Ethics of Hypnosis?

This is one big thing that I've had questions on for a while? Do you think hypnosis is okay, wrong, or it depends on the hypnotist? I think it depends on the hypnotist, but that's just me. Remember to use the poll too.

 

(If this question isn't calling out for me, then I don't know what will...)

I could go into another rant about how hypnosis really works, waving away all the misconceptions with facts, the loopholes, the differences between clinical and stage, etc. (In this link here)

But instead, I'm just going to say it depends on the hypnotist. Let's face it. There are three types of hypnotists. The professional, the amateur, and the corrupted.

The "professional" has an actual license to use hypnosis in their trade whether it's stage or clinical. Things can go bad at times, but they're trained to deal with it as best as possible without leaving too many mental scars on the victim/subject.

The amateur (like those YouTube teenagers that are extremely lucky that they don't screw their subject over) can use it as well, but aren't always ready and capable of dealing with something that comes up unexpectedly.

The corrupted (which I could name many) tends to use their abilities for personal gain or "entertainment" by humiliating their subject (such as breaking into someone's house by "persuading" the subject's girlfriend for their spare set of keys and then bringing a camera crew into the guy's bedroom and f***ing around with him in the privacy of his own home after that damn hypnotist stalked him for weeks and made him his own personal lab rat :ranting:) and causing them mental scars that could destroy their very persona with a gapped memory. :sideways:

*ahem* Anyway, back to the point. It does depend on the hypnotist. Because although people can't be hypnotized to do things against their will, it's really easy to get around a subject's moral fiber if the hypnotist knows the loopholes. It's the hypnotist's responsibility to put the well-being of the subject's psyche before anything else. Hypnosis is a powerful tool, and like medicine, can be misused. But used in the right context, it can be very beneficial and have positive results on a person.

Of course, there are those whose intentions are pure, but may instead may make things worse. Both professionals and amateurs can deal with a problem, but not THE problem and may cause unpleasant side effects.

I guess my main point is that hypnosis is just like a gun. It all depends on not only how you use it, but if you CAN use it.

 

For starters, the power of the hypnotism depends on who's being hypnotized. Some people just can't silence their thoughts and awareness enough to lose themselves in the gimmick. The more likely you are to slip off into a daydream is usually a fairly accurate indicator.

Second, while hypnotism certainly makes a fun party favour, it's use in the clinical and judicial setting is practically scarce. It's ability to recover valid suppressed memories, help you quit smoking or lose a phobia is no better than flipping a coin. The fact that guided questions are required to help recover something like suppressed sexual abuse, has more often than not ended up suggesting that a person who actually had a normal, abuse-free childhood was sexually assault by a family member. Also, the extinguishing of a behaviour or response via hypnosis has never lasted longer than the session it was administered in, which is why other forms of therapy have firmly taken its place.

 

Hypnotism isn't exactly safe from my point of view.

My mother told me when I was young that I should never allow myself to be hypnotised because if the hypnotist dies without succeeding to pull you out of the trance then you're stuck that way.

That is what my mother told me.

I don't exactly know very much about hypnotism but like DF said. It can be dangerous

 

The being stuck in trance is a common myth, but that's all it is. It's just a myth. Two things will happen if you're hypnotized and the hypnotist happens to keel over and die.

1. You'll wake up normally by yourself.

2. You'll go into a normal sleep.

All hypnosis is, is basically like daydreaming or fazing out. It's just a state of intense focus with the hypnotist being a guide (but not a dictator). So, rest assured, you CAN NOT get stuck in trance. ;)

 

Well, what I've learned is that hypnotism can be useful really. I don't try it, cause I've never been hypnotized myself, but the ethics on hypnotism is pretty basic and complicated. So literally, it's hard to say from my point of view on whether it is good or bad, and not to be rude really, but it does sound pretty good to know that you'll wake up fine. And also, it can help with your emotions if you go to a hypno-therapist, which he/she can help with your problems in life.

But the bad possibilities are if you are still put under the trance:

1. You might be hypnotized to a certain word or thing that is said and do something stupid.

2. You may do something you might regret while you're in the state of hypnosis.

and

3. You won't remember what happened while you're in that state and could end up in jail or die.

So it's pretty complicated at what hypnotism can do to you.

 

Other factors that take place is how creative a person is or how vivid they can imagine things. The more creative, the more likely the person will go under.

Trying to fabricate false memories, though is the hypnotist's fault and not the subject's. Interrogators can sometimes do things like that, screwing with a person's memory and making them believe something that didn't really happen.

As for that other point about the extinguishing only being longer than the session, it depends on the skill of the hypnotist. That's why some subjects need more than one session to fully resolve the problem. If the hypnotist is really skilled, they'll be able to figure out what's wrong and take the necessary steps to heal those mental scars. Other times it takes time to reinforce a positive suggestion. Hypnosis is just like medicine. It's powerful, but effective if used properly and dangerous if misused.

Of course, it not only depends on the hypnotist, but the subject as well. Every person's thought process is different and it's up to the hypnotist to figure out how the subject's mind works. It's best if they collaborate with each other, building up a bond of trust, but of course, stage hypnotists don't care about stuff like that. :sideways:

 

So, all you're saying is that it's only the person/subject's fault, not the hypnotist/hypno-therapist's fault at hand?

 

1. Yes, PHT (post-hypnotic triggers) can still be deeply implanted in someone's mind, which DOES make it dangerous if the hypnotist doesn't take precautions. That's why if the hypnotist is going to do temporary suggestions, they should make sure to implant a safety net to make sure that things like that won't happen.

2. You won't do anything that you normally wouldn't do if you feel strongly about it.

3. Basically, all of the above are what COULD happen if someone corrupt or inexperienced (like stage hypnotism gone wrong) happened to put the wrong PHS (post-hypnotic suggestions) carelessly. It's not only in what the suggestion is, it's how it's worded. The subject's subconscious can take things too literally if the hypnotist isn't careful.

Also, it depends on the person's trance level as well. If they're not "deep" enough, then they'll be able to remember what they were doing with no problem. Sometimes they'll just have fragments of memories, but nothing specific as if they were sleepwalking. If a hypnotist is lucky enough to get a subject that can go REALLY deep, then the subject's responses will be that much more powerful.

I didn't say that. I just explained the responsibilities of a hypnotist and that they should always put the subject's well-being in mind before everything else.

 

I don't see anything wrong with Hypnosis to be truthful.

 

i really don't know enough about it and i wasn't even sure if it was real. but if it was real it could be useful, i wouldn't say it's unethical.

 

I agree with this. It's well said. Hypnotism is used for some things such as helping break a habit, cope with a phobia etc, but the results are mixed and it depends not just on the hypnotist, but also the person getting hypnotized. It depends also on repressed things and each patient is quite different from the others. It can help some people and apparently works well for some but I would probably use it as a 'last' resort thing because I like control and don't want someone else messing me up because their viewpoints on some condition is different than mine. That is also the downside of hypnotism is you probably aren't going to know everything that person is going to put in your head and it may be something contradictory to your nature. Psychiatrists give pills that I wouldn't want unless I knew -everything- that stuff can do to me. The same goes for hypnotism.