HYPNOSIS

Have you ever been hypnotized, would you like to be, do you think you could be, or do you think it is a bunch of rubbish?? For a change, I am asking my questions first.

I guess I have always been fascinated but secretly felt I couldn't be hypnotized. As a child, I heard that the more intelligent you were, the harder it would be to reach a hypnotic state.

Not wanting to appear weak minded, I always stated pompously that it was an impossibility for me. I have since learned differently. I would probably go down like a rock.
 

In my late 20's I briefly trained as a dental assistant. Why it didn't work out I wrote about here. The gore really didn't bother me and trust me, it can be a quite messy from the other side of the chair.

My main problem with the job was that whenever he was preparing to work on children and I saw the child gripping the chair arms and whimpering in fear, I crashed to the floor unconscious taking all the instruments with me.

Of course seeing me crumple to the floor only increased the terror for the children. I really was such a wuss.

While it was not to be my life's work, it did introduce me to the power of the mind. This dentist practiced hypnosis on his patients who were willing. Every one else got needles. 

 

I wasn't with him long enough to see him hypnotize anyone but I did get to see the results of his teachings. He taught his patients to hypnotize themselves, to put themselves into a totally relaxed state where pain was not allowed to enter.

I inwardly scoffed but was soon to see an actual demonstration. A teen age girl was our patient one day. He put her in the reclining chair, a moment of quiet reassurance , then he dimmed the lights and turned on some soft music. He and I left her alone for about 10 minutes.

When we returned for him to do a root canal, she was responsive but like in another place. Her eyes were closed and her face completely relaxed. My cutie pie dentist (I forgot to mention he was movie star handsome) then proceeded with his work and she never flinched.

She had been coming to him for over a year with a really bad mouth from neglect. She hated the needles in the beginning and begged him for another way. He held classes for those interested after work hours. She was one of his best pupils.

I truly wish I had been able to handle the anxious children part of the job and could have stayed long enough to learn his techniques. Now that I think about it, I should have tried to have him hypnotize me out of my phobia of seeing children in fear. Hindsight is so interesting.

I have recently thought that hypnosis might help with my sleep problems, appetite control and arthritis pain. Gee, I'm kind of asking a lot aren't I?

So I repeat my earlier question regarding hypnosis. Have you ever been, would you like to be, do you think you could be, or do you think it is a bunch of rubbish? Any input will be welcome.