Is Hypnosis Brainwashing?

Is hypnosis like brainwashing, does it change your personality? Does it have any harmful side effects and does it work?

This question was submitted by 'Liam'

Mark says...

Hypnosis certainly does work (which is why we use it) and it doesn't have any harmful side effects. Does it change personality? No, but it can alter personality. So if someone is shy but is helped to feel socially relaxed then their personality may start to alter as they become more generally confident. In a way I see the use of hypnosis as a tool for helping people towards the personality they should have had life/bad luck not got in the way.

For example, if someone had been traumatized through say, witnessing a terrorist act, then helping them over this will enable them to do things again which perhaps the trauma had stopped them feeling able to do (perhaps such as leaving the house). So in this way we help them back to their real personality.

Brainwashing was a term made popular after the Korean war and comes from the Chinese translation 'to cleanse minds' - it relies on social coercion, sleep deprivation, threats and fear alternated with hope and so forth. You can have a look at this article for more on this.

We use hypnosis to help people become more free, not less.