do you believe that hypnois really works?

I havent had any hypnosis but I am a training psychologist and will be studying hypnotism in September so I will know alot more about it then. Its a state of mind you get put into a bit like subliminal messaging.

There are several schools of thought on hypnosis. (1)First the counterargument: (a sign of good will on my part.) The social learning approach labels hypnosis as the result of expectation combined with interpreted authority, etc. Pretty boring if you ask me. This approach doesn't believe it is an altered state, but these are the kinds of people who say that meditation isn't an altered state, either. (2)Now, what I know: The dissociative approach views trance as a splitting of our consciousness. The famous hypnotist Milton Erickson views -all- consciousness as transiently varied levels of trance. How well hypnotism works depends on the individual. Something like 15% of people can't be hypnotized. As a graduate student in a clinical program, with interest and experience in hypnosis, I have only been unable to hypnotize two types of people: Those who refuse to be hypnotized, and those who lack the ability to be calm and patient. Being hypnotized does not guarantee change, either. You still have to commit yourself to whatever change you want to take place. Hypnosis might be able to "reprogram" us, by writing memories at a "deeper" level. Most hypnotists assume that "deeper" information is more relevant to our behavior. In some cases, it feels like I'm changing the person by teaching them in a more meaningful way, and in others it's more like I'm just adding to their knowledge. In the latter case, hypnotism is probably not much more effective than just talking to them and helping them to commit to their goals. Remember! The hypnotist doesn't have control over you, all hypnotism is essentially auto-hypnosis. The advantage to having a hypnotist, is that you're able to put yourself into an altered state. Depending on how you create that state, you can have a profound effect on yourself, or a limited effect. You don't need to think about anything, and you let the therapist do the planning and hard work while your mind operates in what is hopefully a primitive and unbiased state. Having a good hypnotist is important, and so is being in a good state of mind. I hope all of that babble was helpful. =P

Hypnosis does work for me at some level. I have tried the audio version for improving my fitness and my success in life. Now I'm feeling better about myself and my life. I think hypnosis works by reprogramming your subconscious mind to the way you want it to be. You have to be hypnotized everyday in order for it to work. You may fall asleep while listening to it, but it's ok, because the message will still be absorbed into your subconscious mind and reprogram your way of thinking and acting in real life. You will notice the change in your routine and the way you think. If you still don't understand, maybe you should give it a try and see if it works for you. We are not just a physical body. You may know that we all have both conscious and subconscious mind and it work together. If you die, your body is just a body, a brain can not think anymore. So where do you think your thoughts are from? We have more than just physical body. The body can not work without life, soul, or mind. Scientist have done many researches to confirm the effectiveness of hypnotherapy. So you can be sure that it works for many people.

I was hypnotized once, by a doctor. I was very relaxed for a few minutes. But, beyond that, it didn't have any effect on me. It certainly didn't change any of my problems.