0 Hypnosis In The Military

"Military Hypnosis" is an accepted term for a "specialist application of the normal tehniques of hypnotherapy." According to the School of Hypnosis department of the College of Management Science in London, England, it applies to four major categories while in active duty. It is used in 1. Battlefield analgesia -where access to pain killers is not practical, 2. Surviving pain or mental pressure under torture, 3. Convincing a captured enemy to co-operate and 4. Enhancing battlefield performance or special operations. That's quite a bit to take in. Yet, with a little research and common sense, it becomes quite clear early on that military applications for hypnosis go much further. Whether you want to investigate Radio-Hypnotic Intracerebral Control, used by the Russians as early as 1930, or present day treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, one trail to follow is how the military introduces hypnosis through the terms "allowing" and "conceptualize".

If you go to school to get certified as a hypnotherapist at The Northwest School of Hypnotherapy in Portland, Or. both terms will come up in the first week - it's a familiar way to introduce some of the more advanced concepts that need to be understood and applied later to be a effective hypnotherapist. If you're in boot camp, the same terms may apply to become an effective soldier.

In Dr. Jay Stone's convincing recording of, "Hypnosis for Active Military Personnel" you start at a "safe and sound" place to "allow your breath to breathe comfort and ease into your mind and body". That first quote, said over and over, has a nice rhythmic flow to it, doesn't it? Then he mixes it up a little ( with purpose ) as " give your breath permission to breathe comfort and ease into your mind and body." He's certainly got that wordpairing working with- "safe and sound", "breath to breathe" and "comfort and ease", over and over. Dr. Stone continues with the word pairings "safe and sound" and "expect and believe," then "more instincts, less stress and tension. More instincts, less self doubts and self critisisms." At this point it seems like he moves on from "allowing" to "conceptualizing". He wants the soldier to "imagine your future relaxation" when they get back home. He wants them to "experience our heathy instincts as we've done in the past". Then he asks us to "speed dial" our "safe and sound deep relaxation" to "imagine our futures relaxations".

Right about here I found the hypnotist using the soldiers commitment to service as a moral motivation towards a deeper hypnotic state. It seems very effective: "if you agree, that as a member of the military, you need to rest and rejuvenate, drift deeper, deeper, deeper and deeper down", "investing a little energy on resting your energy." At first, this seems very manipulative and controlling, but hell, considering the circumstances, it makes perfect sense not to waste your energy.and get that rest. He wants the soldier to "experience your healthy intuiton now as you have previously accomplished before". Seems like he wants to validate the soldiers progress in order to go further. Tapping into your "healthy intuition" sounds pretty smart to me and I like it as a different way of saying subconscious. Now comes the time to, "If you agree, drift deeper, deeper, deeper, deeper down onto one of your all time greatest deep sleeps". He conceptualizes again while driving home an old Russsian proverb, of all things, " A hammer shatters glass but forges steel".

Towards the end, in what seems like a post-hypnotic suggestion, he assures the soldier that he or she will observe signs each day that confirms his progress of relying on his infallable instincts and intuition. They will also obcerve signs that confirm him or her as a better soldier and a better human being. That said, you could see how this same progression could work in the opposite direction. And you can bet the farm that the military has got that going on deep, deep, deeper than you might think.

Today however, we continue with positive examples that the military gives us that can be used in hypnotherapy anywhere. In an article from PubMed, indexed for Medline from Mental Health Services at Nellis Air Force Base, I quote: "As a result of the studies that were done during the Vietnam conflict, the relationship between post traumatic stress disorder and hypnotize ability was made. The author concludes that combat traumas enhance hypnotic potential in some veterans, and that veterans with excellent hypnotic potential begin to problem solve better preparing for a healthier post-war transition". "This finding supports the hypothesis that dissociative phenomena are mobilized as defenses both during and after traumatic experiences. The literature suggests that spontaneous dissociation, imagery, and hypnotizability are important components of PTSD symptoms". What I'm getting from this is that the severity of the traumatic experience itself can actually help relieve the symptoms of it. Useing stress to cure stress. If a patient is willing to use the energy coming from the bad experience as a power to get them deeper and deeper into their " healthy intuition", that same healthy intuition will heal them. Chances are good that a person with PTSD is able to crystallize that moment of horror, whether they like it or not, so I suppose much of it would have to do with willingness. Allowing the same survival instinct that got them out to get them in - as far into their subconscious as they need to go to let it do the healing.