Have you ever been hypnotized?
I saw an article on Yahoo this morning where a school district settled a lawsuit claiming that a former principal had hypnotized and taught students how to hypnotize themselves, allegedly resulting is several deaths.
http://news.yahoo.com/school-board-settles-families-students-164530266.html
I understand how the mind can kinda shut down, relaxation techniques and the like, but can someone else really do that *to* you? I always thought that was a scam.
Have any of you ever been a denier but had your mind changed by being hypnotized yourself?
justintime I have never been hypnotized when people around me were. I guess my brain is stone.
Old Gent Judging by the support for Donald Trump, I'm going to say yes. I suspect his hair is the "swinging watch" that facilitates it, lol.
ianimal 
5catmom I got hypnotized in 1975, by an adult school director who I knew in South Jersey.
I won't get into too much detail, because there are so many snarky people who post here, but I shared a fear I had with this guy, who was a close friend. He told me he could help me with my fear through hypnosis, and he did. I've never been troubled by that fear again.
He convinced me by saying, hypnosis can't make somebody do something they don't want to do -- you'll always have your free will -- nobody can "control" you.
I'm a person who relates practically everything to sports in some way. I knew that Paul Blair, in 1970, was hit in the face by a pitch from a right hander, and then got a fear of batting against right handers. He tried switch hitting, but just wasn't a good left handed batter, so he saw a hypnotist.
After undergoing hypnosis, he went back to being the kind of player he was before his accident. He finished his career with four World Series championship rings, two with the Orioles and two with the Yankees.
Andy Loigu 
emaxxman You've never been there, emaxx.
Never judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes.
Just saying.
There is a huge difference between what we think of as "been hypnotized" as in the silly entertainment trick, and self-hypnosis/hypnotherapy.
The entertainment trick is just that, and certainly hokum. As Andy says no one can be made to do something they don't want to. And in fact most people during those tricks don't even respond and can't be hypnotized anyway. If you've ever seen someone doing that, they constantly test the people if they are reacting. The minute they don't they find themselves back in the audience.
Self-hypnosis is really nothing more than the power of positive thinking. You're only going around thinking about solving a problem that you wanted solved to begin with. It's not much more different than having a recording you always listen to that says you're a good person, people like you, you help others, etc.
That article and what happened is a bunch of hooey. No, someone cannot do that *to* you. Even the article says there wasn't a shred of linkage. At the amount of payout that also appears to be far more about a "no contest" settlement by an insurance company that would have spent more on legal defense and isn't admitting anything wrong.
GC When I was young and foolish, I went to a reputable, very nice hypnotist in the Morristown area. She was highly recommended and I was looking for an easy way to loose some baby weight after my youngest child was born. At the time I was very upset when she told me she could not "put me under" after two tries and two visits. She also did not charge for the second visit. She said there were some people who just can not be hynotized and I was In that category. I had to loose weight the hard way! Now, I would not recommend anyone go to a hypnotist for any reason, but that opinion is based on Biblical reasons, not my experiences.
Spring Fever It could be that a good "hypnotist" has the ability to get you into a peaceful state of mind, so that you can handle something that once was stressful. Getting rid of the counterproductive stress makes the difference.
With me, I had a certain trigger implanted in my mind -- whenever the old stressful feeling comes back (as stressors invariably do) --- I return my mind to that trigger -- that moment -- and I'm a confident and optimistic person again.
Whatever it was, whether it was positive thinking, power of suggestion, for you analytic freaks, it worked for me.
I realize this is HL, where everything turns into an argument, so go ahead, have at it. If arguing is your thing and it gives you pleasure, enjoy.
I'm going to go take a nap while I have a chance. Busy afternoon and evening ahead..
MeisterNJ At one time I was able to hypnotize myself. It's a long story, but I was taught by my doctor. I initally said I didn't think I could do it. But he had an analogy of being in church while listening to a sermon. Suddenly you realize that most if not all of the sermon is over, and you have no idea what was said. You were not asleep but have no memory of what you were thinking. He said that is a form of self hypnosis, but no one ever thinks of that. I agreed to try and was successful. I would do it at home and was able to put myself under for a specific amount of time and would come out of it at the exact time I gave myself, usually about 5 minutes. And I was so refreshed afterward. Over the years I used it less and less, and unfortunately am no longer able to do it. But I do believe in it. A friend used it to stop smoking and was successful after just one session and never went through any withdrawal. She never smoked again nor did she miss it.
Parental Unit "Suddenly you realize that most if not all of the sermon is over, and you have no idea what was said."
If that's the case, then I hypnotized myself all the time as youth at church. I always thought it was daydreaming.
"I would not recommend anyone go to a hypnotist for any reason, but that opinion is based on Biblical reasons, not my experiences."
LOL, YOU are hypnotized by the Bible...
iJay I will never forget one time in college a hypnotist came and performed for us. He called a bunch of people on stage and hypnotized them. One of the things he made them do while they were "under" was perform a Bon Jovi song. The kid who he made be the lead singer really got into it, jumped off the stage at one point and was going up and down the aisles singing and really jamming. Friends of his told us he is usually pretty shy.
I don't know if it was real or not, but it totally looked real to me!!!
Jersey Girl emaxxman, daydreaming is different. You usually remember what you daydreamed about!! When and if you didn't, you were probably self hyptnotized.
Andy no worries..if people want to poke fun at something that they have not tried and no nothing about, it's just a sign of immaturity on their part.
A good friend of mine went through hypnotic therapy years ago to quit smoking. He hasn't touched a cigarette in over 35 years.
positive I also wanted to add that for some people hypnosis can be a placebo effect..as long as it's towards the positive..no harm done.
Not questioning nor knocking hypnosis, I think certain people are more prone to being hypnotized than others.
I think a lot of it has to do with being completely comfortable in a very vulnerable situation thus trusting the person conducting the hypnotic therapy.
Paul Blair got hit in the face by a 99 mile per hour fastball.
Four months later he batted .474 in the World Series.
How many people reading this have ever gotten hit, and hurt badly, by a 99 miles per hour fastball aimed at your head?
He said hypnosis helped him get back in the game.That's good enough for me.
Back in the 80's a friend of mine paid my way to see a hypnotist to quit smoking because she didn't want to go alone. It was held at the Sheraton in Fort Myers and about 200 people attended. It lasted about an hour. Half way through the " instructor" asked everyone to throw their cigarettes into the aisle. I remember thinking of grabbing a few packs on my way out. The instructor also said to take a deep breath and tell yourself " I am a non- smoker". After the show was over, being aware of every moment, I thought it didn't work. We both got up and left and to my amazement I never smoked again (without withdrawls).
This was before I was Born again and was "hypnotized" by the Word of God (IJay).
So take it for what it's worth and I hope this helps you.
Peace
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