BBC2 Alternative Medicine: Hypnosis

Last week, we wrote an article about the discovery of how hypnotised subjects could activate different parts of their brain, a study that was shown in Alternative Medicine on BBC2 on Monday night, did you watch it?  Well, if not, here’s a brief rundown:

Dr Kathy Sykes investigated hypnosis from a personal viewpoint.  She wondered whether she was hypnotisable, how effective this hypnosis really was and whether there was any scientific proof to its methods.  Self-admittedly, she is a bit of a control freak.

To begin with, the observation.  Sykes watched a comedy stage hypnotist at work first of all, which she found entertaining but wasn’t convinced it was a real experience.  She then saw a policeman hypnotised to quit smoking (a free service from the police service now) and a lady in a weight loss class be hypnotised to think of corned beef rather than chocolate.

Wondering whether this was purely suggestive power at work, she then decided to seek some more scientific evidence.  Meeting a gentleman from the University of Hull, he showed her the research we discussed last week, proving that different parts of the brain can be activated under hypnosis in different types of suggestion.

A more cynical viewpoint, a scientist in America, who was also a magician, showed Sykes a few magic tricks that seemed to prove that it was all about what the mind focuses on suggesting that hypnosis and Hypnotherapy is therefore about focusing the mind.

This same gentleman then proceeded to place Sykes into a hypnotic state and tried various suggestion techniques on her.  She was disappointed to find it didn’t work and wondered if she was merely not suggestible enough, although she did enjoy the experience and the feeling of hypnosis.

Continuing the observation but from a more thereapeutic point of view, Sykes then visited Scotland to watch a lady have her two front teeth, removed, drilled and replacements fitted, all without the use of anaesthetic.  It made gruesome viewing but the lady didn’t feel a thing.

Further experiments involving pain and hypnosis ensued to discover how important the placebo effect was in all of this.

Bearing in mind this was a one hour opening episode of a series that aims to test alternative therapies using both experiments and science, it was a long ride.  They fit a lot into that hour and sometimes it did drag a little.  There wasn’t too much science, but then it was meant to Sykes experiencing these things for herself and observing how others reacted.

As is normal with any examination of hypnotherapy, Sykes didn’t come up with any conclusive thoughts or proof, probably because Hypnotherapy works differently with different kinds of people.  As she said, Sykes thought there was definitely something there and some usful therapeutic benefits, but as we thought, nothing conclusive.

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