Last updated: 22 December 2015
If you can, cast your mind back to your initial views on hypnosis.
Were they positive, negative or indifferent?
For example, did you think that hypnosis could be used to help others transition into becoming happier, better people as a result of overcoming any limiting beliefs or issues?
Or did you think it was some type of creepy black magic, leaving you to wonder: “Is hypnosis mind control?”
Unfortunately, the latter category is not an uncommon one.
Part of the reason for this stigma boils down to how hypnosis has at times been portrayed in the media… aka the villain hypnotist using their powers unethically.
Yes it’s true, whenever there’s a powerful tool – such as hypnosis – the temptation will be there for a very small minority to use it for their own personal gain.
But let me assure you, these extreme situations are very rare.
And bad guys aside, one significant fact still gets in the way of the whole “mind control” theory… Hypnosis cannot be used to make you do anything that goes against your own will, values and ethics.
Your unconscious mind simply won’t let it.
To learn exactly why your unconscious always has your back, check out the short video above where master hypnotist Igor Ledochowski explains all.
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Hi,
Did you see the Derren Brown episode called “Assassin”? It debunks quite a bit the idea that people under hypnosis can’t do stuff against their will. Granted it’s taken to the extreme and Derren had lots of time to prep the guy but the results are quite scary. Of course we’ll never know for sure if all of this was staged or not for the show…
Here’s the link to it : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90xfZJQzAhc
Hi
This is an excellent question – and one that has sparked a great deal of controversy. Even Erickson has weighed in on this with a few experiments of his own. You are right to think that the issue is FAR from concluded. However I DO side with Erickson on the general idea that people won’t work against their moral code.
So how was the TV stunt possible?
There are 2 possibilities that come to mind:
1. The subject VOLUNTEERED for a TV show. Derren Brown is FAMOUS and KNOWN. So to some extent the volunteer KNEW that he is in the hands of someone ETHICAL – he’s seen the shows before. This sets an implicit CONTEXT – an ASSUMPTION that everything will be OK. In other words – he TRUSTS that Derren Brown and the rest of the TV crew won’t let anything bad happen, so he just goes with the adventure! (Which is in fact what happens!)
2. The person MAY have been a sociopath. Around 10% of the population has a moral code that tends to the neutral. That means they could as easily harm others as not harm them. Of course this does NOT mean that they are all IMMORAL. Most sociopaths have reasoned out that not harming others is the safer way to live (otherwise they will spend their life running from the law). If this person was indeed a sociopath (which I doubt, though it is a possibility) then his moral code would not interfere with the action he took.
Erickson experimented quite a bit with this idea. He tried to get people to perform antisocial acts (slap someone else), dangerous acts (pick up a rattle snake) or harmful acts (throw acid in someone’s face). He found the only time he could succeed was in a strict experimental setting where there was an implied context that everything was controlled and safe. The less “safe” the context seemed, the less likely the person was to follow the suggestion.
Of course there have been other programmes, like the infamous CIA “MK Ultra” programme which the hypnotist George Estabrooks took part in. This programe DID manage to inspire people to violence using hypnosis, however this was ONLY after they used torture to split the person’s personality first. It was a very ugly chapter in US history (assuming of course the experiments were ended when they said they were ended!).
I hope this helps
Wow, amazing reply!
Thanks!
When you watch The Heist by Derren Brown you will see that it is quite well possible to trigger people into doing strange things through the use of hypnosis. However, these are only extreme situations. However, it does show that we are all subjects of influence.
Igor,
I want to first thank you for being an inspiration to me over the past years whilst I have studied and practiced hypnosis. Your video packages were an awesome help.
I just wanted to emphasise what you are saying in your post. Experience shows that the influence of TV hypnotists is quite pervasive and not always beneficial to the hypnotherapy community. People come to me initially nervous about hypnotherapy and I explain to them that hypnosis is a powerful tool to deliver the change that they want, and that their intention is critical. If they, subconsciously, don’t want to lose weight because of secondary gains … guess what … they won’t. If they won’t lose weight because their subconscious prevents them, then asking them to strip naked and run around the garden barking like a dog when they don’t want to is very, very unlikely to happen.
I hope that my comment might help someone realise that, when they choose to consider hypnotherapy treatment, they can rest assured that they won’t be forced into doing anything that they don’t want to do.
Thanks, Igor, and keep up the great work. Would love to work with you one day!
Blessings
Colin
Thank you Colin!
Hi Igor, I want your comment on something which I come across recently from the web, which is called the deep or shadow web. Here are quite a number of people producing some very creepy videos which would capture one’s attention with distorted images, sound effects, interspersed with some written commands. I read that some people actually got insane or suicide after watching them. In a way they are deliberately using the principle of hypnosis with an evil intention. Essentially they implant a very evil picture with embedded commands with evil intention as well. It is not easy to erase the picture. Can you also advise how to defend ourself and how to help others who are troubled by them?
Hi
Thanks for the question. This is a very disturbing trend. Luckily those images have no effect on MOST people – as long as you are mentally stable, your unconscious tends to delete such things (unless they get reinforced of course!)
For more fragile people, you may need to go through a more involved therapeutic process. They have to learn to establish healthy boundaries to the outside world first and then use those boundaries to eliminate the impact of those images. Of course you can also resolve the EFFECT of those images using whatever therapeutic modality you’re familiar with: MBL, DMI, NAS etc to name just a few.
I hope this helps!
All the best
i