Hypnotism...

[Crimzen]

I know very little about it yet i would like to understand it further

is it possible to have been hypnotized and not know it?
to what depth is it possible be controlled under hypnosis?

im just concerned that i've been effected in some kind of subconcious way, i've tried to rationalize it as paranoia but i just want to know more 'just in case' rather than banish the thought
I wouldnt feel comfortable being hypnotized because i dont trust anyone to get inside my head, i see it as (if unwanted) mental molestation

i recently went thru an agonizing period of paranoia and depression and just general uncomfort, real physical reactions and sensations like tingling along the back of my head that feels like its creeping up and horrible thoughts entering my head for no reason at inapropriate times, like dinner time for example
i thought i was losing it, and maybe i was/am
Im not saying this was due to being hypnotized, im just trying to find any external influence that could have done this to me
(as i dont feel the need to ask about internal ones, you cant answer those questions for me)

 

[Schwanke668]

My last psychotherapist said true hypnotism is actually a form of guided meditation. Its a form of the hypnotist helping you to center your thoughts on a specific subject to be able to enter into a deeper understanding of that subject within you.

That having been said I am assuming you are referring to the pop culture hypnotism like when people make other people run around and act like chickens and they dont remember it.

I dont honestly know how that works but I *THINK* I read somewhere that it has to be at least somewhat voluntarily. I *THINK* that all kinds of hypnotism are based on trust, that is submitting yourself to the hypnotist and allowing their mind to direct yours.

With *THAT* having been said I dont know how much submission/trust you need to have. Can it be something as simple as trusting your doctor or a teacher at school or a professor or does it have to be willing like "I am going to hypnotize you now."

I guess I am not especially giving you answers but trying to raise some questions that might induce answers from others, jog memories so to speak.

Hope it helps in a meta-conversation kind of way.

 

[Crimzen]

i dont want people to avoid answering because they think im paranoid and their answer might make me feel as if ive definately been hypnotized and send me deeper into paranoia
i'm mature enough to decided on whats real in my world based on my own knowledge, intuition and experience. i just have next to no knowledge on this subject and would like some kind of basic facts
all i know is that you need to be in a relaxed state of mind to be hypnotized, thats literaly all i know about it (an i use the word 'know' loosely)

schwanke
as for hypnotism being a kind of guided meditation, that makes sense to me
i've heard it being described as being put into a trance state as well
the subject in question who i had suspected of hypnotizing me definitely had my trust
im talking about any kind of hypnosis 'pop culture hypnotism' or otherwise
i suspected this person of implanting thoughts into my head and one time (while smoking meth) i thought i had caught someones thoughts other than my own in my head saying "dont hurt anyone"
which seems harmless enough but i had no intention of hurting anyone so it led me to believe 'they' were doing something that would make me want to hurt 'them'
paranoia yes
unwarranted paranoia...i dont know

In the past ive always been very skeptical and 'scientific' and if i read this written by someone else i'd think they were losing it and not quite in touch with reality
which sucks coz now im experiencing something which i normally would deem as rational

 

[dirk.bruere]

Some info in my book might be of use.
If you don't buy the book you can at least follow up the headings using google:
http://www.neopax.com/technomage/chapter5/chapter5.html

 

[Schwanke668]

Also if you can find someone you do explicitly trust to hypnotize you again they might be able to help you check for, root out, and reverse any 'hacking' the guy did to you. And thats how I guess I see hypnotism is hacking the psyche. Hadnt thought of it that way before but yeah, subconscious programming kind of like a virus in your mind.

 

[Crimzen]

TY.

 

[ophiuchus]

it is true that one must enter a relaxed state (so much so that it has actually been deemed a separate state from waking consciousness, sleeping, intoxication, and apart from meditating as well) but this is not to say that ones moral standards can be bypassed. in other words, one can't be made via hypnosis, to do things that they do not sincerely wish to do. however, one may be misguided by the one hypnotizing, in that, the one undergoing the hypnotism may be tricked into a believing a false logic. something that appears at first glance to make sense, but upon further scrutiny, falls apart. the readiness of believing such a thing has directly to do with the degree of relaxation into the mindstate. this however is not by any means permanent, and actually, the act of realizing that this may have been done, that is, the scrutinizing of the possibility of this having happened, will actually dissolve any effect that it may have had.

so it could be possible, that under this altered state of consciousness (meth), simply through conversation with this character, some of his thought process could(would) have entered your head. keep in mind that this is nothing more than what happens in simple conversation, however, under the mental state's circumstances, some of the things said, may have been absorbed a little more readily without requiring as much scrutiny, due to the mindstate both of you were in.

so those are pretty much what i've collected as the limits to hypnotism, and so, without proper(sober) analysis of the stream of thoughts coming in, i see that there is a possibility that something slipped past your guard. the good thing though is you realize this may have happened, and have localized it to a specific event, so simply through thought, you have the ability to become unaffected to this "hypnosis". pinpointing what may have caused it even further is what will separate it from your normal thought process again. remember, nothing's permanent.

 

[ophiuchus]

the concept of "false logic" i referred to can be equated to, say, the oreilly factor or a like group of people. they claim unbias, yet all that they are doing is prescribing very strictly to a specific loaded group of associations (generally a group ideal), for example (with him) conservatism. and likewise john stewart does the same with liberalism. reading between the lines and asking questions are what will cast better light on the nature of how these loaded concepts actually are(biased) and also how they function, as such.

hope that makes things a little clearer. hypnosis is a hot topic that i've been researching pretty vigorously lately so if anyone else needs further clarification, i can attempt to help.

 

[Crimzen]

Thanks alot man youve helped me find some clarity on the situation
and the 'false logic' thing speaks volumes
a few of my friends spout there own personal propaganda like its pure indisputable fact and they're quite clever so they can generally justify a point very well or at least divert or find a loop or way around
instead of adapting to whats true they adapt others to reaffirm their own beliefs, maybe because they know they're wrong i dont know
it could all be a game and they're fucking with me/everyone

lets just say im finding my way out of some complicated shit

its useless shining a light into the fog..

 

[ophiuchus]

it very well could be a game, but that is not to say it's necessarily an intentional one...

awareness once again is the key (here, to hypnosis).

 

[itsscience]

How much/often do you smoke meth?

I know it's not popular on this site to blame problems on drugs but I've seen 4 of my friends go crazy from this horrible drug. I've had to try and talk one friend down from the roof of his house because he was up there with a rifle convinced that someone was out to get him. He and two others I know were admitted to graylands because of the psychosis induced by excessive use of meth. They have all suffered from thoughts that seemed to have come from "outside" in that they are not their normal thought processes.

I hate meth, I think it is a terrible drug and it has ruined the lives of too many of my friends. I'm just saying this is a possibility you should consider. Bear in mind too that the brain can conjure up some pretty weird shit when sleep deprived.

 

[dirk.bruere]

Most people can be made or persuaded to do almost anything.
The trick is to rationalize it, introduce the act slowly and reassure them that you will take full responsibility and it isn't their fault. Hypnosis is just one more excuse.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

 

[ophiuchus]

unfortunately, this much is true. although the strength of this influence would directly relate to one's natural relationship to authority figures (ie, "always skeptical and/or doubting and/or questioning", or "go with the flow/do what you're told/don't question"). but the trance state does tend to lean towards the softness of "go with the flow" to the degree that one "buys into it". this is why it's important to know that you trust the person performing the hypnotizing. from this, i believe it can be stated that the people questioning and being skeptical, will take longer to relax (or not sink into a receptive state at all), even if it is a benevolent hypnotism...

that's why skeptics aren't hypnotized (like when journalists say that it's a load of crap), because they don't allow themselves the possibility to be.

 

[Crimzen]

itsscience
i never took meth that often, these days not at all
was never addicted or anything like that, it was just something i would do from time to time for kicks
the most frequently i did it was like 3 times a month and that woulda been maybe 2 months then nothing for ages
ive also seen peoples lives go to shit from it, my mates cousin is currently doing it and within 1 year he went from fairly innocent emo kid worried about his parents finding out that he smoked pot once in awhile, now hes breaking into houses and swapping shit for drugs
anyways, the point is that ive never used frequently and i know the adverse affects because ive known loads of people who're fucked up because of the shit


all in all im generally a very skeptical person, i just used to trust my friends too much
now i feel like ive developed trust issues and i dont know who i can trust anymore
it seems like my way of dealing with deception is paranoia, which is shit

it doesnt help that during the time this was all happening i was going through alot of instability in my day to day life

anyway, im done complaining about my life on a public forum now
everythings just smiles and rainbows from here in

 

[itsscience]

anyway, im done complaining about my life on a public forum now
everythings just smiles and rainbows from here in

I think there's huge value in sharing this sort of thing in these sorts of forums because it can be very difficult to discuss this sort of stuff with family and friends. Often the only way to work through these issues is by talking them through so don't give up on seeking advice/help/talk online.

 

[Schwanke668]

anyway, im done complaining about my life on a public forum now
everythings just smiles and rainbows from here in

I think there's huge value in sharing this sort of thing in these sorts of forums because it can be very difficult to discuss this sort of stuff with family and friends. Often the only way to work through these issues is by talking them through so don't give up on seeking advice/help/talk online.

This is exactly what I LOVE about this forum. People are willing to help each other with thier personal 'shit'. Ive been on forums where I have just been even 'minimally' honest about the stuff I've gone through, not even seeking help, just chatting and people have flamed me six ways from sunday about how people dont want to hear about your personal 'shit' on the internet.

I think thats crap. I think LOTS of people WANT to discuss it with people that are basically annonaous but are too worried of seeming too look like a fool for being so 'stupid'.

Atleast on psychonauts our experiences are so wide and varied and the nature of the psychological beast we are all sharing we all have issues of some kind whether we want to admit them or not hehe.

 

[Crimzen]

thanks fellas

 

[ophiuchus]

:heart:

 

[dirk.bruere]

itsscience
i never took meth that often, these days not at all
was never addicted or anything like that, it was just something i would do from time to time for kicks
the most frequently i did it was like 3 times a month and that woulda been maybe 2 months then nothing for ages
ive also seen peoples lives go to shit from it, my mates cousin is currently doing it and within 1 year he went from fairly innocent emo kid worried about his parents finding out that he smoked pot once in awhile, now hes breaking into houses and swapping shit for drugs

The really bad thing about meth is that if you do it often enough (and I don't know what "often" means for any individual) it will fuck up your dopamine system. The bottom line being it can chemically destroy your ability to feel happiness. AFAIK, on a permanent basis.