Hypnotism Updates Blog

The first principle in treating objectionable habits is to condition the subject to some powerful emotion. Disgust and fear seem to be most effective, in this respect. But other emotions can be employed as well, either pleasant or unpleasant, as the case requires. Pre-hypnotic suggestions are useful, but the practician should concentrate more extensively on suggestions during the trance. Not to repeat the common but faulty practice of amateurs, the hypnotist should avail himself of, rather than violate, the rules of everyday psychological approach. Thus, it is not enough to reiterate, however vehemently, statements like "You are disgusted with your habit. You hate it. You will do your best to overcome it." Rather, one should utilize Pavlov's discovery, extensively applied to human beings by K. Dunlap, that a deliberate and repeated stimulation tends to extinguish a conditioned reflex. If the subject has, for instance, the habit of biting his nails, he is urged, while in the trance, to bite his nails consciously and repeatedly. At the same time, this procedure is associated with the feeling of disgust. Light hypnosis (oneirosis) is, of course, preferable to achieve the intended results.