a set of practical skills, knowledge and skills that help the emergence of a trance in another person and / or in oneself, and the use of this state to initiate the changes that the patient needs,” says our expert Vyacheslav Goncharenko. And then, of course, he deciphers his words.

Myths about hypnosis

First, there is a common myth that the ability to hypnotize is a gift. In fact, it can be learned. The second point - also from the category of superstitions - concerns a trance, supposedly mystical, a special state of the psyche that the hypnotist induces. But nothing like that. Trance is a natural, physiologically necessary state for each of us.. You will be surprised, but we stay in it many times a day. You go by car or subway in the morning, watch a movie, read a book, listen to music, daydream, work at a computer, after all. What is common in all situations is this: you have a certain object for fixing attention and you are immersed in yourself - in your thoughts, images, sensations, experiences. At such moments, you are to varying degrees removed from the outside world, but still maintain contact with it. This trance is called household or natural.

“In Ericksonian hypnotherapy (the essence of which is below. - Approx. WH), a person, of course, is more abstract and immersed in his internal processes. And on the mental and physical level, it triggers the desired internal changes. Sometimes this happens spontaneously, in a natural trance, but more often in cooperation with the therapist,” says Vyacheslav.

You ask what happens at the level of physiology at such moments? The question in a million - because it's just a mystery for now. The topic, of course, is being actively studied, but there is no single, generally accepted theory, although there are many concepts. For example, physiologist Pavlov believed that hypnosis is a partial sleep, in which almost all parts of the brain are dormant, but the “watchman” remains in the cerebral cortex, and the hypnotist contacts with him. But there are other explanations as well.

“For example, there is an opinion that in trance, the activity of the left hemisphere of the brain decreases, while the right hemisphere increases (the first, we recall, is responsible for logic, and the second for creativity. - Approx. WH). And this is also a myth,” says Vyacheslav Goncharenko. - Let's just say that during hypnosis, the work of the centers and systems of the brain is exactly different from the "usual" state. But the nature of these changes depends on many factors, including the goals of the sessions. For example, hypnosis works well with acute and chronic pain. And today there are many studies on how a person's subjective perception of it changes in a trance. This is because the systems in the brain that are responsible for pain begin to function differently.”

Hypnosis Methods

Among specialists (especially young ones), the so-called Ericksonian hypnosis is gaining popularity recently. Its founder, MD, psychotherapist, psychiatrist American Milton Erickson (born in 1901, died in 1980) made a huge contribution to the development of the subject of our conversation. Actually, speaking roughly, hypnosis is now usually divided into Ericksonian (EG) and classical. The latter is most often understood as directive (DG).

What is the main difference between EG and DG? “In my opinion, in the message that is explicitly and implicitly transmitted by the“ hypnotist ”to another person,” says Vyacheslav Goncharenko. - In a directive approach, it is - "I have power over you." And from it follows the corresponding form of communication: authoritarianism, the idea of ​​submission, suggestion. In Ericksonian hypnosis, the message "I will help you gain power over yourself" is communicated. From which follow equal, respectful "working" relations, the indirect nature of suggestion, permissiveness, that is, the client's right to naturalness and spontaneity: to communicate as he communicates, to enter a trance as he enters, to behave in it as he leads, and exits as it comes out. Accordingly, here we have a high percentage of hypnotizability - almost 100%, because trance is natural, and the patient himself (his unconscious) chooses the changes.

How does everything look from the outside? Alas, not very scenic. It is like a conversation between two intelligent people, one of whom (the therapist) tells a long interesting story, sometimes pausing. The second listens to him, immersed in his thoughts, often with his eyes closed, but not necessarily. Mostly silent, but sometimes he also says something - if he wants or the interlocutor asks. Sometimes he draws - also being in deep thought. And at the end of the session, it “emerges” from there. No one, as a rule, waves a pendulum in front of a patient. Although the therapist, at the request of the client, may use this “props”, and also dim the lights, turn on the music, if it’s easier for a person to get into a trance.

The truth about hypnosis treatment

The Internet often offers to treat addictions, phobias, stress, neuroses, allergies, depression, psychosomatic illnesses (those caused by repressed emotional experiences) with hypnosis. And supposedly with the help of suggestions you can lose weight. Vyacheslav Goncharenko, in principle, confirms that yes, hypnotherapy can indeed be used in the cases listed, but - a nuance! - most often it is used as an aid.

Hence the logical conclusion: hypnosis is not a panacea. And not a medicine, but a tool, such as a scalpel. And what can be cured with a scalpel? " Hypnosis works well in conjunction with traditional medical methods.. It is able to enhance the effect of individual components of drugs, reduce/remove side effects, cope with pain and psychological suffering that often accompany the healing process,” says our expert. - Recently, the relationship of hypnosis with the activity of the central nervous system and neurogenesis has been actively studied, which also serves as an auxiliary tool during the recovery period after strokes and injuries. In medicine, treatment is always a complex and multifaceted process. And you need to start from a specific task.

But, you must admit, it is very difficult to stop asking an expert about those same persistent myths. “With the help of hypnosis, it is allegedly possible to master various superpowers, such as “sleep for 4 hours a day, maintaining complete clarity of consciousness”, “enter a state of heightened perception”, “stop the internal dialogue”; and in general, there are different desires associated with violence either against oneself or against others, Vyacheslav reluctantly gives up. – And what is the result? We sit with the client, we figure out why he needs to “sleep little and work a lot”, “overclock the brain”, and so on. We are talking about the so-called facade queries. There is what a person wants and what he really wants, and often there is an abyss between these two points. The outcome of the work depends on whether it can be overcome.

About sleep, we are sure, now many have also become interested. We answer: no trance can replace it. Hypnotherapy helps a little and temporarily compensate for the lack of night rest. if the situation requires it. But then you still need to sleep, the body will take its toll.

The choice of a specialist

The main fear associated with hypnosis is that you will lose control over the situation, you will be zombified, and then some malicious installation will be introduced. The main argument of the skeptics is: “You won’t inspire anything to me, a person with intellect.” All this concerns, first of all, the directive approach. The fact is that people are more suggestible and less (which, by the way, does not depend on the level of intelligence). There are professional specialists, there are charlatans. Direct instructions or orders used in DGs act on a small percentage of clients, the rest, as a rule, do not accept them (the percentage of hypnotizability is low). And the person leaves disappointed in therapy or, even worse, in himself: “Even hypnosis did not help me!”

“I can’t say that DG does not work, is harmful or ineffective. It also has its own areas of application. For example, it works well with various kinds of dependencies,” says Vyacheslav Goncharenko. - In addition, at a certain stage of Ericksonian therapy, the use of directive suggestions can also have an effect. Everything, of course, depends on the level of training of the specialist. And session security, by the way, too. “As someone once said, in the therapy room, at least one person must understand where two are going. And it is better that it was a psychotherapist, - continues our expert. - So, if necessary, you should first of all contact a doctor or a qualified psychotherapist who owns EG. It's one way to keep yourself safe."

Authoritative places among those where the Ericksonian method is taught are the Foundation. Milton Erickson, from Russian - Institute of Psychotherapy and Clinical Psychology, Institute of Group and Family Psychology and Psychotherapy. Plus, if you are in search of this kind of specialist, pay attention to the “How to distinguish a professional” block. And keep in mind that you will have to work with him in the same team. At the first meeting you will feel any kind of discomfort - go to another: well, not your person, it happens.

How to distinguish a professional

Below we have listed the important qualities of an Ericksonian hypnotherapist. Enjoy!

• Ethics. This person is primarily a doctor or a psychotherapist, which means that he is obliged to comply with the norms of his profession, medical ethics.
• attentiveness, sensitivity- the ability to notice the slightest, on the verge of changes in the client during the session.
• Flexibility- the ability to find a common language with any patient and use his behavior or messages for therapeutic purposes.
• Faith in the client's resources and the ability to identify them during the conversation.
• Ingenuity. Sometimes a specialist right on the go has to come up with any (often unique) technique, technique for a specific client at a certain point in time, using points 2–4.
• Abstract thinking: the ability to build and tell therapeutic metaphors, stories with hidden meanings at the request of the patient.
• Ability to work effectively in trance. Yes, the therapist is also in it. One part of him is in this state, and the second must perform official duties: select words, build metaphors, think over strategies, design techniques.

What is self-hypnosis?

This is self hypnosis. The same rules apply to him as when working with a hypnotherapist. A specialist can train his clients in the right skills so that patients can practice on their own if necessary.

“There are many self-hypnosis techniques,” says Daria Suchilina. – Some of them are carried out in the waking state, when a person repeats simple formulas to suppress painful thoughts and sensations, to replace them with beneficial ones. Another option is to learn to consciously achieve relaxation, track unpleasant sensations and, together with them, let go of anxieties, emotional and physical pain. Aerobatics - auto-training combined with biofeedback. A person is connected to sensors and devices, such as a cardiograph, an encephalograph or an oxyhemograph, and changes in readings are monitored in accordance with different experiences. And he learns to notice the smallest sensations in the body and compare them with the readings of the instruments. After six months or a year, you can consciously regulate blood pressure, heart rate, smooth muscle contractions.

Hypnotherapy: types, principles and methods of hypnosis - What diseases can be cured with hypnosis

Hypnotherapy is a modern method of treating many diseases. Treat with hypnosis in most cases, as well as drug and nicotine addiction.

A positive outcome in treatment depends on the person himself and his ability to succumb to hypnosis.

During a hypnotic session, the patient falls into a trance, and it is easy to suggest any information to him.

A positive effect will occur in the treatment of only those diseases that have arisen due to psychological or emotional factors.

The main factors in the occurrence of diseases are constant and workload.

If the disease has arisen due to fears or experiences, in a state of hypnosis, you can help a person find a way to solve his problem, and after coming out of a trance, he will be healthy and confident.

Principles of Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy is based on the manipulation of human thoughts during trance.

During such a state, the patient does not have his own thoughts, he only listens to what is suggested to him, and directs all his strength into the direction of activity that is recommended to him.

Quite often, this technique is used in the treatment of personality disorders. Thanks to hypnosis, various phobias can be cured.

This area of ​​activity is popular not only in the treatment of mental illness, but also in traditional medicine. Clinical hypnotherapy helps people with CNS disorders. (Central Nervous System).

Basic Hypnotherapy Methods

Many people believe that hypnosis is a recent development and cannot bring healing results. This opinion is wrong.

Hypnosis and its healing properties have been known since ancient times.

Due to the treatment of different diseases, various methods of hypnotherapy have been developed.

The most popular of them:

1. Levitation method;
2. Hypnosis through visual contact.

Verbal hypnosis

Verbal hypnosis is also called sound hypnosis. A hypnotherapy session begins with the impact of words and sounds on the patient's receptors.

This method is used when the patient cannot independently concentrate his attention on a particular subject.

Visual hypnosis is not suitable for such people, since they will not be able to enter a trance state. In addition, this technique is used to treat people who suffer from hysteria.

Levitation method

"Hypnosis of levitation" is very often called the method of light hand. It is especially popular in Western countries.

This technique has a number of features that make it easier for a person to enter a hypnotic state.

Efficiency is achieved due to the fact that the patient can independently control his body and emotions.

Ericksonian hypnosis got its name from the name of its inventor.

During a hypnotic session, the patient takes an active part, but does not have access to his own subconscious.

Erickson's hypnotherapy does not always bring positive results. Several sessions are required to consolidate the effect obtained. This type of therapy does not harm the health and psyche of a person.

visual hypnosis technique

This is the most famous method for putting a person into a trance state.

The essence of the method lies in the concentrated observation of some rhythmically moving object. The object can be a coin or a pendulum.

During observation, certain commands are spoken to a person in a monotonous voice, they help the person to relax and enter a trance faster.

This method is most often used to treat nicotine and. But no one gives a guarantee for a positive result.

Diseases that can be treated with hypnosis

Hypnotherapy can be used to cure many diseases. This practice has been used to treat diseases since the mid-18th century.

People who regularly take hypnosis courses feel much better than everyone else. They are in good physical and mental condition.

Thanks to hypnotic sessions, you can relieve pain symptoms in stomach ulcers, gastritis, and also reduce the frequency of seizures. With the help of hypnosis, blood pressure and heart function are normalized in people.

There are people who do not believe in the healing effect of such sessions, and those who believe and have experienced it for themselves are very pleased with the result.

A hypnotherapist will help you get rid of addictions, phobias, regular stress, and also help you lose weight.

Thanks to hypnosis sessions, you can cure the above diseases, as well as many others. A positive result is formed due to the suggestion of certain information in a state of trance.

Trance itself has a therapeutic effect on the body. While in it, the work of all internal organs and the respiratory system is normalized.

There are no clear indications for hypnotherapy treatment. Only a specialist can recommend medication or treatment in such a non-standard way. People who have the same medical condition may respond differently to hypnotherapy.

Contraindications for hypnotherapy

Hypnosis is one of the least researched methods of treating diseases. It should be used only after the advice of a doctor.

As with other types of treatment, it has a number of contraindications:

• You can not come to the session after the recently transferred or;
• It is also prohibited for people with pronounced heart failure;
• Hypnotic sessions are prohibited during colds or infectious diseases.

Some complications may arise during a hypnotic session. During a trance, the therapist may lose contact with their patient.

This will lead to the fact that the patient will not be able to get out of the state of hypnosis.

Especially people with hysteria are at this risk. In addition, an exacerbation may occur after the end of the course of treatment.

Any disease that has subsided for a while can, after a while, become more active with renewed vigor. There are cases when patients become addicted to hypnosis. This state is called hypnomania. It has 3 stages.

At 1 there is severe drowsiness after sessions. In stage 2, a person becomes lethargic and irritable after treatment. At stage 3, a person cannot get out of a state of hypnosis for a long time, such a state can even last for several months.

Conclusion

Before going for a hypnotherapy session, you need to weigh all its advantages and disadvantages and be sure to consult with your doctor.

Video: Hypnotherapy

A modern person, living with a weak psyche in a stream of stressful events, reveals a number of methods that promise to quickly and effortlessly cope with his problems: mental, psychological and even physical illnesses. Often, doctors and psychologists suggest that the patient be treated with the help of hypnosis. How to treat such proposals, what consequences of treatment with hypnosis can be expected? Priests and doctors talk about this.

Priest Grigory Grigoriev about hypnosis

The answer to the question about hypnosis on the air of the Soyuz TV channel in the program "Conversations with the Father" dated January 2, 2014.

Priest Grigory Grigoriev - Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, psychotherapist, narcologist.

- As for hypnosis, I want to say that I have never done it. The accusations against me come from a misunderstanding of what hypnosis is: only about twenty percent of people can enter it, the rest do not succumb to it. This is a practice that was accepted a hundred years ago, but gradually moved away from it.

Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko, censor of the Holy Synod, professor at the pre-revolutionary Kyiv Theological Academy, wrote in his book: hypnosis should not be perceived as something mysterious, it is a form of attracting attention, a physiological property of living objects. For example, when a driver drives down the road for a long time and looks at the lights of the car in front, he falls into a similar state. Such a hypnotic phase sets in, and this phenomenon is characteristic of all living organisms. But we have never done anything like this in our work and have never used it. Real hypnosis - when a person turns off consciousness. Moreover, a person cannot be instilled with what he does not want.

Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko says in his book that in order for suggestion to turn into autosuggestion, it is necessary that it correspond to the level of consciousness.

In psychology, in general, there are four methods of influencing a person. The first is inspiration, when someone inspires someone, the second is imitation, the third is persuasion, the fourth is suggestion. Suggestion is the ability to perceive information without criticism. For suggestion it is necessary that the first three forms be realized.

I have never practiced hypnosis, not because it is bad, but because it is ineffective. One of the greatest hypnologists, Pavel Ignatievich Bul, worked at my institute, who was involved in the treatment of bronchial asthma in children and hypertension in adults using hypnosis. By hypnosis, he removed the children's fear of the pressure chamber, which they needed.

Professor Buhl participated in a TV show with a group of students in the sixties, during which he invited viewers to test themselves for hypnosis. After a number of viewers remained under the influence of the command given by the professor (“your hands stuck together”) for a long time, and he had to personally go home to remove this effect from hypnotizable viewers, it was decided that such influences on the television audience were inadmissible and a ban on such transmission.

Kashpirovsky, who appeared on television in a difficult era when the Soviet Union was collapsing, had to distract people. He knew about the existence of this prohibition and violated it. Kashpirovsky began to do what no self-respecting doctor would do. But that doesn't mean he didn't help anyone. The fact is that if people believe in something, then the system of self-hypnosis turns on, and they treat themselves, attributing this, for example, to Kashpirovsky. But what happened then around these programs looked like madness and was completely unacceptable.

At that time, Professor Bul, Professor Vladimir Ivanovich Lebedev, and Yuri Gorny were actively opposed to this "television psychotherapy". On television in the city of Norilsk, they conducted an experiment with the aim of exposing and prohibiting "television psychotherapy", and this was achieved.

How it was? They came to the Norilsk television, brought an ugly head made by them from papier-mâché and said that supposedly this was a cast of the head of the famous Professor Zombie, who lives in the mountains of Tibet and has such a strong biofield that it is impossible to communicate with him personally, but the cast of the head charged by him and voice recording can heal a variety of diseases. Then they were asked to conduct a wellness session for the residents of Norilsk. TV viewers were told that as a result of the session, they would not only be healed of many diseases, but also if they put broken household appliances near the screens, they would start working again. The session began, and a huge self-hypnosis of people began from the impact of this roughly molded head of a non-existent professor and the sound of his voice, which in fact was a recording of the slurred speeches of three representatives of the Muslim peoples.

If you put any person in front of a multi-million television audience, then the effect of mass potentiated influence on each other, induction, sets in. It affects people with various mental illnesses especially strongly, and it can be very dangerous.

Actually, Kashpirovsky showed us what the media are. Such experiments increase the number of self-hypnotic people in society, which is an extremely unfavorable situation. What Kashpirovsky did was not hypnosis, it was loosening the internal system of psychological defense. Hypnosis can't do that. Here, a person begins to be manipulated, and he begins to believe in some kind of doctor who replaces God. This is a violation of the first commandment "Do not make yourself an idol." We have no right to evaluate the personal qualities of Anatoly Ivanovich Kashpirovsky, maybe he repented a long time ago, takes communion, because the Lord forgives a person all sins.

Artem writes: “Hello, Father Gregory! Please answer the question that worries me: can a psychologist who is an Orthodox Christian use hypnosis in his work? My name is Artem, I entered the university as a psychologist, I also studied hypnosis. Searched for information on the internet. Priests in their interviews do not approve of this method, except for Father Dimitri Smirnov. I want to know your opinion, since you are a priest and a psychotherapist.

I understand that some hypnotic techniques can be spiritually dangerous, such as mentally turning to a "wise being" in trance for advice. But can hypnosis be acceptable with careful selective work with it by a psychologist? My concern is whether I am hurting myself by using hypnosis on people, and hurting people by the mere fact of using hypnosis? Really looking forward to your reply!"

Dear Artem, in order to study this problem that interests you and other people, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the two-volume book by Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko. Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko before the revolution was the censor of the Holy Synod, a professor at the Kyiv Theological Academy. In his book, he says that hypnosis should not be taken as good or evil, it is a physiological property of living beings. In practice, we know hypnosis, when fakirs, magicians, circus actors take, for example, a chicken and dramatically change its state. They take her by the paws and lay her on her side, and she falls into a hypnotic sleep.

Strictly speaking, hypnos is sleep. When we drive down the road at night and look at the lights of the car in front, we enter a kind of drowsy state. This, in fact, is the prototype of hypnosis. In modern medical practice, hypnosis is practically not used in working with people due to its low effectiveness. It is impossible in a state of hypnosis to influence a person's personality. Here is an appeal to a mystical being, as you write, this is no longer hypnosis, these are occult sciences - of course, this is absolutely unacceptable. But if you pray to the Guardian Angel, read Orthodox prayers, then, of course, this will not harm you.

The Holy Fathers said that the spiritual world is hidden from us by our All-loving and All-good Lord Jesus Christ “with seven locks and seven seals.” A person should not climb there, because, according to the words of St. Seraphim of Sarov, "the smallest demon can pierce the earth with one claw." That's why you shouldn't look there. The will of a person is relevant in the visible world, and in the spiritual world the will of a person will be either under God's shield or under the enemy's. Therefore, one should not go to the spiritual world with one's will. We will immediately meet in this world with dark forces, therefore, of course, the Lord protected us.

Hypnosis can relax a person, remove such monosymptoms as spasm, pain - this is more psychosomatic than psychology. I do not think that you will seriously need hypnosis in your practice as a psychologist, but at least you have an idea about it in the learning process. And in general practice, you will not have to use it. I don't think you need to use it. We got acquainted with him - who is warned, he is armed.

Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov on the treatment of diseases with hypnosis

Suggestion and hypnosis are one and the same. If you are afraid of hypnosis and not afraid of suggestion, then this is rather strange. Before you climb into the water, you need to recognize the ford ... Hypnosis has long been known and used and used, for example, by many tribes in Africa as a method of treatment. You need to look at what diseases to treat with hypnosis. For example, there is such a disease as hysteria, in which hypnosis helps if a person succumbs. Hypnosis also helps with alcoholism. It's clear that if a person's leg hurts for some reason, no matter how much you inspire, the pain can go away, but the disease itself will not go away.

How does Orthodoxy relate to neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), which many are now passionate about?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is aimed at manipulating not only consciousness, but also the inner world of a person. Hypnosis is most commonly used for this. NLP founders Richard Bandler and John Grinder write in their book " Trance induction ": “If you apply the same hypnotic induction to a group of people, then only some of them will go into a trance. This is what traditional hypnotists do. But we will study non-traditional hypnosis. We will study what is called Ericksonian hypnosis, following Milton G. Erickson. Ericksonian hypnosis means developing the skills of a hypnotist to the point where you can put the person into a trance in a conversation that doesn't even mention the word 'hypnosis'. I learned a long time ago that it's not so much what you say, but how you say it that matters. If you deliberately try to convince someone by getting the better of him, then this causes him to have a reaction of resistance directed against you. There are people who don't resist when they get the upper hand and go into a trance. But neither resistance nor cooperation proves anything, except that people are capable of responding. Every living person can react. The only question is how and for what. When you do hypnosis, your job is to notice what the person responds to naturally.” What this leads to can be found in another book by the same authors: “In our last seminar, we dealt with strategies. We programmed one woman so that she forgot her name. One man then said: “There is no way by which I could be made to forget my own name!” I asked: "What is your name?" And he replied, "I don't know!" I replied, "Congratulations on your subconscious, even if you don't have one." It amuses me that hypnosis is now so systematically ignored. I think this is because the mind that uses this method does not trust it. But in every form of therapy that I have studied, there is a trance experience. Introductory NLP training course). Representatives of NLP do not hide the fact that “in a certain sense, these are the skills of unlimited power over a person, power over the state and mood, thinking and behavior of the people around you” (R. Bandler. Creation of beliefs).

From the point of view of Orthodox spirituality, this is prohibited. Being in a state of hypnosis, a person almost completely loses control over himself: both body and mind. The highest suggestibility occurs in the deepest phase of hypnotic trance (the so-called paradoxical phase), when weak factors (for example, a word) act more strongly than strong ones (acute pain). A person in this state can be inspired by feelings and thoughts that are contrary to his convictions (including moral and religious ones). In a state of hypnotic trance, a person becomes accessible to demonic influence.

Word hypnosis(Greek hypnos - sleep) was introduced by the English physician James Braid (1795-1860) in 1843. This concept denotes a state that outwardly resembles a dream or half-sleep, caused by suggestion. It is accompanied by the subordination of the will of the sleeper to the will of the sleeper. The oldest written monuments testify that already the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians used hypnosis for the purpose of magical influence. Undoubtedly, many occult phenomena of sorcerers, shamans, spellcasters in all ages have been based on the use of hypnosis. The concept of hypnosis is often found among modern occultists.

Holy Scripture strictly forbids any occult influence on a person. The activities of wizards, soothsayers, questioners of the dead, summoners of spirits, fortune tellers, charmers are named in the Bible abomination(). Hypnotic occultism was apparently practiced charmers(; and etc.). Word charmer in the Synodal text the Hebrew word is translated chabar. This word has several meanings: bind, conjure, unite. The hypnotist just binds the will of a person and manipulates him. The Holy Fathers attune us to spiritual sobriety. Let us beseech God to grant us purity and humility of mind, the fruit of which is spiritual reasoning, faithfully distinguishing good from evil!(St. Ignatius Brianchaninov. A word about the sensual and spiritual vision of spirits. Conclusion).

Psychiatrist D.A. Avdeev about hypnosis

Unfortunately, hypnosis is widely used by official medicine, psychotherapists. There are among the latter those who use hypnosis out of religious ignorance. Others consider themselves atheists. There are also conscious servants of evil.

Orthodoxy is alien to methods that forcibly influence a person. Adepts of the use of hypnotic trances talk about opening special psychosomatic channels during the use of hypnosis, about influencing the human psyche, bypassing criticism (“without brakes”), about revealing the reserve capabilities of the body, about amazing therapeutic effects.

As a specialist, I declare with confidence that there are no exceptional effects. And if there is any “benefit” from hypnosis, then it is not known how it will come back to haunt in the future ... More precisely, it is known, and even with certainty. Hypnologists, at best, do not think about this.

Hypnosis is violence against the human soul. For example, in the 3rd stage of hypnosis, the somnambulist (hypnotized) unquestioningly obeys his "guru" in everything: he can see, hear, feel non-existent objects, people (hallucinations); may not feel pain; expose hidden thoughts, feelings, desires. By the way, there is a so-called effect of post-hypnotic suggestion. This is when the instructions of the hypnologist are carried out after a certain time after the session.

How justified is it to deprive a person of criticism and reason, even for a short time, even with a seemingly good purpose? There is no excuse for this. Man is the greatest mystery, and it is simply not given to us sinners to know and see what the soul experiences in a hypnotic state, what happens in the depths of the human spirit. Not a single saint resorted to healing a person in an altered state of consciousness. Meekly and humbly, the saints of God showed the gift of healing to people, which they received from the Lord for the holiness of life.

It should be said that hypnosis eventually acquires the role of a drug. The same people go from hypnotist to hypnotist, tend to experience “extraordinary” states more often. What a pity for these people! And how criminally do those who lead them to such addiction.

In recent years, many publications have appeared in the specialized literature, testifying to the disorganization of a person's mental activity after the frequent application of deep hypnosis to him.

Optina elders about hypnosis

“This hypnosis is a terrible thing. There was a time when people were afraid of this deed, they ran away from it, and now they are carried away by it ... they benefit from it ”(Rev. Nectarios).

“And the whole trouble is that this knowledge enters our lives under the guise of something that seems to be able to give mankind enormous benefits” (he).

"Hypnosis is an evil, non-Christian force" (St. Barsanuphius).

“If you, leaving God, resort to magnetism — an unnatural means — then I can’t tell you anything” (St. Macarius).

The effect of hypnosis on children

I will give just one example. Professor V. Lebedev reports: “2015 schoolchildren were examined, 93% were involved in Kashpirovsky sessions. During the sessions, obsessive movements, hysterical reactions, hallucinatory phenomena and other mental disorders are noted. In 42%, hypnotic sleep was noted, after the sessions, various forms of mental maladjustment were revealed in 7% of children. There was a clear trend towards an increase in suggestibility and an increase in hysterical reactions. As a result of television sessions, some children fell into a state of catalepsy at the sight of only a photograph of Kashpirovsky.

Autogenic training (as a form of self-hypnosis)

From the standpoint of Orthodox spirituality, auto-training is not soulful. The author of this method of psychotherapy is a German scientist and practitioner Johann Schulz. In the thirties of our century, Dr. Schulz, based on his impressions of his stay in India and acquaintance with yoga, synthesized something similar for Europeans and proposed his own method for the prevention and treatment of a wide range of diseases, as well as for the purpose of mental self-regulation of the state of mind. Describing the essence of autogenic training, it should be said that it does not contribute to the innermost work of internal purification, the fight against vices and passions. Lulling self-relaxation is rather a departure from reality, an illusion of well-being. There is no mention of humility and sobriety as the basis of spiritual peace. It is important to remember that the method has yogic (read Buddhist) roots.

All of the above referred to the first stage of autogenic training. And then, when a person learns relaxation, he is invited to master the techniques associated with the artificial evoking of some images or pictures. The basis of the second stage is sensual imagination. The Holy Fathers warn us against all sorts of sensuality, daydreaming, fantasizing. Thus, the method of autogenic training should be postponed as unnecessary and in view of the danger of damaging one's soul.

Trance states

Currently, in psychotherapy there are a huge number of techniques that use trance (similar to hypnotic) states. For example, there is (horror!) the so-called reincarnation psychotherapy. Its users, being in a trance, remember their "former lives" (they write these words without quotes) and try to find the causes of their problems in them. The so-called transpersonal psychotherapy is actively developing. If you do not go into details and say simply and clearly, then it will look like this: first, fans of such psychopractice enter a trance, and then communicate with demons.

Psychics and other occult "healers" use special states of consciousness in their practice. Moreover, they consider them an indispensable condition for a successful result. Father Anatoly (Berestov) and academician neurophysiologist S. V. Krapivin, having studied the work of the brain of people who were in a state of meditation (hypnosis, self-hypnosis), came to the following conclusion: “It is believed that the state of meditation has a beneficial effect on human health, since the rhythm decreases respiration, heart rate, blood plasma lactate level, muscle relaxation occurs. It is even believed that such an unusual state is the best rest. However, upon detailed examination of electroencephalograms, it is clear that this is not rest at all, but a very special and strange state of the brain - a dangerous mobilization of all brain resources, all the physiological forces of the brain.

So, through this special state of consciousness, when the “gates” of the soul are opened, the hypnotist or occultist becomes a conductor of dark forces and serves Satan. That is why the Orthodox Church defines hypnosis as "a conscious service to evil", calls it a phenomenon "destroying the human spirit". It is emphasized that the dark forces of the spiritual world are used in hypnosis (Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate, No. 12, 1989).

A hypnotherapist (the correct name for a hypnotist) is not a magician, but a medical specialist, or a person endowed with a special gift with which we can solve many problems.

What is trance?

There is nothing extraordinary about trance or hypnosis. This is a natural state in which we arrive several times a day. We are accustomed to call this state as “dreaming”, “thinking”. At such moments, in our head there is a “sorting” of information, events that happened to us during the day. Everything seems to be falling into place in my head. This state, specifically caused by a hypnotherapist, is called hypnosis. But there is relaxing hypnosis, and there is healing.

What diseases are treated with hypnosis?

Hypnosis treats such problems as: phobias, excess weight, stress, colds, runny nose, allergies, diseases of the heart, liver, stomach, lungs or other internal organs.

Diseases of the joints, skin diseases, problems with vision and hearing, alcohol and nicotine addiction, and any other diseases are treated, ranging from the mildest to the most severe, up to those that are generally considered incurable in medicine. In most cases, a hypnosis session is addressed when other methods have already been tried. But hypnosis helps to effectively get rid of depression, resolve difficult situations at work and in your personal life, cope with feelings with unrequited love. It makes sense to resort to a hypnosis session, even if you cannot make some important decision. In a state of trance, the left hemisphere of the brain, which in the normal state is responsible for rational thinking, receives the ability of the right (imaginative thinking). This will help you better and faster find a way out of a difficult situation and change your life for the better.

The most common use of hypnosis was in the fight against addictions. According to medical studies, 60 percent of patients who quit smoking through hypnosis did not return to the habit even five years after treatment.

How is a hypnosis session going?

Oddly enough, the only person who can put you into a state of trance or hypnosis is yourself. The hypnotherapist only helps you get into that state.

At the word hypnosis, for many, a picture pops up in their heads, as a doctor begins to swing a pendulum in front of your eyes. In fact, you can enter into a trance with the help of sound, light or voice. Even on distance. Each specialist has his own method, developed over the years.

It is said that during hypnosis our consciousness turns off. It is a myth. In fact, during the entire session, you are in control of the process. No subordination of the will and suggestion to the patient, any things against his will, does not occur. All you'll experience when you sit comfortably in the watercress is self-hypnosis.

In fact, the hypnotist acts as an instructor who tells you what and how to do so that you achieve your goal.

Will you succeed?

All people are interested in the question - are they amenable to hypnosis. Many people think that they will not be able to enter a trance because they have tremendous willpower. Hypnosis is not the subjugation of one will by another. It has nothing to do with willpower or wrestling. Absolutely anyone can enter the state of hypnosis.

There is another myth - that you can not get out of a trance state. There is not a single fact of confirmation that the patient "went into himself and did not return." In the most extreme case, the trance state can turn into normal sleep. You will sleep and wake up.

How many sessions are needed?

The task of the hypnotist is not to take the problem away from you, but to lead you to the solution of the problem. Therefore, the frequency of visiting a doctor, or viewing a recording of a session, depends solely on you. After all, someone is used to going “straight” in solving their problems, while someone, on the contrary, chooses a more tortuous path. The latter, of course, will need more sessions. The speed of movement is set by the patient himself, and the hypnotist only helps not to beat around the bush. Typically, a hypnosis session is carried out once a week, and it lasts about an hour.

Who to contact?

There is no such profession as a hypnologist. There are psychologists who use hypnosis as one of the methods of treatment, and there are people whom nature itself has endowed with the gift of hypnotic treatment. Which one to contact is up to you.

One of the main conditions of hypnotherapy is trust in your hypnotherapist. Whether it's live communication, or treatment sessions from the TV screen. Therefore, when choosing a specialist, trust the opinion of people who have already contacted him.