Suggestion in psychology. What is it briefly, definition, examples

Suggestion translated from Latin means suggestion. In psychology, this concept means a method of psychological influence on a person’s consciousness, the purpose of which is to convey certain beliefs and attitudes and perceive them uncritically by the receiving party.

On a subconscious level, all people are susceptible to suggestion to varying degrees, and it is an integral part of relationships. This idea was first voiced by the Soviet and Russian psychiatrist Bekhterev, being several decades ahead of his colleagues in this regard.

Suggestion in psychology

What is suggestion in psychology? Most special teaching aids interpret it as a therapeutic effect on the psyche affecting emotions and perception. The following areas of psychology actively use suggestion:

• psychosomatics;
• psychoanalysis;
• NLP.

Suggestive attitudes inspired by the psychotherapist penetrate deeply into the patient’s subconscious and positive effects are achieved:

• effective treatment of phobias, neuroses, depression;
• getting rid of destructive habits (smoking, alcoholism)
• formation of new patterns.

Suggestive techniques in psychotherapy

In order for a suggestive method chosen specifically for a specific client or group of people to work as best as possible, a number of conditions are necessary:

1. A psychotherapist who inspires trust and authority.
2. The suggested formula should be brief, targeted, imperative.
3. The following are taken into account: the psychological state, individual age and characterological parameters of the client.
4. Compliance of the suggestion formula with the goals of therapy.

Suggestive techniques and methods are divided into:

• verbal;
• non-verbal.

The main or key element in a suggestion is the word. In V. Shefner’s poem “Words,” there are lines that show the power and strength of speech influence: “With a word you can kill, with a word you can save, with a word you can lead shelves!” Verbal techniques in psychotherapy include:

Suggestion in the waking state. The “fatherly” method assumes imperativeness. Directive, demanding and authoritarian style of instilling commands: “go!”, “act!”, “you will do it!”. The “maternal method” is soft, enveloping the patient in calm: “relax!”, “calm down!”.

Suggestion during sleep. The therapist makes adjustments to the sleeping person: he puts his hand on the forehead and speaks phrases, sometimes at a slow, sometimes at a fast pace, while monitoring the patient’s breathing: if it changes, then the person is ready for suggestion.

Hypnosuggestive techniques. The therapist induces a special dream-like state in the client called hypnosis

During this state, control is removed, attention is reduced, and it becomes possible to program treatment programs into the patient’s subconscious.

Autosuggestion. Hypnoautogenic training

Human consciousness is directed from external to internal processes by pronouncing formulas.

Nonverbal “wordless” suggestion techniques:

Marking. Isolation of a reference phrase with the addition of gestures and manipulations with objects.

Telepathy. Mental transmission of suggestion

The technique is based on the attunement of the biorhythms of the suggestor and the suggestor, it requires sustained concentration and attention on the object, for this it is important to get used to the image.

Who is easily influenced?

Suggestion in psychology is the most effective manipulative method of influencing human thinking and behavior. Suggestion can be used for different purposes - medical, political, psychological. All people react differently to suggested information, but there are certain categories that are more susceptible to perception and which are easier to suggest.

Suggestion in psychology
However, it is worth noting that people who do not belong to these groups, if desired, can be fully prepared to perceive the suggested information. This is facilitated by a favorable atmosphere, the authority of the suggestor and the correctly selected technique for presenting information.

Suggestive abilities

Suggestive hypnosis is an influence aimed at a person with the goal of immersing him in a special state of consciousness, in which criticism of what is happening is reduced, barriers are removed and information penetrates directly into the subconscious. Suggestive abilities can be transmitted genetically (gypsy hypnosis), but like any talents, suggestive abilities must be developed. Qualities that a suggestor must have in order to effectively influence and inspire:

• strong will;
• concentration;
• self confidence;
• mastery of self-regulation techniques;
• centered gaze;
• charm, charisma;
• intellectual superiority;
• tone, timbre, rhythm of speech, tuned in a certain way.

What is suggestion?

Suggestion is (Latin suggestio - suggestion, advice) - a special kind of verbal and non-verbal influence on the human psyche, to introduce attitudes, programs into the subconscious for manipulative or therapeutic purposes. As a result of suggestion:

• change of state;
• encouragement to action.

Suggestion is involved in many areas of society:

• medicine;
• psychology, psychiatry;
• Show Business;
• works of art, fiction, music;
• advertising;
• MASS MEDIA;
• jurisprudence;
• military structures;
• religion;
• policy;
• sport.

Suggestion is divided into:

1. Autosuggestion
   is self-hypnosis. Pronunciation of attitudes, affirmations, texts by a person to himself. Autogenic training.
2. Heterosuggestion
   is the influence of the suggestor (the one who suggests) on the suggestor (the one who is influenced).

Suggestion in advertising

Any advertising is a manipulation of consciousness through influencing people’s feelings and emotions. Specialists in promoting certain products try to present the product in such a way as to involve all the main human sensory systems: vision, hearing, taste, tactile sensations. Suggestive advertising copy uses keywords for impact and is supported by a vivid picture.

Suggestive techniques in advertising

Suggestive approach in advertising - main types of influence:

1. Influence on emotional-figurative thinking
   . The advantages of the product are presented in a bright emotional “wrapper”, which reduces criticism. When purchasing an apartment with a mortgage, a car on credit: “Have you ever cried with happiness?”
2. Text
   . Informing the population: “Do you want to become healthy/slim/strong?” There is an incentive for a person to take a product from a particular company.
3. Symbols
   . In advertising, this is a trademark – a logo. The image captured in the symbol allows you to influence a person’s emotions and make the brand recognizable.
4. Tagline
   . The company’s short motto, aimed at introducing into the subconscious through the client’s values: “We care about each of you!”
5. Using a specific color palette
   . Colors are absorbed by the human nervous system by 80%, and only 20% is due to vision - this is explained by the fact that each color has a stereotypical meaning:

• yellow – sunny, warm, active;
• red – energy, drive, excitement;
• blue - trust, calm, relaxation;
• green - health (used in drug advertising);
• black - classic, authority.

Suggestion and control of other people's behavior

Suggestion and control of other people's behavior

Suggestion is a process of influencing a person’s mental sphere associated with a decrease in consciousness

and criticality in the perception and implementation of the suggested content, with the absence of a targeted active understanding of it, a detailed logical analysis and assessment in relation to past experience and the given state of the subject.

With suggestion, thoughts, moods, feelings, behavior, vegetative and motor reactions are transmitted and induced, and not consent is achieved, but the partner’s acceptance of information based on a ready-made conclusion. 

Suggestion is also any revaluation of internal information carried out from the outside.

With suggestion, the person’s independently directed activity to establish and re-evaluate the importance of connections between the recorded content, the current situation and past experience (criticality) is absent or weakened, and the work of memory is more reduced to primary

sorting
sieve
- fishing (sensations).

Daily average social person

makes several dozen or even hundreds of recordings of varying strength according to the type of suggestion due to the presence of the conditions necessary for its implementation.
Intentional suggestion is made upon stimulation and compliance with
these conditions. As a technique, suggestion is a set of methods for enhancing influence.

Suggestion can be carried out both by diverting the partner’s attention from the suggested idea, and by attracting it. but in the latter case, the attitude towards the idea is established by the suggestor.

Suggestor is someone who suggests.

Suggerend is the one who is suggested.

The following variants of suggestor behavior during suggestion are distinguished:

- undeniable authority - when the suggestor has no doubts about the success of the suggestion;

– intellectual – when the suggestor explains everything he does;

– emotional – in which the suggender’s need for sympathy, well-being and security is used;

– passive – when

the suggestor assures that he can’t do anything

done without the help of a suggester, creating the illusion that he does everything himself.

They offer the following formula of suggestion:

imagination + imitation attitude

trust emotion suggestion

infection conformity

Suggestion is formed on the basis of trust by stimulating imagination and emotions, developed through the mechanisms of infection and imitation, using the established attitudes of suggerend and, in part, conformity.

A text constructed for motivation, logically verified (persuasion), finding resonance in the partner (reflexes), pronounced in an authoritative tone after appropriate preparation of the partner (imitation), emotionally (contagion), stimulating the imagination, coinciding with the attitudes of the suggestor (needs), trusting the suggestor , is a suggestion (this is a complex, generalizing formulation),

At the beginning of the process of suggestion, the relation of the suggestor to the suggestor is included, and then the relation of the suggester to the content of the suggestion.

Suggestion consists of connecting the necessary state of the suggester and forming a given motivation -

Suggestion can be strengthened, respectively, by enhancing suggestibility and by strengthening suggestion.

The conditions that determine the effectiveness of suggestion are:

– properties of the suggestor: social status; charm; volitional, intellectual, characterological superiority

;

– features of suggerend

: degree of suggestibility;

– relationship

, developing between them: trust, authority, dependence; 

– way of constructing a message: level of argumentation, nature of the combination of logical and emotional components, reinforcement by other influences.

These and others

The points will be explained in more detail below -

Counter-suggestion is resistance to suggestive influence and methods of doing so.

It can be used both to protect the individual from suggestive influences, and to refute this defense. There are such

anti-suggestive barriers:

– conscious critical thinking – in this case, the suggested thought has additional power if it is well thought out logically;

– unconscious intuitive-affective barrier – can manifest itself in the form of negativism, tendentiousness, doubt, suspicion;

– ethical barrier – when the content of the suggestion contradicts duty, moral, ethical and religious principles.

2. Peculiarities

interactions

The suggestor controls the flow of sensations, thoughts and further ideas created by the suggestor (and not the suggestor himself), concentrating his attention on some of them and ignoring others. Thus, the suggerend’s attention is controlled from the outside, and his volitional attention and concentration are suppressed. A reduction is achieved as a side effect

the activity of the suggester in generating ideas and the narrowing of his sensory field.

The suggestor establishes an archaic (R-D) relationship with the suggestor by influencing his infantile impulses (regression <I>). Thus, the form of such relationships can be established: “maternal”, based on warm feelings and affection similar to the relationship between the cub and the mother (soft technique, cooperative); “Paternal” (hard, imperative), based on fear.

Following the leader: the suggestor transfers responsibility for the situation to the suggestor (who, as it were, replaces the suggestor’s conscience and sanctions actions), and he himself is responsible for carrying out the suggestion, thus moving from a lack of information to its completeness about what and how to do.

A mass of two persons is formed - a leader and a member.

Role acceptance and unconscious role-playing

behavior of the suggestend and suggestor: replaying the previous situation, almost without realizing it - in this case, the suggestor “guesses” a suitable model for him from those available in the suggestend and gives him the opportunity to execute it.

During suggestion, individual, specific aspects of an object are emphasized, and the attitude formed on individual aspects is transferred to the entire object - similar to the formation of an image.

Suggestion:

– is enhanced by the use of ideas and other mental phenomena (listed in the definition of influence) that have developed in the life experience of the suggender;

– coincides with the goals and the given ( existing

) the social
attitude
of the suggender, satisfies or
contributes to
the satisfaction of significant needs and interests;

– effective when it uses information that confirms the views of the suggestor with which

he agrees consciously or unconsciously.

The main role belongs to the right hemisphere - imagination and imaginative thinking are stimulated, while the activity of the critical left hemisphere is inhibited.

Suggestion is strengthened when the sugterend himself (ostensibly) chooses the goal or participates in its selection, processes the suggestion in accordance with his attitude (thus turning it into self-suggestion), and considers his course of action to be the result of his own initiative.

An important component in suggestion is faith, trust in the suggestor, which can manifest itself both in the person of the suggestor and in the social group that he represents.

Suggestion can be carried out in the form of strong persuasion

pressure, emotional-volitional influence. Being emotional and stimulating emotions in a suggester, the suggestor programs it. Emotions are a necessary component of suggestion.

3. Properties of the suggestor. Authority

The following properties are characteristic of a good hypnotist:

– desire to talk a lot;

– acting, playing a role in the process of suggestion;

– the desire to play the role of an all-powerful parent;

– the desire to establish both close and distant relationships;

– spontaneity, freedom of action, confidence;

– external and internal

calmness, inner harmony.

Authority is a high degree of significance (reference) for those around a person (suggestor) and his manifestations.

It is an indirect argument - a compensator for direct argumentation in case of lack or absence of it

.

The authority of the suggestor and its manifestations can be both stable and situationally changing. In the latter case, the participants in the contact can alternately change the roles of suggestor and suggester, respectively inspiring each other with something with one force or another.

The following sources of authority formation have been identified:

1) experience, previous merits, the scale of transformations made by a person or his involvement in them;

2) reflection in others as a highly moral, fair person;

3) possession of one or another type of power. The following types of power are distinguished:

– reward power – to what extent can person A satisfy the needs of person B and how much will A make this satisfaction dependent on B’s desired behavior for him;

- coercive power - to what extent A can punish B for undesirable behavior by dissatisfying one or another need of B and to what extent A will make the dissatisfaction of the need dependent on the undesirable behavior;

– normative power – norms learned by B, according to which A has the right to control compliance with certain rules of behavior and, if necessary,

insist on them;

– the power of the standard – is based on the identification of B with A and the desire of B to be like A;

– the power of the expert – depends on the amount attributed to A by B 

special knowledge, intuition or skills related to the area of ​​​​the behavior in question;

– information power – when A has information that can force B to see the consequences of his behavior

in a new light.

Sources of power are distinguished: personal – intelligence, beauty, charm, physical strength; institutional

– economic, legal, role powers, weapons;

4) the prestige of the information

;

5) a halo of fame, the magic of the suggestor’s name;

6) mystery, understatement of the image of the suggestor, despite the fact that special abilities or capabilities are attributed to him;

7) the extent to which the above conditions satisfy the suggerend’s need for adoration and worship of someone - to deify the hero.

Means for increasing and maintaining authority can be

:

– competence, control of the situation, self-control, confidence;

– reinforcement by action: if the suggestor accurately identifies and reinforces the sensations of the suggestor with words, prevents reactions, now or earlier he was right, carefully worked out and prepared arguments (including, for example, documents if they are necessary for the conversation);

– maintaining distant relationships;

- certificates, diplomas

, awards, prizes; involvement in various institutions and events; acquaintance;

– playing the role of a deliverer, guardian angel;

– in speech – confident tone, intonation, references to authorities, phrases like “This is very important,” etc.

4. Rapport

Rapport - the establishment of empathic empathy and spiritual resonance, close interpersonal relationships based on a high degree of unity of thoughts, interests, feelings, a feeling of spiritual closeness; friendly, friendly, trusting atmosphere.

Rapport is necessary for soft

technique and is installed with the aim of relieving tension, reducing alertness, overcoming negativism, and weakening vigilance.

The following are used to establish rapport:

facilities:

– expanded information

suggerenda;

– detailing of the suggestor’s text;

– soft emotional manner;

– calm, benevolent confidence;

– open gestures;

- descriptive unanimity - an accurate description of the sensations and experiences of the suggestor, or, if he refuses, an excuse-consent (a remark consistent with the words

suggerenda);

– sound, spatial, color accompaniment of speech.

It is suggested that a sign of absolute trust is when a suggerend

criticizes himself and can

laugh at yourself in the presence
of a suggestor
.

5. Degree of suggestibility

The degree of suggestibility increases with: 

1) properties and characteristics of the suggender’s personality: self-doubt, low self-esteem, feelings of inferiority, humility, lack of independence, mental subordination, discipline, obedience, devotion, obedience, undeveloped sense of responsibility, lack of smartness in behavior, timidity, shyness, shyness, gullibility , increased emotionality, impressionability, daydreaming, anxiety

, imagery (mainly right-hemisphere thinking), weakness of logical thinking, tendency to imitation, tendency to fantasize, superstitiousness and faith (in actualized authority),
slow
pace of mental activity, unstable habits and beliefs;

2) situational factors:

– rest, relaxation, fatigue (general, sensory organs, thinking), stress, strong emotional arousal, tension, concern, a feeling of hopelessness, boredom, indifference, sympathy, readiness, committing physical

actions, weakening of will, failure to receive help, pain, decreased criticality (from other reasons), natural
drowsiness
, monotony of stimuli;

– low level of awareness, competence in the issue being discussed or the type of activity being performed.

– their low degree of significance for the individual;

– lack of experience of behavior in a difficult or unfamiliar environment;

– lack of time to make a decision,

– unexpectedness of the message;

3) conditions > diseases of the suggerend: retardation, exhaustion, asthenia (neuro-mental weakness, increased fatigue, mood instability, sleep disorders), drug addiction, impotence, significant changes in the psychophysical state and other diseases, mainly somatic

.

Using the partner’s existing state or stimulating

of his own free will, the communicator can achieve greater effectiveness of his text.

YES. Zaraisky

p style='text-align:justify;text-indent:42.55pt'>

Share link:

Indications for hypnotic therapy

Hypnosuggestion is used for neurological diseases. Doctors recommend using this method to treat neuroses, neurasthenia, insomnia, prolonged depression, mental disorders that lead to stuttering, and speech problems. Hypnosis is often used in group psychotherapy sessions to combat various fears and phobias. It reduces anxiety and restlessness, stabilizes the emotional background, and relieves obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Hypnotic sleep effectively helps to cure children from diseases such as nervous tics, hysterical disorder, speech impairment, severe fear, and nocturnal enuresis. Children easily succumb to hypnosis, receiving positive instructions from the doctor, and very quickly restore their health. The method helps to cope with bad childhood habits, and in adolescence it normalizes deviant behavior.

Hypnosis effectively helps to cope with skin diseases (eczema, psoriasis, lichen, warts and erythema). Physicians have increasingly begun to use hypnosuggestive psychotherapy to treat people with bronchial asthma, brain disorders, hypertension, angina pectoris, ulcers and other problems of the gastrointestinal tract, allergies, and dysmenorrhea. Hypnosis not only improves a person’s general condition by reducing the symptoms of the disease, but also helps to cope with anxiety, fear, and depression.

Foreign doctors widely use hypnosuggestion during dental operations instead of anesthesia. Hypnosis allows you to quickly put the patient to sleep, reducing pain during the operation. Hypnosis is no less effective in dealing with such harmful addictions as alcohol, drugs and cigarettes.

Classification

Direct suggestions

1. explicit direct
2. direct camouflaged (something is offered openly, but at the same time it is camouflaged, since part of it comes from the client; teaches the client to act in a special way)
3. post-hypnotic

Indirect suggestions

1. sequence of acceptance, “yes set” (several statements with which a person will agree)
   “You came to me, sit now in this soft chair, listen to my voice, today you will feel much better” (“today you will feel much better” - this, in fact, is a suggestion, and the words that follow it set the person up for agreement )
2. “Why not let it happen?”
3. "Do not go into trance until you are comfortable in this chair" (implication added)
4. “Do not take a deep breath until your hand touches your face” (implication added)
5. “You will not know how pleasant you can be in a trance until your hand is completely on your thigh” (implication added)
6. "You don't need to do (anything)
   until
   (inevitable customer behavior occurs in the near future)
   "
7. shock, surprise, creative moments
8. banality (hard to reject)
   “When you sit comfortably, you can relax”
9. “Every person goes into trance differently”
10. “People forget so much. Keys, phone numbers, meetings..." (amnesia is structured)
11. any proverbs and sayings
12. “Your headache may go away now, as soon as your unconscious mind is ready to let it go.”
13. “Your symptom may now disappear once your unconscious mind understands that you can deal with the problem in a more constructive way.”
14. ideomotor (we want to cause ideomotor reactions - movement)

Open (says something will happen, but doesn't specify what it is)

1. mobilizing (undefined mobilizing frameworks are offered, which the person fills out himself, depending on his own resources; a pause is made after the mobilizing words)
   “Your unconscious mind will put everything you need in its place.”
2. “Using your unconscious resources will allow (pause)
   to accomplish
   (pause)
   this work.”
3. “Your unconscious can harmonize (pause)
   everything that needs to be harmonized”
4. limited open (limited choices offered that are not specified; typically things that are difficult to reject)
   “You can learn in different ways”;
5. "There are different ways to work"
6. “Some poses make you feel comfortable.”
7. covering all the capabilities of the class (after listing all the capabilities, you should add “or something else”)

Self-hypnosis

Self-hypnosis is the suggestion of ideas, thoughts, and feelings to oneself. For example, those recommended by a doctor and aimed at eliminating painful phenomena and improving overall well-being. Self-hypnosis is implemented through autogenic training, which the patient learns with the help of a psychotherapist. A person independently reads (to himself or out loud) or simply thinks through and pronounces certain words or entire phrases in order to influence himself.

Self-hypnosis can have an incomparably more powerful effect on the individual compared to outside suggestion. This is explained by the fact that a person can practice self-hypnosis independently indefinitely throughout his life.

Examples of suggestive techniques

Suggestion in psychology is a special form of influence on the human psyche, in which he easily perceives the information conveyed to him and does not subject it to critical analysis and processing. For suggestion, specialists use various techniques and techniques, which depend on the specific area and sphere, as well as the tasks that suggestion pursues in them.

In advertising

Advertising can have a tremendous impact on the psyche of people. To achieve goals, a whole army of marketers and psychologists work on creating videos. They know well what exactly a person can “fall for” and how to make him want to purchase a product or service.

For this we use:

• speech techniques and texts – speech and words have the most powerful stimulus and power of suggestion, so every word in advertising is pronounced for a reason;
• corporate identity - the recognition and promotion of a brand popularizes it, and people who have similar things are considered among the elite;
• unusual, catchy plots of videos - people with non-standard appearance, actors, singers can be attracted. What has become unusual is the presentation of advertising without words, when the video is interrupted by silence and the person certainly pays attention to the fact that the voice has suddenly disappeared;
• a visual demonstration of processes - when in an advertisement for chocolate bars or cocoa milk is poured in a slow beautiful stream or the processes of creating a particular product are demonstrated.

In the media

The media have traditionally been a means of propaganda and indoctrination. In this sense, this resource is most often used by government authorities. The role of influence on suggestion is especially strong in countries with a totalitarian and authoritarian style of government, where freedom of speech is prohibited and there is strict censorship.

In such countries, all television channels, print publications and Internet resources are very highly politicized and are engaged in propaganda of the current government.

In politics

Experienced politicians, speaking in public, not only know how and what they should say, but also know how to influence people using various suggestive techniques (non-verbal methods, persuasion).

Suggestion is used especially often by politicians during the election campaign, when the electorate is influenced in various ways. Often, many politicians use demagoguery and populism in their speeches, making empty promises that, nevertheless, may resonate with a certain part of the population.

Subliminal suggestion

Methods of subconscious suggestion can be used both in individual sessions or in personal communication, and broadcast to the masses. Usually, after such exposure, a person may feel that something is wrong and may have a headache.

Such suggestion can be visual or vocal, and it is officially prohibited for use in advertising and public performances. However, this tool is so subtle that its use can be difficult to prove.

For example, in an advertisement two voices with different tonality levels may sound in parallel. A lower voice will influence the subconscious and create a powerful motivational impulse in the listener.

Post-hypnotic suggestion

It is a reminder of the hypnotist's program for the client to feel or behave in a certain way after the session is completed. Specialists can use this kind of installation in certain circumstances when it is necessary to secure a particular program.

For example, when working with a shy client, the hypnotist gives him such a post-hypnotic setting that every time he meets with his superiors, a sense of self-esteem and confidence awakens within him.

Most often, hypnotists, by introducing post-hypnotic attitudes into the patient’s consciousness, strive to make their work easier, so that in subsequent sessions the person quickly calms down, enters a trance and becomes as receptive as possible.

Verbal suggestion

Verbal influence on consciousness and subconscious is carried out with the aim of transforming a person’s thoughts, views and beliefs. Various verbal tools are used to influence the psyche. This can be the tone, rhythm of speech, the semantic load itself, when inversion is used, the use of unusual words and phrases, emotional coloring.

For example, many leaders in their speeches can repeat key points, emphasize and mark them. In this situation, the meaning of what was said, which must be assimilated by the people receiving the information, as well as its emotional presentation are closely intertwined.

Suggestion "ricochet"

The “ricochet” technique is based on deep knowledge of the characteristics of the human psyche, who tend to want to know something secret and forbidden. In this case, he receives information not from the suggestor directly, but as if by chance from another source. It can be overheard or retold by those who overheard it.

What happens is a kind of reflection (ricochet) effect when a person gains access to classified information. This influence is indirect, but its power of influence exceeds direct suggestion. Today there are many closed groups on social networks of various subjects and people themselves, trying to find out hidden information, try to get into them.

This method is also effective when raising children, when parents can know that the child is eavesdropping on them and, for example, specifically praise him, trying to correct his attitude towards learning or some other behavioral aspects.

Suggestion is a powerful tool used in psychology and psychiatry to influence a person. Most often, suggestion is used to resolve various kinds of psychological problems, as well as for educational purposes.

The massive use of this technique, the inculcation of any information into numerous groups of the population, can be used by people in power, while the information conveyed may not always correspond to reality and carry a destructive message.

Treatment with hypnotic suggestion

Doctors distinguish 3 main stages of the hypnotic state. The classification was proposed by the Russian psychoneurologist Valery Bekhterev in 1911. Subsequently, it was significantly supplemented and expanded by his students.

1. Drowsiness. During the session, the patient falls into a light drowsy state. He is aware of everything that happens to him. Despite the perceived weakness in the body, he can stand up, open his eyes, interrupting the session at his own request. After the procedure, he recovers very quickly and returns to his normal state. The person does not realize that he was in a dream.
2. In the language of science, this stage is called middle sleep or hypotoxicity. During hypnosis, a person's senses become dull, the thought process slows down, the body becomes lethargic, and mobility is limited. After the session, patients admit that they distantly heard the doctor's voice and other sounds, but did not want to wake up to see what was happening. The patient experiences post-hypnotic amnesia.
3. Somnambulism. In this state, the patient completely disconnects from the outside world, maintaining contact only with the doctor who conducts the session. The patient is not only disoriented, but also has complete amnesia: everything that happened during the session is completely erased from his memory.

By a person’s appearance (level of breathing, eyelid trembling, reaction to sounds), a specialist can determine at what stage of hypnotic sleep his patient is.

It is very important to properly organize the process of dehypnotization (coming out of a state of hypnosis) in order to consolidate the positive attitudes used to treat the patient

During hypnosis, general suggestions can be used to help relieve pain, improve a person’s well-being, raise the body’s defenses, restore energy tone, and get rid of traumatic memories. Special settings are used in specific psychological situations that worry the patient and which can provoke the development of the disease.

Suggestion and counter-suggestion

Suggestive methods of influence reduce a person’s criticality and create a state of trust, especially in a crowd. A person becomes infected with other people's ideas and attitudes. In the course of history, people develop a feeling of protest in response to manipulation, “isolation” and distrust begin to increase, and this is how counter-suggestions manifest themselves - everything that is instilled at the level of the state, religion, and the media is subject to internal criticism. Counter-suggestion develops from mistrust into defiance. Positive aspects of counter-suggestion:

• the exit of a particular person beyond the “we” of the group;
• development of new traditions and norms in society, a way out of “stagnation”.

A new method of influencing the body

Suggestive therapy will help eliminate pain, get rid of mental wounds and cure bodily ailments. This term, incomprehensible to the common man, hides an effective method of influencing the human body. This form of therapy eliminates various diseases with the help of psychological attitudes that are instilled in a person under hypnosis. During the session, the doctor asks the patient verbal affirmations that help him restore health and give up addictions (smoking, alcoholism, drugs).

The main thing is that all words that are used during the treatment process must have a positive form and not carry a negative meaning for the patient.

The most common methods of suggestive therapy are hypnosis, suggestion methods and auto-training. A person enters a state of hypnosis as a result of the influence of a doctor. This is neither sleep nor wakefulness; in this state, his consciousness is open to external influences, and his senses are heightened.

To create the necessary mood in the patient, as well as to stimulate him to certain actions, doctors use verbal and non-verbal methods of suggestion. During the sessions, the patient’s emotional mood changes, confidence in a speedy recovery and determination are gained, and the somatic functions of the body are activated. The patient can use this psychological technique independently, during self-hypnosis (auto-training), changing the state of his health, instilling positive psychological attitudes.

How effective therapy will be depends on:

• the age of the patient (children are much easier to suggest and hypnotize);
• general well-being (people with weakened immune systems react faster to external influences);
• experience and professionalism of the suggestor (the patient must trust his psychotherapist);
• individual character traits of the patient;
• social attitudes that the patient acquired during his life.

To induce a hypnotic state, the doctor can use various techniques. In addition to verbal forms, monotonous sounds (metronome, recording of dripping water, buzzer) and tactile stimuli (monotonous touches, fixing the patient’s attention with objects, passes) are used.

Hypnosuggestive therapy helps to cope with many different diseases.

The use of suggestion in psychotherapy

Suggestion or suggestion in psychology is a way of influencing a person’s consciousness and subconscious with the aim of uncritically introducing certain attitudes into them. Uncritical implementation means that a person does not analyze or question the truth and veracity of incoming information flows and perceives them without alternative.

With the help of suggestion, you can influence feelings, emotions and actions, while the person does not subject the perceived information to logical processing.

To achieve these goals in psychotherapy, there are a number of methods that allow you to instill in a person this or that information. This can be both verbal and non-verbal influence, used in a state of hypnotic, narcotic or natural sleep, as well as in a state of wakefulness.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a state caused by self-hypnosis or under the influence of a hypnotist. Characterized by a sharp decrease in attention to the surrounding reality and concentration on the object of suggestion. During hypnosis, a so-called trance state develops, when the degree of conscious participation in processing incoming information changes.

There is still no consensus on exactly how processes develop in the human brain and consciousness under the influence of hypnosis. Most researchers tend to believe that while under hypnosis (or in a trance), a person is in a state of half-asleep and decreased consciousness. However, other researchers point out that the hypnotic state is not a full-fledged sleep.

There are many myths around hypnotic sessions, and the main one is that you can put a person into a trance against his will, although in reality this is not the case. Under the influence of hypnosis, people do not lose their memory and they are not characterized by the manifestation of unprecedented physical strength, as well as the performance of unacceptable things.

Most often, hypnotic sessions are used by practicing psychotherapists for peaceful purposes to correct psycho-emotional disorders - neuroses, depression, various phobias.

Some practitioners use hypnosis to rid patients of addictions - food, alcohol, nicotine. Hypnosis can be used for unscrupulous purposes by various charlatans who offer healing from diseases or who try to get money or property.

NLP

NLP stands for neuro-linguistic programming and is a special approach to interpersonal relationship building and personality development in general. Many experts do not consider NLP as a full-fledged practice and point to its pseudoscience.

This technique was developed by American linguist John Grinder and psychologist Richard Bandler. They argued that there is a relationship between neural processes, language of influence and behavioral components with the achievement of desired goals.

Therefore, NLP techniques combined linguistic influence and programming, which consisted of imitation, copying and modeling the behavior and thinking of people who had reached certain heights in any field.

These practices are criticized, since the techniques used in NLP are based on outdated ideas about how the brain works and have been shown to be ineffective in a number of studies.

Psychoactive texts

If you want to influence someone, texts are used that directly and indirectly influence the psyche. Under the influence of such information, a person can enter a trance, a state similar to hypnosis.

For this purpose, repeating words and phrases that carry a bright expressive color can be used. Most often, such suggestion occurs indirectly (indirectly) and is used to process a group of people, for example, a work or educational group.

Nonverbal influence on behavior and thinking

Nonverbal suggestion uses gestures, intonation, and color rendition to influence the psyche of people. Thus, an experienced psychotherapist can, by changing the timbre of his voice, encourage a person to change some views and behavior in general.

Also, in order to give the patient time to process what is being suggested, experienced specialists use pauses, during which the person comprehends the main message of the information being conveyed to him.

Separately, it is worth noting this type of non-verbal influence on the human psyche as ASMR video. In addition to muffled voices and whispers, they use various kinds of sounds that help a person feel the so-called goosebumps and relax. These videos are a prime example of suggestion, as they are very popular for relaxing and calming your nerves.

Despite the fact that some people do not understand these sensations, since they do not have a sensory-psychic response in the form of tingling, pleasant sensations in the back of the head and “goosebumps” spreading throughout the body, these videos still have a calming effect on the majority of people, which proves that a person is susceptible to suggestion.

Marking

It implies placing some emphasis on the main phrase during speech addressed to the suggestor. To do this, in the stream of words addressed to the suggested person, certain key points are highlighted (marked). This can be done using a pause, intonation, or speed of speech.

Also, the main message phrase can be emphasized by gestures or by performing any actions with different objects:

• fingering the rosary;
• twisting pens, pencils;
• taking off and putting on glasses.

The effectiveness of the actions performed increases if such manipulations are repeated many times.

Belief

Persuasion is one of the softest forms of suggestion, since in this case the suggestor addresses and influences not the subconscious, but the conscious component of the personality. For such a directed influence, well-founded argumentation and arguments are used, as well as a visual demonstration of something that proves the correctness of the given judgments.

This type of psychological influence in groups is effective in the absence of acute aggravated conflicts and does not really help to convince radically minded individuals.

Suggestion in a dream

This technique of suggestion is partly based on the principles of a hypnotic session. It is no secret that during sleep a person is in a state similar to trance or hypnosis, and knowledgeable specialists can skillfully, as they say, “inscribe” the necessary information on the subconscious. The best moment for this is the first 15-40 minutes. after falling asleep, or 1.5-2 hours before waking up.

To conduct a session, the suggestor sits near the head of a sleeping person and barely touches his fingers or forehead and begins to pronounce a prepared speech. To check the establishment of contact, you can slow down or, on the contrary, speed up the pace of speech. If as a result of these manipulations a sleeping person’s breathing changes, it means that the connection has been established and he is receptive to receiving information.

To conduct such sessions, it is not necessary to invite a specialist - you can use audio or video materials.

Similar practices are used to treat:

• various fears in children;
• enuresis;
• hysterical disorders.

In adults, this technique is effective in combating addictions. Suggestion is used in dreams and for educational purposes, especially for teaching a foreign language.

Self-suggestion or auto-training

Self-hypnosis has no less power than suggestion carried out by another person. Some experts believe that this technique is based on the “placebo” effect. Before a self-hypnosis session, autogenic training is carried out, through which a person puts himself into a trance state. Yoga or meditation can also be used to prepare.

This technique allows a person to reconfigure his thoughts independently, without anyone’s help. This is a very important point, since physical and mental health depends on your mood and your own attitudes.

There are facts in medicine when, through thought and self-hypnosis, a person either found the path to healing or could bring himself to the grave if the wrong destructive (destructive) attitudes were chosen.

Autogenic training

Psychotherapists suggest that the patient use a method of relaxation such as autogenic training, when, in the process of complete relaxation or trance, a person conducts a self-hypnosis session. This method of influence was developed on the basis of Eastern practices by the German psychiatrist Johann Schulz in 1932.

Doctors use specially designed exercises to relax muscles, normalize heartbeat, regulate breathing rhythm, and work with internal experiences. Unlike hypnosis, autogenic training involves the active involvement of the patient in the meditative process. Such treatment sessions are carried out 4-5 times a day. The first month of treatment, meditation lasts literally a few minutes. Their time gradually increases, but the total does not exceed 30 minutes. The patient trains under the close supervision of a doctor. The treatment course lasts 9-12 months.

Impact on consciousness through self-suggestion

Most often, doctors recommend using the method developed by the French pharmacist and psychologist Emile Coue. The treatment proposed by the doctor allows you to replace harmful psychological attitudes with positive ones that have a beneficial effect on the body. The healing formula consists of simple and positive statements: “Every day I get better and better!”, “I am full of strength and energy that heal my body!”, “I am healthy and feel great!”.

Don’t be embarrassed if the phrases sound somehow childish and not serious. Since at this moment a person turns to his subconscious, the words need to be selected as simple as possible. The process of suggestion should be effortless; if every day a person forces himself to use the self-hypnosis method, nothing good will come of it.

Phrases are selected during a consultation with a psychotherapist. Depending on the problem, a specialist will help you correct the resulting text.

It should be short - 2-3 sentences maximum. If we are talking about the fight against harmful addictions, then in this case the phrases used for self-hypnosis may take a more detailed form: “My decision to quit drinking is final and not subject to discussion. No matter how my friends persuade me and no matter what arguments they give, I will still remain in my opinion and will not drink! My decision is final!”

The self-hypnosis session does not last very long - 4-5 minutes. The course of treatment is from 1 to 2 months. During the session, the person should take a comfortable position and completely relax. Phrases should be repeated out loud several times in a row. This should be done slowly and without getting hung up on the content.

Stages of treatment

Suggestion or suggestion is most often used for peaceful therapeutic purposes, to work through psychological trauma, fight addictions and correct the behavior of patients. In general, the course of treatment usually does not exceed 14 days. Each session lasts about 40-45 minutes. and includes euthanasia and awakening of the patient.

After euthanasia, self-hypnosis itself occurs.

Euthanasia of the patient

At this stage, the specialist’s task is to relax the patient. For this, repeating phrases, monotonous tapping, or relaxing sound recordings (the sound of surf, rain) can be used.

If a hypnotic session is carried out, then the preparatory stage of falling into sleep goes through 3 stages:

• somnolence – when the muscles of the body relax superficially;
• hypotaxia - at this stage the muscles are completely relaxed;
• Somnambulism is a stage of complete rest and deep sleep.

When carrying out ordinary persuasion or auto-training, the patient is not euthanized.

Wake up the patient

It is the final stage after the suggestion session. As a rule, it passes without complications. In this case, the specialist, immediately before waking up, instills in the person information that after he wakes up, he will feel fresh, well-slept and rested.

At the same time, he can recite a repeating soothing text, count down slowly and use sound stimulation.

Contraindications for hypnosuggestive psychotherapy

Hypnosis is not used for delusional schizophrenia, Kandinsky-Clerambault syndrome, psychosis, epilepsy, and people with developmental delays. This method of treatment is contraindicated for people who have had a heart attack or have cerebrovascular accidents. With such diagnoses, a person is prohibited from any anxiety, and hypnosis against a background of stress can provoke an exacerbation of the main symptoms of the disease.

Hypnotic therapy is also contraindicated if the person is not feeling well. With increased body temperature, general weakness, runny nose and cough, impaired consciousness

Hypnosis should not be used for pain of unknown etiology, since such symptoms may hide dangerous diseases (appendicitis, ectopic pregnancy, burst cyst) that require surgical intervention.