Hansruedi Wipf, you’ve seen the trailer for “Hypnotic”. What is your first reaction?
“Hypnotic” is certainly an exciting movie – if you like the thriller and horror genre. It is important to understand that a boring movie does not sell and therefore fact and fiction are mixed up quite a bit.
The film addresses primal fears such as loss of control; it is about being at the mercy of others, manipulable and possibly remote-controlled to do criminal things that you can no longer really remember.
If hypnosis were as (all)powerful as the trailer implies, then hypnosis would be perfect for prohibiting people from having problems. You could force them to stop having phobias or to stop being depressed. If this were the case, it would have been practiced long ago. But the number of bank robberies would also skyrocket, because if you could force people in a hypnotic state to do things against their will, then bank robberies and the like by such remote-controlled people would probably be the order of the day – which fortunately is not the case.
Can a hypnotist actually misuse hypnosis as a manipulation tool and control someone like a mental puppet?
You don’t need hypnosis to manipulate people. Manipulation is omnipresent: in advertising, in politics, at school, in relationships, in the family, at work. Even a dog can manipulate us with its trusting eyes so that we give it a “Gutzi”. As already mentioned, it is not possible to control people remotely – and that is a good thing.
Can it happen that an idea planted in a person’s head blossoms into a whole new reality, as depicted in the trailer?
The subconscious cannot really tell the difference between reality and imagination. However, rational thinking allows us to recognize this difference in most cases. However, an imagined fear can eventually lead to a problem – but this doesn’t require hypnosis either.
We are exposed to the influence of other people’s ideas every day: on the internet, on television, in newspapers, in politics and so on. It is unavoidable that sometimes absurd and completely abstruse ideas get caught up in people’s heads. This is proven by the countless conspiracy theories that are currently floating around.
There are countless prejudices circulating about hypnosis. What prejudices do you think urgently need to be dispelled?
The most important thing is that people first become aware of what hypnosis can do for them. It is incredible how much suffering, pain and also physical problems can be resolved through hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis. People just need to take a closer look at the subject of hypnosis.
It is important to understand that hypnosis is a 100% natural state. No one can be forced into hypnosis, but it is always a conscious decision to allow hypnosis to happen with the hypnotherapist.
In hypnosis, people are probably even less manipulable than when they are not under hypnosis. Because in hypnosis he also pays attention because he wants a change. If a hypnotist were to give him an idea that he didn’t like, he would resolutely reject it and no change would occur.
You can’t get stuck in hypnosis, it is not a truth serum and has nothing to do with anesthesia or unconsciousness. In hypnosis you can hear everything, you can think, argue and also open your eyes and leave at any time. Hypnosis also has nothing to do with esotericism, religion or the supernatural.
A movie is a movie. “Hypnotic” is not a documentary, but a thriller. I will definitely watch the movie. For entertainment. With lots of popcorn.
Hansruedi Wipf iOwner and President of Hypnose.NET GmbH and OMNI Hypnosis International, author, trainer and speaker.
About OMNI
As the world’s largest hypnosis school with more than 50 locations in over 20 different countries, OMNI Hypnosis International offers a complete and professional hypnosis training program. The training and further education institute has been established on the market since 1979 and is one of the few ISO 9001-certified hypnosis companies. OMNI Hypnosis International is characterized by the fact that its in-house hypnosis techniques are easy to learn and apply and have a high success rate. OMNI hypnosis techniques are used successfully in many areas: Fears and phobias, stress management, depression and burnouts, allergies, pain management, blockages of all kinds, addictions and dependencies, medical hypnosis, and many more. In cooperation with the University of Zurich, OMNI Hypnosis International is also leading a multidisciplinary project to establish and promote the acceptance of hypnosis and hypnotherapy based on a comprehensive characterization of their neurophysiological mechanisms of action.
