Paul Pettersen, age 14, of Schnectady, N.Y., for his question:
HOW DOES HYPNOTISM WORK?
To some of us, hypnotism is charged with mysteries and fearful secrets. We think of wizards and witches, casting their spells to help or harm their neighbors. In olden days, this magic worked only once in a while, usually for people who believed in wizards and such. Actually, modern hypnotism is a far cry from that old time magic.
When you are alert and wide awake, your conscious mind can concentrate on present problems. You are aware of your surroundings. But sometimes part of the conscious mind wanders off in a daydream. You lose your sharp awareness, and when a friend asks a question you fail to hear. This state of absent¬mindedness is somewhat like a mild form of hypnosis.
This simple example does not give the whole picture of hypnotism. Even a qualified expert cannot explain exactly how it works or why it works only with certain people. But some doctors and psychologists know enough about it to use it to help some of their patients. The idea is to distract the patient's conscious awareness so that the hypnotist can talk with deeper levels of the mind.
Treatment begins when a patient is asked to submit to hypnosis. The hypnotist then suggests that the patient close his eyes, relax and sink into a deep sleep. If this succeeds, the patient is in a trancelike state. He is aware only of the hypnotist's voice and his suggestions.
Hypnotism often succeeds with a patient who is emotionally disturbed because he has tried to bury or forget some painful event of the past. The hypnotist helps him to recall the event, without its painful memory. Often such a patient sees his buried emotional upset in a new light and recovers.
Hypnotism also is used to numb a patient's pain. Under hypnosis, his feelings obey the hypnotist's suggestions. He may go through an operation or have a tooth pulled without feeling a thing. This is helpful when a patient is too weak to stand an anesthetic.
Obviously hypnotism can be very useful in the field of medicine. However, the whole thing is full of bewares, and only a qualified expert should ever try it.
Above all, let's beware of the non expert who tries hypnotism as a sort of parlor trick. He may cure you of a bad habit. But chances are, you will pop up with another one that's even worse. His victim may fail to wake up from the hypnotic state and a genuine expert must be called in to undo the damage. This sort of thing is embarrassing and often downright dangerous.