Suggestions in hypnosis

Here we are concerned with what constitutes a good suggestion and why. We are not concerned with suggestibility, i.e., why is one person more suggestible than another and how do we measure a person’s suggestibility? These are the concerns of laboratory investigations and are well documented elsewhere. Furthermore, they often give very little help to the practitioner on how to give good suggestions. They are certainly of very little help to the self-hypnotist. On the other hand, what constitutes a good suggestion and why is most important for anyone engaged in self-hypnosis.

There has been a considerable amount of work done on the type of suggestions used by hypnotherapists, and most especially since the work of Erickson. Not all types are suitable for self-hypnosis. Why this is so will become clear as we investigate the different type of suggestions used by hypnotherapists.

The three laws of suggestion

At the heart of hypnosis is suggestibility, and central to the workings of suggestion are three laws. These three laws of suggestion were first outlined by Baudouin. They are:

1. The law of concentrated attention

2. The law of reverse effect

3. The law of dominant effect.

We shall now discuss each of these in turn. But before we do it is important to realise that these are not ‘laws’ in the sense used in the physical sciences. We do not know enough about the workings of the mind to establish such laws. What they are purported to be are strong tendencies that appear to have a lot of truth in them: they are hypotheses. They should be interpreted in this way and not as something that is asserting an absolute truth.

The law of concentrated attention

This law asserts that whenever attention is concentrated on an idea then that idea tends to spontaneously become realised. The law itself can be broken down into three component parts: (a) concentrating one’s attention, (b) focusing the attention on an idea, and (c) the result of carrying out (a) and (b).

The first part is rather ambiguous because it is not clear whether it means consciously concentrating one’s attention or unconsciously concentrating one’s attention. Hartland is of the view that it is the attention of the unconscious mind that we are trying to enlist. But when you pay attention to something, this usually means that you bring it into conscious awareness. In fact, consciousness and attention are very closely associated – especially in cognitive psychology. What is in the forefront of your consciousness is precisely that to which you are paying attention. To clarify the point we need to distinguish two type of attention: peripheral attention and focal attention. You may be reading a book and concentrating on the story – but you can also be aware that someone has just entered the room – you are peripherally aware that someone has entered the room. The principle is asserting that you must focus your attention on the idea, i.e., it must be in the forefront of your consciousness. To do this you must think about the idea, repeat any verbal suggestions that relate to it over and over again and see the idea from every point of view. In carrying out this operation you bring into the process not only your left hemisphere of the brain, but also your right. The fact that it is focally in your attention will mean that the idea will sink below your conscious mind and into your unconscious mind: it will pass from the left hemisphere of the brain into the right, and back again!

The second part of the principle indicates that attention is focused on an idea. Why is this? An idea is not as well formulated as, say, an object. You can think about a chair by trying to see one in your mind’s eye that is familiar to you. In this case you are in fact retrieving a memory of a chair and bringing this into your consciousness. But you can also think about a chair in general, you can think about the ‘idea of a chair’: how different chairs look, the materials they are usually made of, the functions that they serve, etc. By concentrating on an idea, pictures and relationships form in the mind. These pictures and relationships are the essence of the right hemisphere of the brain. It is true that some of the relationships, such as logical relationships, are features of the left hemisphere of the brain, but in many respects ideas utilise both right and left hemispheres, with more emphasis on the right.

The third part of the principle says that the idea ‘spontaneously tends to become realised’. No idea becomes spontaneously realised. What the principle is asserting is that if you focus on an idea sufficiently, then that idea will give rise to changes in your behaviour or your way of thinking. If you focus on the idea of being happy, then you will become happy: the idea will become realised. But there is nothing spontaneous or inevitable about this. You are not guaranteed either to become happy or happy immediately. The reason is that this principle alone is not sufficient for an idea to become realised. It is necessary, but not sufficient, for the idea to become realised. All that can be asserted is that there will be a tendency for it to become realised – given that other factors are favourable.

What is not so clear in this principle is that when you focus your attention on an idea you bring into play both your conscious mind and your unconscious mind: both your left hemisphere and your right hemisphere of the brain. Even the scientist does this when grappling with a problem. The problem can be in the focus of attention but not yet solved. He or she may then, as Poincaré did when trying to solve a mathematical problem, forget about it for a time and suddenly the solution comes – in Poincaré’s case it was just as he was about to step on a bus! What appears to have happened is that the problem was processed further by the unconscious mind and once solved was thrown into conscious awareness. The solution could not have been derived without the initial focus and concentration. The idea had to be thought about in all its aspects first. The point about this example is that it is in relation to a mathematical idea. When the idea is about behaviour, then the likelihood of the idea becoming realised is greater. The reason for this we shall discuss later, but for the moment we can say it is because of the emotional content involved.

The law of reverse effect

This law states that the harder one tries to do something the less successful one is likely to be. The most common everyday examples of this principle in operation are

1. trying hard to get to sleep and being totally unsuccessful

2. trying hard to remember a name, equally without success

3. trying hard to play a good game of golf or tennis and making things worse.

It is often a characteristic of dieting. The harder a person tries to diet the more they think about food and the more they eat. Why it is that trying too hard creates a reverse effect while trying, but not too hard, does not, is now known. However, it probably has something to do with how the two halves of the brain interrelate with each another. ‘Trying too hard’ implies that a conscious act is involved. One is consciously trying to get to sleep; one is trying consciously to remember a name; one is trying consciously to play tennis well. It is as if the conscious trying is interfering with the ‘natural’ process. It is reasonable to conjecture that what is taking place is a situation where the conscious trying is interfering with the unconscious workings of the right hemisphere of the brain. It is very much as if you are happily doing a job and then someone comes along and tries to tell you, very forcefully, how to do it better. Would you do it better? Probably not.

This appears to be one of the major reasons why some people do not enter hypnosis although they may want to. They may want to so much that they try too hard. The trying too hard simply makes things worse and they do not enter hypnosis. Of course, this is not because they are not hypnotizable, but rather because they are trying too hard and interfering with the brain’s natural workings, which will quite naturally allow a person to enter into a state of hypnosis. This is especially true of a person engaging in self-hypnosis.

How one determines to distinguish between concentrated attention and trying too hard is difficult to describe. But once a person has entered hypnosis on previous occasions and fails to do so on a subsequent occasion, it becomes possible to recognize when the principle of reverse effect appears to be the cause. When this happens, either you stop trying too hard, or else you abandon the attempt on this occasion.

Before leaving the principle of reverse effect, it is worth mentioning the fact that it is possible for someone to take advantage of this ‘law’. Take, for example, a hypnotist who is attempting to get someone into a hypnotic state. The usual induction procedure is to attempt to get them to close their eyes; suggestions about tiredness and heaviness of the eyelids are usually employed to do this (see induction script #1). But suppose the law of reverse effect is operating and that the more a hypnotist suggests that the subject relax, the tenser they become. A hypnotist could then reverse the suggestions! The hypnotist might suggest that the subject tries to keep their eyes open, and that whatever suggestions are made their eyes will remain open. If the principle is truly operating, then they will do the opposite and close their eyes!

This principle is in operation with arm rigidity (see deepening script #14). In this deepening script, a hypnotist suggests to the subject that one of their arms is getting stiffer and stiffer and that when the person tries to bend the arm, the stiffer it will become. In other words, the act of trying to bend the arm makes it even straighter and stiffer.

For the person engaging in self-hypnosis, they should either stop trying too hard or, as in the previous example, utilize it in order to achieve the desired outcome.

The law of dominant effect

This principle states that a strong emotion will tend to replace a weaker one. This principle means that if a strong emotion is attached to a suggestion, then it is more likely that the suggestion will be effective. If we take two emotions, such as pleasure and a sense of danger, then the second is the stronger of the two. If a person is having a pleasurable experience and danger becomes imminent, then the emotion of danger will displace the emotion of pleasure. This can be utilized quite readily in suggestions. For instance, a hypnotist could simply suggest to a subject that they relax. They may do so. But if the hypnotist suggested to the subject that they were being messaged and were comfortable and relaxed, then they almost certainly would. The strongest emotion here is that of sensation and comfort.

There are two reasons why attaching emotion to a suggestion will make it more effective. First, an emotion is felt immediately. There is no such thing as an emotion in the future, or a delayed emotion. Because of this, the suggestion to which it is attached also tends to be effective immediately. Second, an emotion involves the right hemisphere of the brain and, because of this, the suggestion gets more quickly assimilated by the unconscious mind. It is as if the link with the emotion allows the suggestion to pass from the left hemisphere of the brain and into the right hemisphere quickly and easily.

Because of the importance played by emotion in suggestions it is worth commenting on it further. Emotion has two facets: first physiological (the bodily changes that occur when an emotion is felt); and second, behavioural (the changes in behaviour that are undertaken when an emotion is felt). Both these facets are utilized in hypnotherapy and can be utilized in self-hypnosis. When you become angry, your heart starts to beat faster, your breathing becomes deeper and quicker and you become flushed. One way to self-improvement is to ‘observe’ how your body responds to different emotions. One method is by imagery. But what are the emotions to be elicited? We can use Plutchik’s classification and distinguish eight primary emotions set out in a circular dimension, as shown in the following figure, where similar emotions are placed next to each other.

Secondary emotions, according to Plutchik, can be represented by a combination of these primary emotions. Thus, shame is the combination of fear and disgust and love is the combination of joy and acceptance. Of course, this is just one approach to the nature of emotion, and there are many others. From our present point of view, what matters is that you become acquainted with your emotions. Once you have become acquainted with them, then it is possible to control them, if that is what you wish to do.

A critique of the laws

We pointed out that the three laws of suggestion are really hypotheses and are therefore not absolute truths. Consider once again the first law: the law of concentrated attention. The emphasis of this law was that the more attention and concentration you placed on an idea the more likely (spontaneously) the idea would become realised. However, suggestion can be facilitated by distraction. When a person is concentrating on one thing, a suggestion about something else can pass into their unconscious more readily because resistance is at its lowest. Conscious attention can only be directed at one thing at a time. You can switch your attention, but you can only pay conscious attention to one thing at any given moment. Now consider two suggestions, which we shall simply label as A and B. Suppose suggestion B is the one that deals with the particular problem a person has. The law of concentrated attention would suggest that you pay attention to B. But because you have B in your consciousness, you are also placing it in touch with your reality testing, and this may prevent the suggestion from ‘spontaneously’ being realised. On the other hand, if you are paying attention to A, then you cannot be paying attention to B. If B is suggested while you are paying attention to A, then B passes directly into your unconscious (with no reality testing) and becomes realised as a result.

What applies to distraction also applies to stories and metaphors (see part III). The suggestion is buried in the story or in the metaphor and gets unnoticed at the conscious level by the listener, but is picked up by the unconscious.

We need to make two observations about the alternative types of suggestion. First, we are not asserting that the ‘law’ of concentrated attention is wrong. All we are asserting is that as a hypothesis, it is true in many (if not most) circumstances. But there are occasions, which can be considered the exception to the rule, where an alternative type of suggestion is called for.

The second law is certainly not true when applied to all circumstances. Training is all about putting in more effort. If the law were always true, then this would lead to lower performance! This is patently false. The examples usually cited to illustrate the law, and the ones we also used above (e.g., recalling a name, falling to sleep), could be put down to a mis-interpretation. If you cannot recall a name, and the more you think about it the more illusive it becomes, means you are going about recall in the wrong way. Meumonists provide many techniques (tricks) for helping memory recall. Trying harder to go to sleep is simply applying a process that is incompatible with the process of going to sleep.

The law should be interpreted is indicating that there are occasions (and probably not many) where too much conscious involvement in what you are trying to do is not the most suitable approach. By letting go, by not trying too hard, you bring into the process the unconscious mind that is more suitable to the task you are trying to accomplish.

The third law states that attaching a strong emotion to a suggestion will more likely bring it about. It may bring about the desired result or it may have no effect or even the opposite effect. It is not so much having a strong emotion as have the right strong emotion. The hypothesis is a useful one, but it is important that the right emotion is attached to the suggestion for it to lead to the result that you want.

All these reservations really illustrate that the laws are not laws in the scientific sense but rather hypotheses that have a tendency to hold in certain circumstances. The art is knowing the circumstances when they do hold, and to know how to change direction when they do not hold.

Other principles of hypnosis

The principles of hypnosis follow quite naturally from the three ‘laws’ of suggestion. Hartland has stated the three principles as follows:

1. You should always couple an effect that you want to produce with one that the subject is actually experiencing at the moment.

2. It is always much easier to secure the acceptance of a positive suggestion than a purely negative one.

3. It is sometimes easier to secure the acceptance of a suggestion if it is coupled with an appropriate and strong emotion.

The first principle is attempting to relate suggestion to an action. It is important to realize that an action causes an immediate response from the body and so if a suggestion is coupled with something that the subject is actually experiencing at the time, then it is more likely to be acted upon. To take a simple illustration, if a hypnotist was suggesting to a subject that their hand was becoming numb, then it is useful to stroke the hand at the same time. The sensation of touch directs the subject’s attention to the hand and gives immediate body responses. In self-hypnosis it is not always so easy to carry this coupling because it requires too much conscious effort. However, there are some simple actions. For instance, rather than just suggesting to yourself that you are getting deeper and deeper, it is possible to have your arms circling around one another and to suggest that as you go deeper and deeper then the circling will become quicker and quicker (deepening script #15). What this, and other similar actions, does is establish a feedback mechanism. The circling gives some indication of the deepening. It is as if success is being registered by the circling action. As some success is being registered, so expectation of further success is enhanced and doubt reduced.

The second principle is somewhat ambiguous. It means that a suggestion under hypnosis should be indicating a positive response rather than a negative one. To illustrate this let us suppose that you are attempting to get rid of a headache. A negative response is to suggest that the headache will disappear – either immediately or in so many minutes. A positive suggestion is one that displaces the feelings associated with a headache and, if strong enough, will replace it. Thus suggestions should go along the lines of feeling warm, secure, free from tension etc., and that as these feelings occur your head will become clearer and freer. One way to think of this principle is make suggestions in terms of adding rather than subtracting; of doing something rather than not doing something. Giving suggestions in the form of doing something rather than not doing something is very important. If I said to you don’t think about a teapot, then you must think of a teapot first. In other words, the mind cannot cope with not thinking about something. Don’t think about an elephant will immediately bring the image of an elephant into your consciousness. Suggestions, therefore, like ‘don’t smoke’ or ‘don’t eat chocolate biscuits’ will most likely do the very opposite. It will reinforce your desire to smoke and will reinforce your desire to have a chocolate biscuit. The principle is ambiguous only to the extent that it would suggest that positive suggestions are more powerful than negative ones. This is not necessarily true. Negative suggestions, coupled usually with the imagination, are very powerful. What the principle is saying is that to overcome an already negative situation you require a powerful positive force. The more powerful the negative situation is the more powerful needs to be the positive force.

The third principle we have already elaborated on. Emotion is immediate. If a suggestion can be coupled with the appropriate emotion, then it is more likely to be successful. Emphasis is undoubtedly on the ‘appropriateness’ of the associated emotion. Suppose, for example, that you are obese and want to lose weight. You may be carrying out suggestions to the effect that you will lose weight or that you will eat less. If the suggestions were simply verbal, and nothing more, then it is unlikely that they will be successful. What is required is some form of emotion. It is usual in situations of this kind to employ aversion therapy. The emotion called on is either nausea (possibly in the form of vomiting) or revulsion and disgust – revulsion at the sight of someone obese and disgust at yourself for becoming obese. For therapists who like using aversion therapy (and not all do), they argue that there is no point in giving yourself suggestions to the effect of losing weight and simultaneously not having an aversion of being and looking fat. Aversion therapy, however, is rather negative in its approach. It emphasizes the negative aspects of the way you are. Alternative therapies stress the positive; they stress how you would like to be. How slim you would like to be, the clothes you could wear if you were slimmer, the many things you could then do which you have stopped doing because of your weight and how you look. Even these suggestions, however, should be coupled with strong emotions if they are going to succeed.

These three principles apply to hypnosis in general, but they equally apply to self-hypnosis. The difficulty encountered by the self-hypnotist is coupling the suggestions with actions and emotions without disturbing the hypnotic state. This becomes easier with practice. It is useful to give careful thought to the suggestions before entering a trance. Ensure that they are phrased in a positive way and that they add rather than subtract. Most particularly avoid any phrase like, ‘don’t do this or that’.

Positive and negative suggestions

We pointed out in the last section that positive suggestions can be thought of as ‘adding to’: of doing something. Negative suggestions can be likened to ‘subtracting from’: of not doing something. Much has been written on the power of positive thinking. Why is this? Part of the reason, in this writer’s view, is that our upbringing readily stresses the negative. From an early age we are repeatedly told what we can and cannot do – with the greater emphasis on what we cannot do! This readily leads to suggestions in later life like, “Don’t eat fattening foods”, “Don’t smoke it’s bad for your health”, “I will not worry about such-and-such”, etc. But such negative suggestions bring the very problem into conscious awareness and so you pay attention to it. The mind simply cannot deal with the native. If I said, “Don’t think of your car” or “Don’t think of the colour red” the mind must first bring up the image. These simple examples illustrate the way forward. If I want a person not to think of their car, then the easiest way is to get them to think of something else: anything else. The same applies with not thinking about the colour red. What is occurring, of course, is directing attention elsewhere.

People often do not know how negative their thinking really is, and so the following exercise is very useful to undertake.

Exercise: A day of being positive

Take a particular day and decide to make absolutely no negative statements or suggestions either to yourself or to anyone else. If you do make such a negative statement or suggestion do not (notice the native) be critical of yourself, simply observe yourself doing it. That is the essence of this exercise: to become familiar with how negative you are. Pay attention to your own self-talk, which can be the most negative of all.

It is simply not enough to make a suggestion positive. It must also be phrased in a way as to empower. To empower a suggestion is to give it emotional content and as such the suggestion is more likely to have the required response. One of the most positive and empowering suggestions was the one used by Mohamed Ali, “I am the greatest”. Said repeatedly and with utter conviction, this positive suggestion has tremendous power.

Take a simpler desired response – that of loosing weight. Compare the following three alternative suggestions.

1.      Negative: “I will not eat fattening foods.”

2.      Positive but not empowering: “I am going to diet”

3.      Positive and empowering: “I will eat only the right foods in the right quantities so I can become all that I wish to become.”

Although the last is longer, it is both positive and empowering. The empowering aspect comes from stress on ‘becoming all that you wish to become’. Also not that this is rather vague. But it allows the unconscious mind to work on directing you behaviour to achieve the desired goal in the way that it considers best for you.

Another aspect of suggestion should also be taken into account. This is best considered first in the context of heterohypnosis. A suggestion may be both positive and empowering but it may also be phrased in a very authoritarian way. For example, “You will eat only the right foods and in small amount so that you will therefore loose weight.” This authoritarianism may be enough for the suggestion to be rejected. Although there are occasions when an authoritarian approach is called for, in general it is much more acceptable to phrase the suggestions in a more permissive way. For example, “By eating the right kind of foods in the right amounts you will find that your weight simply drops away.”

What about self-hypnosis? Self-hypnosis involves making suggestions to yourself. There is every reason to follow the same practice in order to make your suggestions successful. Put simply, your suggestions should have three characteristics. They should be

1.      Positive

2.      Empowering

3.      Permissive

The more you incorporate these characteristics into your suggestions, the more likely they will have the desired outcome.

Direct and indirect suggestions

Direct suggestions are simple, clear and explicitly state what is the desired response. There is no ambiguity or subtleness in direct suggestions. If a hypnotist desires a client to close their eyes, and if they are using direct suggestion, then they may simply say, “close your eyes”. No ambiguity or confusion is involved in such a suggestion. Direct suggestions are usually part of the induction process. “Relax all the muscles of your body”, “Let yourself go” and “Sink deeper and deeper into trance” are all direct suggestions. Although there may be some ambiguity on what is meant by “let yourself go” or “sink deeper and deeper”, they are nonetheless very direct. They can, of course, be combined with a permissive style, such as “I would like you to let yourself go, to relax fully and completely.” The suggestion “sink deeper and deeper” has overtones of being authoritarian and could be construed to mean, “you will go deeper and deeper” as if in a form of command. On the other hand, saying, “I would like you to go deeper and deeper” allows the individual to choose whether or not to go deeper and deeper. The choice is left up to the person being hypnotized to decide whether or not they comply.

Looking at the scripts provided will readily show that many of the suggestions are direct. This is not surprising. Scripts and tape recordings need to be simple and direct. Ambiguity is not recommended for such medium since those providing the scripts and tapes have no control over the situation. Accordingly, these usually involve very direct suggestions. They also involve directly the problem the client has.

Many clients, however, do not respond (or do not like) direct suggestions. In such circumstances a more indirect method is called for. This can be accomplished in heterohypnosis. The hypnotist can go about giving very indirect suggestions, sometimes embodied in stories or metaphors. We shall discuss both of these later. But consider a simple example. Suppose a hypnotherapist wants their client to relax. They could, of course, give direct suggestions: “Your body is becoming very, very relaxed. Every muscles in your body is relaxing… and as you relax your are going deeper and deeper into trance.” Clearly these are a set of direct suggestions. But some individuals simply do not like such direct suggestions. In this case a more indirect approach is called for. This is where imagery comes in. The hypnotherapist may suggest to their client, “You are in a boat, all nicely padded, which is drifting down a river. You are not rowing; the current of the boat is taking you down the river. It is all very relaxing. You can see the clouds up above; the sun is glistening through the leaves of the trees on the bank; you can hear the birds and feel the breeze on your face. Nothing matters except letting go and sinking down and down into a deep and relaxing trance state.” This is much more indirect. More than that, it calls on the individual’s experiences and involvement.

The problem with indirect suggestion for the self-hypnotist is that it is limited. Certainly, the indirect suggestion that involves imagery can readily be utilized. However, more subtle indirect suggestions are ruled out simply because the self-hypnotist knows what they are doing and the implied suggestion that is being used. If you yourself are making the suggestion, then it is simply impossible to embed it in a series of suggestions where the (implied) meaning is not apparent. The very act of consciously thinking up the suggestion rules out this possibility. Not all is lost, however. The important point is making a suggestion in such a way that you get the desired response. If you cannot use indirect suggestion in an obvious way, you can still use imagery that leads to the desired response.

We shall discuss indirect suggestion a little more in the next section since it is an important feature of Ericksonian hypnosis.

Ericksonian hypnotherapy and suggestion

Many hypnotherapists, especially in the United States , consider the only type of hypnotherapy is Ericksonian. This acts as a straightjacket. Throughout history, to consider anything from just one school of thought is doomed to failure. A school of thought simply gives one perspective of a problem. There is nothing immutable in the approach since there are no laws governing human nature that we are presently aware of. There are tendencies and good hypotheses, but there are no laws. A good, and extreme example of this is behaviourism. This school of thought considered the only thing that is acceptable for study is that which can be observed. It was an outgrowth of positivism in philosophy in which verification was an essential ingredient. In philosophy this ruled out any debate over the existence of god, since this could not be verified. In psychology, behaviourism ruled out any discussion of the unconscious mind, since this could not be observed. Accordingly, in the heyday of behaviourism, hypnosis was little if at all studied. But the same extreme thinking is taking place in the area of hypnotherapy. Ericksonian hypnosis has much going for it, and we shall discuss this later, but it is only one approach – one school of thought – for the study of hypnosis.

A major feature of Ericksonian hypnosis is the understanding and utilization of a whole variety of different types of suggestions. These are quite numerous. Here we shall not attempt to define them, but rather just give examples. We shall be brief, largely because the uses of many of these types of suggestions only work in heterohypnosis but not in self-hypnosis. Even so, some also apply to self-hypnosis. Part of our aim in this section, therefore, is to explain the variety of Ericksonian suggestions and to highlight those that will be useful for the self-hypnotist.

Classification of Ericksonian suggestions

The list is by no means exhaustive, but it does indicate the variety of suggestions that can be used in hypnosis. Most, however, only make sense in heterohypnosis: as for example, implications, double binds and truisms. For the self-hypnotist, since you are the one making the suggestions, then you will be aware of the implication, of the double bind or the nature of truism. You will know that you are covering all eventualities when you say to yourself, “In a moment either my right hand or my left hand will lift up; or perhaps my left hand or my right hand will develop a heaviness and press down; or maybe neither of my hands will move.” This does not mean you should not use some of these suggestions, and it may be difficult to avoid them anyway, but it does mean that they are likely to have less impact than they would in heterohypnosis.

Some of the types of suggestions, however, are useful for the self-hypnotist. Not knowing and not doing is an example. “I don’t have to go into trance unless I want to” will be just as effective in self-hypnosis as it would be in heterohypnosis. Also apposition of opposites, such as “The more I try to rise from the chair the more my body will sink down and down into the chair and the deeper and deeper I will become” – which also involves a compound suggestion. Open-ended suggestions are also very useful for the self-hypnotist. For example, “I will become more assertive. This may occur tomorrow, the next day or in the days to come.” Not only is this open-ended but it presupposes that it will occur; it is just a question of when it will occur.

What matters for the self-hypnotist is not so much how to classify suggestions, but rather to become aware of those that best suit your psychology. If you are a ‘control freak’ then open-ended suggestions will not be to your liking. On the other hand, suggestions of apposition of opposites might suit you very well. There is an art here of establishing which type of suggestions you best respond to. Of course to establish this you will need to try out a variety of types. Then you can discard those that seem to have little impact and utilize those that do.

Posthypnotic suggestions

A posthypnotic suggestion refers to a suggestion which is given to a person when in a hypnotic state and which involves an action to be carried out later when the person is in their normal waking state. It can be given in heterohypnosis and self-hypnosis. Take the following example, which is simple and of no particular use in itself, except to demonstrate typical, posthypnotic behaviour. When in a hypnotic state, suppose you gave yourself a suggestion that when you awoke after five minutes you would have a tremendous desire to take off your right shoe, and that with each moment that passed this urge would become stronger and stronger until you took off your right shoe. If you were actually carrying this out you would use repetition and imagery. Now, in all probability, you would carry out this instruction. After five minutes had elapsed, you would find yourself thinking about your right shoe, your attention would more and more be directed at your right shoe. You will probably remember the posthypnotic suggestion, but still the urge to comply will get stronger and stronger and stronger, until you carried out what had been suggested.

If a posthypnotic suggestion is not carried out, two reasons are usually advanced to explain this. First, the person was not in a sufficiently deep enough trance. Second, the instruction was ridiculous, inconsiderate or improper. Let me take each of these in turn. The first explanation is certainly true in a number of occasions, but it is a fallacy to conclude the depth of hypnosis from the fact of whether or not a given posthypnotic suggestion is carried out. Posthypnotic suggestions, if reasonable, can be acted upon with the person being in a light, medium or very deep trance.

The second explanation has arisen largely from experimentation and stage shows. If you are given a ridiculous instruction, in either heterohypnosis or in self-hypnosis, then in all likelihood you will not comply. One may consider the above suggestion to take off your right shoe after five minutes, comes into such a category. If you do, then you may not carry out this particular posthypnotic suggestion. The same is true if the suggestion, in some way, went against your moral code. It appears that the super-ego, to use a Freudian concept, is always working and does not ‘go to sleep’. The point here is that these situations tend to arise in heterohypnosis, where a ridiculous suggestion is being used in experimental work to ‘demonstrate’ the existence of posthypnotic phenomenon; or by stage hypnotists who wish to create an amusing performance (at the cost of the volunteer). In self-hypnosis this is unlikely to arise because you are unlikely to give yourself ridiculous or improper posthypnotic suggestions.

The great importance of posthypnotic suggestions is their use in speeding up the induction process on future occasions and for deepening the trance state.

Characteristics of posthypnotic suggestions

We shall now use this posthypnotic suggestion to discuss some of their characteristics. First and foremost, posthypnotic suggestions do not occur only in heterohypnosis. There is no more difficulty in giving yourself a posthypnotic suggestion as being given one by another person. The only real difference, if there is one, is that human nature has a tendency to follow other people’s suggestions more readily than our own – especially if the other person is someone in authority. Second, the posthypnotic suggestion is to be carried out when you are in your normal waking state. It is an act to be carried out in the future when you are in a normal waking state. Whether you temporarily re-enter a state of hypnosis to carry out the act we shall discuss later.

The performance of a posthypnotic suggestion needs to be activated. It can be activated by a signal, such as snapping the fingers; a phrase, ‘when I say, “sleep” you will go into a deep trance state’; or some other signal, such as playing a particular piece of music (very popular with stage hypnotists). The signal should be simple and unambiguous. It does, however, require careful consideration. The signal should not be something that a person (the hypnotist on this occasion) does quite naturally. In other words, it should not be something that commonly occurs in everyday life. Snapping the fingers does not come into this category. Why? The hypnotist will always say, “When I snap my fingers, you will go into trance.” So the signal is very explicit to the hypnotist snapping his fingers. But even this can lead to a problem. Suppose a hypnotherapist gave this signal. Suppose that this particular hypnotherapist was being interviewed on TV and happened to illustrate giving posthypnotic suggestions by snapping his fingers (which he does so on the programme). You happened to be watching this programme because you heard your hypnotherapist was on TV. Lo and behold, you go into a trance! However, you would not remain in trance. Even so, it is not something you would have preferred to do on this occasion.

Commonly used signals by stage hypnotists become even more of a problem. Suppose a stage hypnotist suggested that when you heard the opening bars of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, you would “go to sleep”. You are driving home from the show, and listening to Classic FM, and they play Beethoven’s Fifth. You begin to close your eyes and lose control of the car. Not at all a happy experience. The problem here, as we shall point out later, is not cancelling the suggestion. It therefore acts as a posthypnotic suggestion. Why? Because the stage hypnotist says, “When you hear this” (and the music is then played), the suggestion is open-ended. It is not clear that it means only during this performance. The person being hypnotised may interpret the suggestion as meaning whenever he or she hears this particular piece of music. What we observe here is that suggestions given in trance can sometimes be interpreted as posthypnotic suggestions on the part of the person being hypnotised, even though the hypnotist did not mean it to be so. This is why common signals – whether actions, phrases or other signals – should be avoided at all costs.

When engaging in self-hypnosis, therefore, you must be careful. Avoid generalisations, like “When I snap my fingers I will bark like a dog”. This is something you would not like to do at a meeting when you happened to snap your fingers! What you want to say is, “When I next snap my fingers I will bark like a dog”. This is specific and not general and involves only the next act of snapping your fingers and not all future occasions. Of course, “barking like a dog” is a silly suggestion, but it illustrates the importance of being careful about giving posthypnotic suggestions even to yourself.

One way to avoid common phrases or actions is to combine a phrase and an action – where these would never occur together in common usage or by accident. In this case both the action and the phrase can be simple and of common usage, but would not occur together. Whatever signal you choose, the posthypnotic suggestion should make it absolutely clear that you will respond only when you yourself give it. Although this may have been assumed, it is much safer to incorporate it into the suggestions so that there is no doubt as to what you are expected to do. In other words, you will carry out the posthypnotic suggestion only when you yourself give the signal.

When giving a posthypnotic suggestion it is necessary to constantly repeat the signal. It should also include a safeguard so that it is not accidentally carried out in other circumstances in which it was not meant to. With some individuals a posthypnotic suggestion is long lasting while with others it wears off. Why is not clear. Repeating the posthypnotic suggestion at intervals, however,  will reinforce it.

Some further considerations

There is some confusion by researches into hypnosis as exactly what happens when a posthypnotic suggestion is carried out. The general consensus seems to be that the individual temporarily goes into a trance state, and the state terminates once the act is carried out. If the act is not carried out, and some compulsion is felt, the question arises as to whether the individual is now in a temporary hypnotic state. Since they do not carry out the act, does this further mean that this temporary state of hypnosis is not terminated? This does not appear to be the case. Certainly there is no chance of you remaining in a ‘temporary’ state of hypnosis. If anything, it is like going to the supermarket and having a tune humming in your mind about a particular make of toothpaste (or some other product advertised on TV). The tune does not continue indefinitely. Other pressing needs to your time and attention prevent this.

A common characteristic purported to indicate a state of deep trance is amnesia to a posthypnotic suggestion. Now amnesia is neither necessary nor sufficient for deep hypnosis. Furthermore, the response to a posthypnotic suggestion is quite separate from amnesia. These two characteristics should not be confused. However, in heterohypnosis a hypnotist will often suggest to the client that they have amnesia for a particular posthypnotic suggestion. If they are quite responsive to the suggestions of the hypnotist then they will comply with both suggestions: the posthypnotic suggestion and amnesia about it. A subject, however, can quite readily accept the posthypnotic suggestion but not the amnesia. It does appear to be the case that for many individuals in deep hypnosis they either have spontaneous amnesia for posthypnotic suggestions (although the amnesia may be an implied suggestion) or readily comply with the instruction to have such amnesia.

It is the combined posthypnotic suggestion and amnesia that is utilised considerably by stage hypnotists. Thus the stage hypnotist may suggest to a volunteer (whom we will assume is male) that when they hear a piece of music by Elvis Presley then they will consider themselves to be Elvis Presley and when the music stops they will be back to normal; and furthermore they will have no memory of this instruction. This particular suggestion acts as a warning. Although it may give rise to an amusing performance, it is absolutely necessary for the stage hypnotist to cancel such a posthypnotic suggestion. If the volunteer was highly susceptible, and if the posthypnotic suggestion was phrased in the way just indicated and not cancelled, then the volunteer may find himself becoming Elvis Presley each time this is played on the radio or TV. The reason is that the volunteer interpreted the suggestion to mean whenever he hears a piece of music by Elvis Presley, since there was nothing in the original suggestion that prevented this interpretation. Second, since the posthypnotic suggestion was not cancelled, then it is not clear that it was meant to apply only during the performance. Whenever can readily be interpreted to mean both during the performance and after the performance. The constant response on the part of the volunteer becoming Elvis Presley reinforces the posthypnotic suggestion even though they do not recall being given it.

One should not go away with the impression that all stage hypnotists are creating problems for their volunteers. But amateur stage hypnotists may fall into this category and may not be aware of the impact of their posthypnotic suggestion. On a more positive note, what can come away from viewing such a performance – whether one finds it amusing or not – is the sheer power of posthypnotic suggestions.