Hypnotism Updates Blog

Not all fields of learning are equally adapted to hypnotic suggestion. There is hardly any great future for it in ordinary sciences, such as mathematics, history, economics, or physics. Much more promising, in this respect, are arts and skills in which emotion, particularly fear, are involved. Take, for instance, stage-fright or self-consciousness in public appearances. Everybody knows its psychological effects. One's memory is ready, one is willing and anxious to act according to one's best ability; but something happens the moment one appears on the stage : movements become clumsy, voice trembling, and memory refuses to perform its normal service. Clearly, it is a case of inhibition, and often a rather ridiculous sight. Stage-fright is due, of course, to lack of confidence and is anything but useful to the performer. It deprives the speaker of that "at-home" attitude on the platform which is essential to the stage. It makes the actor self-conscious and, therefore, unnatural in his behavior precisely at the time when mental and bodily ease are a condition of his success. Both the cause and the cure of these wide-spread difficulties are psychological. Practice may help. But there is no better remedy for them than hypnotic treatment.