What is Medical Hypnosis?

     Hypnosis has unfortunately been portrayed for entertainment and shock value in novels, movies, television and by stage hypnotists. Medical Hypnosis is very different from those portrayals. In fact, using hypnosis the way it is sometimes presented in popular media would be a violation of a therapist’s ethical standards. 
     Hypnosis is a very natural state that we all enter at various times. In hypnosis one’s attention is focused in one area, closing out other stimulation and distractions. Hypnosis is an extreme and effortless focus. It is similar to daydreaming or being so completely engrossed in a book or TV program that you may ignore someone speaking in the same room. 
     That is basically what hypnosis is. Here is another example. Just before falling asleep every night, we pass through a phase that is very similar to hypnosis, called the alpha state. In that state we are able to give ourselves suggestions. For example, you may have wanted to get up at a different time then usual. You may have reminded yourself just before falling asleep, to wake up early and then found you had awakened up ten minutes before the alarm. In that situation, you gave yourself the idea to wake up. 
     That idea is called a post-hypnotic suggestion and is similar to how hypnosis works. Hypnosis is a state of consciousness. It can be measured using an EEG, an instrument that reads brain wave activity.