“Brainwash,” “mind-control” and “magic” were a few of the words used by Fresno State students when asked about their impressions of hypnosis. By definition, hypnosis is a certain psychological state of mind that closely resembles sleep, where the subject is typically in response solely to the hypnotist.
Mainstream media portrays hypnosis as a “spooky” or “controlling” method of entertainment; however, is it more scientifically inclined than it is made out to be, and moreover, is it real?
The accepted meaning and association of hypnosis is widely debated, with certain factors such as religion and cultural norms playing into the conversation.
Historically, the concept of hypnosis has been in use since ancient times, with recordings in the 4th and 5th centuries B.C. in Greece as well as around 4000 B.C. in Egypt.
However, hypnosis did not gain scientific attention until the late 18th century, when the German physician Franz Mesmer developed the concept of mesmerism, which James Braid later turned into the word “hypnosis.”
For the next several decades, hypnosis was gaining attraction as a way to treat trauma and psychosis and in 1958 the American Medical Association officially approved its use in medicine.
Today, training is available that offers individuals the chance to become certified hypnotists or, technically, hypnotherapists. Several establishments in Fresno and Clovis offer hypnotherapy, and one of them is Translated Soul, owned by Stephen Fedele and his wife, Cindy Fedele, both official hypnotherapists.
“They think it’s a lot like, unfortunately, Hollywood and stage hypnosis where you know, I couldn’t make you cluck like a chicken or bark like a dog unless you already like doing those things,” Stephen said.
All of the usual green swirling lines, mad scientists and manipulation schemes shown in films involving hypnosis cause many people to wonder, how does hypnosis actually work?
“What my wife and I do is we guide people into either a light or a medium theta brainwave state,” Stephen said. “When we get in, we are in communication with the person’s subconscious.”
The Fedeles entered the field of hypnotherapy as a way of trying to heal Cindy’s physical pain that stemmed from previous injuries in her life, which was being subsidized with copious amounts of prescribed medication.
“Within a week and a half [of hypnotherapy], she was down to one pill,” Stephen explained. “I could see the lights in her eyes change.”
After experiencing these life-changing results, the two decided to earn the proper training to change other people’s lives as well.
“Our subconscious minds have a record of every positive and negative thing that we have ever experienced,” Stephen said. “When we guide somebody into a mind trance, we are giving their mind instructions of what it is okay to go ahead and release.”
When asked about the religious aspect of his job, Stephen explained that he is a baptized and confirmed Catholic himself and, the way he sees it, he could either take the drugs that doctors prescribe him, or heal himself through hypnotherapy.
“We come from a place of love, compassion and grace, and nowhere in there am I trying to tell somebody ‘tonight you’re going to go to your bank and withdraw all of your money and bring it back to me tomorrow,’ you know, it wouldn’t work anyway.”
Overall, societal views concerning hypnosis are not relatively shocking. According to a study done by PubMed in 2019, out of 1,000 adults, 38.6% of people felt positive about hypnosis, 48.4% felt neutral and 12.8% felt negative.
Viewing hypnotherapy through the eyes of a client is vital for understanding its tried and true effects.
Vika Panasyuk, a registered nurse and facilitator of the program Nurturing Nurses: Self-Care, frequently uses hypnotherapy to sleep and quiet her mind after long, stressful work shifts. Panasyuk receives hypnotherapy through Glenn Harrold’s app, Relax and Sleep Well Hypnosis.
“I work in the ER and I see a lot of patients who come in asking for sleeping pills and they demand it, it just blows my mind that a lot of them never stop and think for a minute to try any kind of alternative therapy first,” she said. “We are so used to quick fixes in our lives.”
Panasyuk stressed that her main motivation for trying hypnotherapy was to avoid taking any kind of sleep medication that would induce unwanted side effects such as drowsiness, which is simply not an option in
However, actually getting to sleep can be challenging with her various shifts that come with a myriad of stressors that she, at times, inevitably brings home with her.
“How am I going to take care of anyone if I’m not well myself if I’m running on three hours of sleep,” Panasyuk said. “I really had to start looking into, you know, alternative therapies, right? What can I do at midnight when I get home?”
This question is exactly what led Panasyuk to Glenn Harold’s hypnotherapy app because she can access his services anywhere and anytime. Harold’s app offers a variety of pre-recorded sessions ranging from roughly 20 minutes to 50 minutes.
“You have to be so relaxed and you have to actually listen and allow somebody into your brain,” she said. “I fall asleep a lot of the time before it’s even over.”
It is easy to assume that hypnosis is just a big configuration of the placebo effect, but does it truly matter? Vika, who primarily uses it for sleep, explains that this possibility is irrelevant as long as it works.
“Even if it’s just the placebo effect, so what? It’s still better than taking Ambien and dealing with all the side effects,” she said.
Thus hypnosis, despite its spooky connotation and whether it is “good” or “bad,” appears to merely serve as another way that people cope with the trials and tribulations of existing as human beings.
Some people use organized religious prayer for healing purposes, some people rely on medication, some people use exercise, some people use hypnotherapy and some people even use all four.
It is ultimately up to the individual in question and their personal beliefs to assess hypnosis’ effectiveness and relevance in their personal realm of healing and reconciliation.