Hypnosis: real or fake?

[Blzer]

I'm sure there are many different kinds of hypnosis and ways of trancing someone, so I'll narrow it down. I'm referring to a kind similar to a live audience watching a select group of people on stage. My sister saw it last night at a fair that's in town and was talking about how funny it was, and I remember seeing a show a couple of years ago at school but passed it off as 'real' at the time without thinking twice about it.

I could be asking the wrong question, though. Maybe I should ask... what is hypnosis? Is it absolute mind control? Is a trance really a form of suspended sensory and motor activity, or is one awake and listening to every instruction?

If anyone here has been hypnotized (or attempted as such and can brief me about it), what happens exactly? They wake you up again but you're still in the trance, so are you really awake before they snap you out of it?

I hope my questions make sense. Again, I know of different forms of hypnosis like where they can essentially program your brain to recognize certain noises or objects with your sense and it stimulates them somehow, but I mean where the guy makes you speak Chinese or dance like Chip & Dale. I can't help but think it's all an act that the volunteers like to be a part of for the sake of being a part of it. In a way, it almost is "hypnosis" but rather out of free will.

Anyone that can clear this up for me, that would be great.

[bsb13]

Re: Hypnosis: real or fake?

I believe in the power of persuasion, and to me thats pretty much what hypnosis is, or atleast the kind of hypnosis your talking about.

[Cusefan]

Re: Hypnosis: real or fake?

I want to learn how to hypnotize people just so i could have sex with any girl that lets me hypnotize her.

[Whitesox]

Re: Hypnosis: real or fake?

I want to learn how to hypnotize people just so i could have sex with any girl that lets me hypnotize her.

Genious.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Hypnosis: real or fake?

I think it's power of suggestion. Some people are definitely more likely than others to be hypnotized. A hypnotist came to my college and did a show. Took a bunch of volunteers and then he narrowed it down to about 5 or 6 to do the rest of the show. I know for a fact that one of my friends that made the final cut was faking. He told me as we were walking back to our dorm.

[NYJets]

Re: Hypnosis: real or fake?

I've seen 2 shows, one at high school, one short thing during halftime of a basketball game. There is no way they were fake. No way some of the people who were up there would have been able to fake it.

[bsb13]

Re: Hypnosis: real or fake?

This is just my personnel opinion so no one should get offended, but I think if you can be hypnotized the way Blzer is talking about...then your a very weak minded person.

[fishepa]

Re: Hypnosis: real or fake?

Hypnosis is for the weak minded.

[e0820]

Re: Hypnosis: real or fake?

Hypnosis is fake. Jedi mind trick however is real!

[CMH]

Re: Hypnosis: real or fake?

Genious.

I'd hypnotize you to learn how to spell correctly.

[p_rushing]

Re: Hypnosis: real or fake?

You have to be willing to be hypnotized. You also have to be willing to do whatever you are told to do. If you don't want to be hypnotized, you can't, and even while hypnotized, you have to be willing to do something, they can't make you do something that you don't want to do. Its all the power of suggestion, but you are still ultimately in control.

[Whitesox]

Re: Hypnosis: real or fake?

I'd hypnotize you to learn how to spell correctly.

I had a feeling I spelled it wrong, but I was too lazy to look it up. I wish the Microsoft Word-esque stuff worked on my computer, but it doesn't, even if I type wadlghasdflghafs;ghars;gh, nothing.

Thanks for having the concern to try and hypnotize me though

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Hypnosis: real or fake?

I got hypnotized at my senior grad night. It was a large group of people. Originally there were about 25 people and they narrowed it down to 10.

I can pretty much remember everything, but it may be because everyone who saw it has told me about it time after time after time, though I remember pretty aware when it was going on.

Here is my experience and my view point of it. I was aware of everything I was doing, but it kind of puts you in a state of mind in which you are able to let down your guard and do some things that you normally wouldn't do. From what I understand, you won't do anything that that you morally wouldn't do (kill someone, etc.), but like I said you put your guard down and do "silly" things that you normally wouldn't do.

One thing that I do recall that sticks out to me was them telling us that it was freezing in the room and we would start to feel cold and I remember actually shivering (teeth chattering) from being cold and it taking a while to get rid of that feeling and warm up. That part, for me, is the hardest to explain.

I wasn't shy in high school, but I definitely wasn't the most out going guy and definitely wouldn't have done half of the crap I did had I been in an ordinary situation, maybe if I was drunk, but still then probably not. Getting up and dancing or walking around like Urkle, etc. were some of the things that we did.

So I still don't know how I actually feel about it and how much was me and how much was them. I do believe that you have to be a willing partcipant for it to really be effective, though.

My mother in law and father in law both went to see a hypnotist to stop smoking. My mother in law claims that afterwards she had no urge whatsoever to smoke and that the smell of somone smoking afterward actually made her feel sick. My father in law lit up 5 minutes afterward.

[SuperBowlNachos]

Re: Hypnosis: real or fake?

I think it's power of suggestion. Some people are definitely more likely than others to be hypnotized. A hypnotist came to my college and did a show. Took a bunch of volunteers and then he narrowed it down to about 5 or 6 to do the rest of the show. I know for a fact that one of my friends that made the final cut was faking. He told me as we were walking back to our dorm.

He likely was just saying that to avoid embarrassment.

[chadskee]

Re: Hypnosis: real or fake?

Watched 15 people get hypnotized at my senior party. Absolutely no way they were faking it. Not the crap that they did.

Fake driving a car? Pretending to give CPR to a small mouse in your hand? Rubbing sun-tan lotion on your body. One shy kid actually got up and pretended to be like Elvis.

Stuff's real.