Depth of Hypnosis
By: Kevin Linehan
In past articles it has been mentioned that hypnosis is a very common state of consciousness. There are many times a day in which we are in this altered state to varying degrees. Have you ever been driving along the highway only to find yourself 20 miles further along than you can remember? Where were you for those lost 20 minutes? Perhaps you were imagining the future, or recalling an experience of your past. Maybe you were mulling over potential solutions to a problem you are facing. During the 20 miles you spent in trance you might have become aware of things that are happening in a conscious way. For example you might recall later having seen a road sign, or sensed a car passing you on your left. At other times there is no conscious memory of anything that had taken place. This is because the level of hypnotic depth is constantly changing.
There are many other examples of the trance state that happen spontaneously throughout the day, getting lost in a good book, watching an interesting TV program, trying to reach that last level in the video game. What happens when someone tries to communicate with you at the same time? Do you hear them? Yes, once they have your attention you can recall how many times they have had to call you. Do you respond immediately? No, your focus is elsewhere. What causes you to finally respond? Well for a child playing the video game while Mom is trying to get him to come to dinner it might require a much louder voice which will tend to lighten the state of hypnosis so that the request to come to dinner is registered.
A hypnotist has methods to both lighten and deepen the trance state depending on the needs of the client.
There are many scales that are used to determine the depth of hypnosis. Some of them have 40 or even 50 divisions. Since the levels tend to overlap it isn’t necessary to provide such a fine distinction between the levels of trance depth. The Arons Scale (named for Harry Arons) has 6 divisions, which adequately describes trance depth and includes responses that indicate the specific level of depth. The levels of depth in hypnosis are shown in the following table:
Level Description Expected Responses
1 Light Trance Relaxation, eye lock (eyelids won’t open upon suggestion).
2 Light/Med Trance Heavy or floating feeling, locking of isolated muscle groups
such as the arm.
3 Medium Trance Smell and taste changes, number block (aphasia).
4 Med/Deep Trance Response to post hypnotic suggestions, analgesia (no pain).
5 Deep Trance Positive Hallucinations (Seeing something that is not there).
6 Somnambulistic Negative Hallucinations (Not seeing something that is there).
To determine the trance depth of a person in hypnosis various testing can be done. For the lightest stage eye lock is the key. A suggestion that the eyelids are so heavy and the muscles around the eyes are so relaxed that they just won’t open, and they don’t, that person is in at least a stage one depth of trance. Arm catalepsy is a test for level two. A suggestion that their arm is stiff and rigid is made. If successful then they are in at least stage two, if not successful then they are at stage one. Progressive tests (see table) can be made to determine the exact level of trance depth.
Level one is all that is needed for hypnotic suggestion to have effect. For other uses of hypnosis such as regression or recall of memories stored long ago a deeper state is required. If you have any questions related to hypnosis please feel free to call us at OnTrac Hypnotherapy.
Self-hypnosis classes are always in progress, contact Kevin or Christine at OnTrac Hypnotherapy Inc. at 603.362.8868 or email ontrachypnosis@aol.com.
Is there anything related to hypnosis that you would like to know more about? Feel free to give me a call, I’ll be happy to address your question in a future article.
