Does hypnosis ever actually work? - Devin Terhune

0:06 In the late 1700s, German physician Anton Mesmer was enthralling Europe,

0:13 curing conditions from nervous disorders to blindness—

0:17 or so he claimed.

0:19 According to Mesmer, an invisible, magnetic fluid animated all living beings,

0:25 and disturbances to it caused illness.

0:28 For so-called “treatment,” Mesmer had his clientele form

0:33 a chain around a contraption filled with water

0:37 he allegedly magnetized.

0:39 Then, with waves of his hands,

0:42 patients would fall into fits that would supposedly restore their health.

0:47 Some, however, were skeptical— including King Louis XVI,

0:53 who tasked renowned researchers with interrogating Mesmer's methods

0:58 in 1784.

1:00 They conducted science’s first-ever blind placebo trial,

1:06 informing participants that they were receiving the magnetized treatment

1:11 though they weren’t, and vice versa.

1:13 The committee ultimately concluded that any positive outcomes

1:18 weren't attributable to magnetism.

1:20 Instead, they were results of the participants’ own imaginations,

1:25 responding to suggestions about the treatment's effectiveness.

1:29 Mesmer disappeared, but the tantalizing takeaway remained.

1:34 And decades later, Scottish surgeon James Braid

1:38 began utilizing aspects of Mesmerism, minus the magnetism.

1:43 Braid thought it induced a sleep-like state,

1:47 so he called it hypnotism.

1:49 The practice today holds an entrancing place in popular fantasy.

1:54 But is there any truth to what it can accomplish?

1:58 Or is it just illusion?

2:01 While stage hypnosis has contributed

2:03 to the conception that hypnotized people lose control over their actions,

2:08 this doesn’t seem accurate.

2:10 Whether or not they were hypnotized,

2:12 one study found that participants were just as likely

2:16 to dip their hands into acid.

2:19 This might be because they felt motivated to take risks

2:23 within the presumably safe confines of a psychology experiment.

2:28 Similarly, onstage participants might comply

2:32 in the context of social pressures and fun,

2:35 with perhaps some hypnosis at play.

2:39 But hypnosis used in medicine today looks different;

2:43 no props are necessary.

2:45 And while hypnosis was initially considered a trance-like state,

2:49 it’s now understood more as a set of procedures focused on suggestions.

2:55 No matter how informal,

2:56 suggestions are natural features of doctor-patient interactions,

3:01 and we now know they can influence a patient’s experience of their treatment.

3:07 Research-backed hypnosis sessions generally begin with a hypnotic induction,

3:13 where a trained professional primes a patient for suggestions

3:17 by drawing their attention to simple tasks,

3:20 like relaxing certain muscles.

3:23 Induction is supposed to help facilitate a more receptive mindset.

3:28 Then, professionals make suggestions aimed at altering an aspect

3:32 of the patient's perception,

3:34 often describing something as though it will happen and be passively observed.

3:39 The session may close with a de-induction to ensure the patient is fully alert.

3:45 Most people seem moderately responsive to hypnotic suggestion,

3:49 while small percentages are extremely responsive or unresponsive.

3:55 A person’s hypnotizability doesn’t tend to change much over time,

4:00 though certain drugs and brain stimulation may increase it temporarily.

4:05 It’s unclear what determines hypnotizability,

4:09 but certain traits seem to be associated.

4:12 Highly hypnotizable people tend to be open minded toward hypnosis,

4:17 more prone to fantasy, and likely to become absorbed in activities.

4:23 They also report more unusual perceptual and dissociative experiences overall.

4:30 When a hypnotic suggestion works,

4:32 the effects can be considerable— and traceable.

4:36 In some studies, researchers have prompted highly hypnotizable participants

4:41 to perceive things that were otherwise absent.

4:45 In response,

4:46 the hypnotized participants’ brain activity has been shown to change

4:50 in ways different from what’s observed in imaginative processes,

4:55 to instead more closely resemble actual perception.

5:00 For those it works with, hypnosis can be a helpful medical tool,

5:05 though its scope is generally limited to psychiatry.

5:08 In one study, hypnotizable patients

5:11 who received pain-reducing suggestions during surgery

5:15 reported less pain and required fewer opioids afterwards.

5:20 Among patients with brain injuries,

5:22 hypnosis has been observed to improve their working memory—

5:26 that is, their ability to hold information

5:28 like sequences of numbers for short periods.

5:31 This might be because the suggestions somehow ease cognitive deficits

5:37 that are driven by the patient’s own beliefs about their post-injury abilities.

5:42 And for certain things, including quitting smoking,

5:45 hypnosis seems to be similarly effective to treatments

5:49 like counseling and exercise.

5:51 But while hypnosis can help some people manage conditions

5:55 like anxiety and depression,

5:57 there’s little evidence it can treat things like schizophrenia.

6:01 When hypnosis does help, though,

6:03 it’s certainly no thanks to magnetized fluids,

6:06 but rather the mesmerizing power of the mind.