Poll of the Day > Is hypnosis real?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Can hypnosis help you forget a specific event? Like completely forget something.

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I remember watching a show studying hypnosis, and they made people forget the number 4. Some say it works, others say no, and some say it works, but only on the weak-willed/minded...
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Hypnosis works if you want it to work for yourself, its just the power of strongly encouraged suggestion. For example Ive known people that have quit smoking by having a professional hypnotize them into no longer enjoying cigarettes. It works because they want to quit smoking and they want to be hypnotized.

You can basically allow a trained hypnotist to convince you that something is true.

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You have to be willing to be susceptible to it for it to have any noticeable effect. It can't completely rewrite or erase a memory though.

https://youtu.be/zgXIo2Fav2Y

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DirtBasedSoap posted...

https://youtu.be/zgXIo2Fav2Y

OMG! This fucking clip! I havent seen this in forever.

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It's hard to believe it unless it happens to you, I would think...
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Mead posted...

Hypnosis works if you want it to work for yourself

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it's real
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It can work, but not the way people think it does. It has more to do with classical conditioning than anything you'd ever see at a stage hypnotism show.

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LinkPizza posted...

It's hard to believe it unless it happens to you, I would think...

This. I won't believe it unless I have it done to myself.

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I've done it to myself plenty of times over the years.
Like I 100% agree with Mead. It is something that you have to want. People generally misunderstand what hypnosis is, or why it is used.

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"It works if you believe in it and doesn't work if you don't. You never hear people say that about penicillin."

I'm not a big believer in the concept, but maybe it's possible at some scale although just not the stage magician-level crap. If it was something that could reliably work and be useful, I imagine the government would be using it.

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It feels like a good bit of honky.

Yes.

And it can make your wiener feel good.

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I know therapists who practice hypnotism. Like others have already said, it supposedly only works if you want it to work. I'm a bit skeptical but I dont think it's outside the realm of possibility. The mind is has some interesting ways of functioning.

It's the power of placebo applied to behavior.

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GunslingerGunsl posted...

I know therapists who practice hypnotism. Like others have already said, it supposedly only works if you want it to work. I'm a bit skeptical but I dont think it's outside the realm of possibility. The mind is has some interesting ways of functioning.

Well then... the question is... do we rid ourselves of traumatic memories... or are their existence more valuable than the pain they cause in that they help us avoid pain in the future?


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GunslingerGunsl posted...

Like others have already said, it supposedly only works if you want it to work.

That's really only half an explanation. Going into trance is a skill that you learn, the more you work at it, the easier it is. You can resist going into trance, somebody else can't force it on you, so if you're determined to "prove" that you can't be hypnotized, you won't be. The hypnotist is more of a guide to help you through the process, and isn't even a necessary part, you do the work of putting yourself into a trance.

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It only works on volunteers, where it can be very effective.

No one's good enough at it to do it to someone against their will. Yet. Just wait until someone really utilizes the power of AI.

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Watch the spiral.
And it transes you with it's twirliness. Twirliness.

You are in my power.
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Breath in as you count to 3, hold it for 3, then breath out as you count to 3.

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Zareth posted...

Breath in as you count to 3, hold it for 3, then breath out as you count to 3.

Sounds like deep breathing only with that the exhale is longer.

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HornedLion posted...

Well then... the question is... do we rid ourselves of traumatic memories... or are their existence more valuable than the pain they cause in that they help us avoid pain in the future?

Pretty deep stuff
I think pain is valuable in that it tells us something about ourselves. There is pain in trauma but not all pain is traumatic. Trauma is definitely much deeper and crippling.
synth_real posted...

That's really only half an explanation. Going into trance is a skill that you learn, the more you work at it, the easier it is. You can resist going into trance, somebody else can't force it on you, so if you're determined to "prove" that you can't be hypnotized, you won't be. The hypnotist is more of a guide to help you through the process, and isn't even a necessary part, you do the work of putting yourself into a trance.

Yeah I haven't read much into it at all. I had a professor who told me he practiced self-hypnotism as well. There was something I can't quite put my finger on that made me not like that professor though. He didn't seem genuine or competent at times...