Influence On Reflexes In Hypnosis

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-12 20:57

Scientists have broken many copies on this matter. One of them, J. M. Charcot, even agreed on the pathogenic nature of hypnosis, actually rolling back the history of research on this phenomenon a century and a half ago, when it was called "animal magnetism." But no matter how we interpret hypnosis, for us it will remain, first of all, the speech of the hypnotist addressed to the patient. Even Avicenna, listing the means of treatment, put the word in the first place. Why? Because the intonation we put into words (which we also carefully select) can turn our phrases into a psi factor with commutation at the level of the recipient's higher nervous activity. In particular, reconfiguring his ideas about his own health through verbal persuasion entails corresponding physical changes in the affected organs. Moreover, the source of verbal commutation itself does not matter - as long as the patient's ears work. There is a story when, in one of the Parisian hospitals, the psychologist Emily Kei made her wards three times a day with the expression repeatedly repeating the same mantra: "Every day I feel better and better." As a result, according to the source, seriously ill patients recovered within a month, and those who were waiting for the operation were transferred to therapeutic treatment. The health status of these people improved so much that surgery was not required.

Any person can give examples of "magic of the word", recalling the experienced relief after one phrase, sometimes even of a stranger. On the other hand, each of us can confirm that the healing effect of words does not always come. Why? Paracelsus said that miracles happen only for those who believe in them. In this sense, the position of a skeptic who looks at the world from the height of his intellect looks like a form of cretinism, since it demonstrates an inability to imagine anything other than what is officially approved.

Konstantin Ivanovich Platonov (1877-1969), who is called the father of Soviet psychotherapy, investigated the connection between the word and the sense of faith in his book "The Word as a Physiological and Healing Factor." Asking the question whether it is possible with the help of the word to influence the "holy of holies" of the human body - its instinctive activity, he received a positive answer: yes, it is possible. If the patient is ready to believe in the healing power of words. In support of Platonov, he cites dozens of examples when patients, under the influence of hypnosis, corrected fundamental instincts, such as self-preservation or reproduction.- this is the first evidence of the patient's readiness to believe, because immersion in the anamnesis against the will of the recipient is an impossible thing in itself. In addition, the state of hypnosis as a "tuning mode" allows the patient to concentrate more on the perception of words, since his psyche at this moment is completely shielded from the "noise" created by the activity of human consciousness. The result is amazing content.

Violation of the instinct of self-preservation

“Patient F., 37 years old, a teacher, came to us with complaints of depression, irritability, constant headaches, frequent tears, anxious sleep with nightmares, unaccountable fear, fear of being left alone, internal anxiety, lack of interest in life … The society of people weighs on her, she avoids him, classes at school with students, according to her, for her "constitute torture." The last months are overwhelmed by melancholy, the thought of suicide; completely inoperative. She fell ill a year ago after the death of her mother, who died during one of the quarrels between this patient and her husband, with whom relations were bad. Considering herself to be guilty of the death of her mother, the patient still cannot come to terms with this, the thoughts of the mother for whom she lived and worked are persistent. She divorced her husband.

Drug treatment is ineffectual, the patient is worried about calming and persuasion even more. The reminder of the mother causes a sharply negative mimic-vegetative reaction. Calming and reassuring psychotherapy while awake was naturally not possible. The thoughts of suicide were so persistent that the intention arose to send her to a psychiatric hospital. But previously, psychotherapy was applied in an inspired drowsiness, during which the suggestion was made about the unfoundedness of self-accusation, a calm attitude to what had happened. At the same time, courage and resilience, good sleep, interest in life were instilled.

After the 1st session of such a motivated suggestion in a drowsy state, the patient slept well all night, and the whole next day, according to her, “I felt renewed, I never remembered my mother, was in public all the time, the mood was good”, moreover, "if yesterday I was apathetic and indifferent, today I am cheerful, energetic, with faith in my strength!" The next day, the 2nd session was carried out, the same suggestions were repeated. After that, the patient left. She wrote to us that she feels "good in all respects: cheerful, cheerful, energetic, efficient, really kind of renewed." Was under observation for a year, the follow-up remained positive (author's observation).”

Maternal instinct disorder

“Patient K., 30 years old, married, complained of a painful obsessive desire to strangle her own 8-month-old infant, which arose from the day of his birth and was aggravated mainly during feeding. He has a "dull feeling" for his child. An unbearably painful state of "fruitless struggle" with his obsessive desire made him seek help from a doctor.

It was not possible to reveal the etiological complex and psychotherapy was carried out purely symptomatically. The patient turned out to be well hypnotized. In the suggestions carried out in the suggested dream, the absurdity of her attraction was explained and the mother's attitude towards the child was suggested. After the 3rd session, a weakening of obsessive desire and awakening of attention, feelings of pity and tenderness for the child were noted. After the 7th session I felt completely healthy. Was under supervision for one year.

Of particular interest in this case of obsessive compulsive disorder lies in the fact that the true cause of the compulsive drive was found out only 23 years after recovery. Turning to the dispensary for another reason, she told us the following about her previous life: having a son from her first husband, she remarried, because she wanted to "give a father to her son."The second husband turned out to be a good person, justified her hopes, she had friendly feelings for him, treasured him as a person and appreciated him as the “father” of the first son. She had no sexual attraction to him, avoided pregnancy out of fear that her husband's attitude towards her son would change. Having become pregnant at the insistence of her husband, she began to feel disgust for the unborn child. After his birth, he developed an irresistible urge to strangle him. Subsequently, she loved her second son, in relation to whom the indicated obsession manifested itself (observation of the author).

In this case, the basis for the development of obsession was a decreased tone of the cerebral cortex caused by a depressed state (unwillingness to have a new pregnancy). On this basis, in a person, apparently belonging to a weak general type of higher nervous activity, the cerebral cortex was in a transitional, phase state, with a predominance of an ultraparadoxical phase (which, according to I. P. Pavlov, leads to a weakening in patients of the concept of opposition)."

Any person can give examples of "magic of the word", recalling the experienced relief after one phrase, sometimes even of a stranger. On the other hand, each of us can confirm that the healing effect of words does not always come. Why? Paracelsus said that miracles happen only for those who believe in them. In this sense, the position of a skeptic who looks at the world from the height of his intellect looks like a form of cretinism, since it demonstrates an inability to imagine anything other than what is officially approved.

Konstantin Ivanovich Platonov (1877-1969), who is called the father of Soviet psychotherapy, investigated the connection between the word and the sense of faith in his book "The Word as a Physiological and Healing Factor." Asking the question whether it is possible with the help of the word to influence the "holy of holies" of the human body - its instinctive activity, he received a positive answer: yes, it is possible. If the patient is ready to believe in the healing power of words. In support of Platonov, he cites dozens of examples when patients, under the influence of hypnosis, corrected fundamental instincts, such as self-preservation or reproduction.- this is the first evidence of the patient's readiness to believe, because immersion in the anamnesis against the will of the recipient is an impossible thing in itself. In addition, the state of hypnosis as a "tuning mode" allows the patient to concentrate more on the perception of words, since his psyche at this moment is completely shielded from the "noise" created by the activity of human consciousness. The result is amazing content.

Violation of the instinct of self-preservation

“Patient F., 37 years old, a teacher, came to us with complaints of depression, irritability, constant headaches, frequent tears, anxious sleep with nightmares, unaccountable fear, fear of being left alone, internal anxiety, lack of interest in life … The society of people weighs on her, she avoids him, classes at school with students, according to her, for her "constitute torture." The last months are overwhelmed by melancholy, the thought of suicide; completely inoperative. She fell ill a year ago after the death of her mother, who died during one of the quarrels between this patient and her husband, with whom relations were bad. Considering herself to be guilty of the death of her mother, the patient still cannot come to terms with this, the thoughts of the mother for whom she lived and worked are persistent. She divorced her husband.

Drug treatment is ineffectual, the patient is worried about calming and persuasion even more. The reminder of the mother causes a sharply negative mimic-vegetative reaction. Calming and reassuring psychotherapy while awake was naturally not possible. The thoughts of suicide were so persistent that the intention arose to send her to a psychiatric hospital. But previously, psychotherapy was applied in an inspired drowsiness, during which the suggestion was made about the unfoundedness of self-accusation, a calm attitude to what had happened. At the same time, courage and resilience, good sleep, interest in life were instilled.

After the 1st session of such a motivated suggestion in a drowsy state, the patient slept well all night, and the whole next day, according to her, “I felt renewed, I never remembered my mother, was in public all the time, the mood was good”, moreover, "if yesterday I was apathetic and indifferent, today I am cheerful, energetic, with faith in my strength!" The next day, the 2nd session was carried out, the same suggestions were repeated. After that, the patient left. She wrote to us that she feels "good in all respects: cheerful, cheerful, energetic, efficient, really kind of renewed." Was under observation for a year, the follow-up remained positive (author's observation).”

Maternal instinct disorder

“Patient K., 30 years old, married, complained of a painful obsessive desire to strangle her own 8-month-old infant, which arose from the day of his birth and was aggravated mainly during feeding. He has a "dull feeling" for his child. An unbearably painful state of "fruitless struggle" with his obsessive desire made him seek help from a doctor.

It was not possible to reveal the etiological complex and psychotherapy was carried out purely symptomatically. The patient turned out to be well hypnotized. In the suggestions carried out in the suggested dream, the absurdity of her attraction was explained and the mother's attitude towards the child was suggested. After the 3rd session, a weakening of obsessive desire and awakening of attention, feelings of pity and tenderness for the child were noted. After the 7th session I felt completely healthy. Was under supervision for one year.

Of particular interest in this case of obsessive compulsive disorder lies in the fact that the true cause of the compulsive drive was found out only 23 years after recovery. Turning to the dispensary for another reason, she told us the following about her previous life: having a son from her first husband, she remarried, because she wanted to "give a father to her son."The second husband turned out to be a good person, justified her hopes, she had friendly feelings for him, treasured him as a person and appreciated him as the “father” of the first son. She had no sexual attraction to him, avoided pregnancy out of fear that her husband's attitude towards her son would change. Having become pregnant at the insistence of her husband, she began to feel disgust for the unborn child. After his birth, he developed an irresistible urge to strangle him. Subsequently, she loved her second son, in relation to whom the indicated obsession manifested itself (observation of the author).

In this case, the basis for the development of obsession was a decreased tone of the cerebral cortex caused by a depressed state (unwillingness to have a new pregnancy). On this basis, in a person, apparently belonging to a weak general type of higher nervous activity, the cerebral cortex was in a transitional, phase state, with a predominance of an ultraparadoxical phase (which, according to I. P. Pavlov, leads to a weakening in patients of the concept of opposition)."

Sexual instinct disorder

“In February 1929, a 23-year-old girl V., who works as a cashier, turned to the dispensary of the Central Ukrainian Psychoneurological Institute, complaining of strong love and an equally strong feeling of jealousy she felt towards another girl. This gives her difficult experiences, which completely upset her mental balance and working capacity. The situation became especially complicated a year ago, when a girl, to whom she was attached for 3 years, “cheated” on her and thus made her suffer and suffer.

We give a literal description of her difficult state of mind, compiled by her at our request: “Since Zhenya (this is the name of this girl) left me, I lost my head. I lost sleep, appetite, cry at night. At work at the checkout I make mistakes. For a year now, I have not had peace for a second. I pursue Zhenya, follow her heels, jealous of her new friend, to whom she left me. I sit for hours, often in the rain, at the window of the cafe where Zhenya works, waiting for her to come out with her new girlfriend. I follow them and calm down only when they are parting and Zhenya goes home alone. At night I sit under the stairs in the entrance where her apartment is located, waiting for her to leave in the morning. When Zhenya is not at home, I start walking around her acquaintances, looking for her, not finding a place for myself. If I forget a little at work, then after work I wander aimlessly around the city,

until I'm exhausted. I want to stop loving her, but I can't. Seeing Zhenya is hard for me, but not seeing is even worse.”

In this state, V. turned to the clinic for medical help. She was prescribed bromine and advised to pull herself together. Deciding that this would not help, V. turned to the psychotherapeutic department of the dispensary of the Ukrainian Psychoneurological Institute. About how and under what circumstances this love and affection for Zhenya arose in her, V. told in our anamnestic conversation. From early childhood, V. lived in difficult family conditions and often witnessed major quarrels between her parents. She herself was, in her words, a kind, gentle, compliant and sympathetic girl, impressionable beyond her years. She was one of the first students at school. Her family was in need, as her father, being an alcoholic, drank away his earnings. V. was seriously worried about all family complications. At school, she had girlfriends, and did not shy away from the company of boys. When V. was 12 years old, one of her friends began to play with her "husband and wife", imitating her parents in their intimate relationship. The result was mutual masturbation that became habitual. Her friend was beautiful, and V. became attached to her. At the age of 15, V. entered a job as a domestic worker. Here men “with bad intentions” began to pester her, and V. began to fear and avoid them (“they became disgusting to me”). At work, she suffered insults and humiliation from them. At the age of 18, she had sexual intercourse with a man, but this did not satisfy her much. V. fell in love with this man with her “first pure love,” and he tortured her and mocked her, and soon married another. Keeping away from men and, moreover, considering herself ugly, V., continuing to struggle with her feelings for the person who had left her, began to take part in social work (by this time she worked in the cafeteria). Weighed down by my loneliness, I got along with a worker who promised to marry her. However, he turned out to be married, and she left him. I went to work in a restaurant. Here Zhenya worked as a cashier, who was beautiful and, according to V., treated her warmly and cordially, but Zhenya was engaged in homosexuality and persuaded V. to enter into perverse sexual relations with her. At first, according to her, V. disgusted this, resisted Zhenya's caresses, but then “out of a feeling of pity for her new friend,” from “passive” she became “active” herself. Zhenya bought herts, they became attached to each other and were inseparable. “After all, I did not have a close friend,” said V., describing her difficult state of mind. I was alone, and Zhenya gave me the opportunity to forget a little about my ugliness and told me that I was a good person. I believed her in everything and I was drawn to her. I had not only a sexual feeling for her, but also friendship. She and I wore the same dresses, shoes and scarves, imitating each other in everything. I really fell in love with Zhenya. When she was sick, I replaced her at work and was ready for almost anything for her sake … I didn't even go to a youth meeting if Zhenya said: “Don't в=

Neurological and organic status: asthenia, pallor of the skin and mucous membranes, increased tendon reflexes, tremor of the eyelids, tongue and arms extended forward. The structure of the body is female, the pelvis is female, secondary sexual characteristics are well expressed. In this case, there was a sexual attraction to a person of the same sex, which arose by a conditioned reflex mechanism, with excessive attachment to his object and jealousy. This led to the development of a severe hysterical psychotic reactive state, especially intensified after the betrayal of the object of her love passion. Homosexual experiences in adolescence played a role here, disgust for men, experienced by her as a result of a series of unsuccessful sexual relations with them, rudeness on their part, the consciousness of her ugliness, loneliness in life, affection on the part of the girl who inclined the patient to sexual perversion. Thus, in this case, the development of perverted homosexual attraction was facilitated by the favorable environmental situation with the instability of positive social foundations that normalized the behavior of the girl, who mainly had a normal, heterosexual mood.

After a series of anamnestic conversations, psychotherapy was carried out. The essence of the disease and its cause, the unnaturalness of attraction to a person of the same sex and the connection of a difficult mental state with this sexual abnormality were explained. She was asked to try to create conditions for normal attraction to a person of the opposite sex. The patient turned out to be well hypnotized. Both motivated and imperative affirmative suggestions were carried out in the suggested dream, aimed at eliminating the attraction to the female person, stopping any feeling for the Wife and forgetting her. At the same time, a normal sexual orientation towards people of the opposite sex was instilled. The sessions of speech therapy ended with a one-hour rest hypnosis. Over the course of 2 months, 12 such sessions were carried out, and 8 of them every 2 days. After the first session, a noticeable improvement was noted: on the same evening, she calmly walked past the shop window, which had been idle for hours before, and did not look for a meeting with Zhenya. After the last 2 sessions, she was no longer attracted to Zhenya.

After 4 months, V. reported that she was feeling well in all respects. However, Zhenya again tried to attract her to her with her caresses and demands for contact, visiting V. without her permission. Zhenya's tears and her persistent harassment almost shook V.'s stability, but she found the strength to resist them, after which she again turned to the dispensary for support. Over the course of 2 weeks, 4 more sessions were carried out, which finally put her on her feet, she continued to consider herself healthy for 5 years. Attraction to a woman was replaced by an attraction to a man. After 2 years, after her recovery, she married for love, gave birth to a child, held a responsible position as head of the canteen, was balanced, calm in her work. In 1934 it was demonstrated by us at a conference of doctors of the Ukrainian Psychoneurological Institute (observation of the author)."

Pieces of reports cited from the book "The Word as a Physiological and Therapeutic Factor" illustrate the author's main conclusion: the lost or giving out "mistakes" instinct is restored by verbal influence. This is one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century, which was made by G. I. Platonov, because he relied on the works of his predecessors. In particular, Platonov developed I. P. Pavlov's idea of "tension" of instinct as a condition for its implementation, coming to the conclusion that the emergence of neurotic states is the result of circumstances that caused not tension, but "overstrain" of instinct. This phenomenon is observed either from an overwhelming task, or from prolonged suppression of instinctive urges. Thus, any psychosomatic disorder according to Platonov is a kind of "patch" with which a person's protective reflexes are applied to a "hole" in his psyche in order to prevent worse consequences. At the same time, Platonov experimentally confirmed the conclusion of another apostle of the Russian physiological school, V. M. Bekhterev, on the reflex nature of pedophilia, homosexuality, fitishism, masochism, sadism, etc. It turned out that most erotic "fixations", including premature ejaculation or impotence, develop under the influence of external stimuli that can excite sexual feelings or, conversely, inhibit it. In this case, impulses that cause an overstrain of the "basic instinct" can go both from the first signal system and the second, which is proved by conversations in the anamnesis. Thanks to Plato's generalizations, modern Russian psychotherapy has received a solid foundation, which allows us, today's practitioners, not only to eliminate "garbage" conditioned reflexes that support psychosomatic disorders, but also to bring to a normal state the instinctive activity of a person based on innate (unconditioned) reflexes. And most importantly, we know where to develop - the topic of semantic coding of human reflex activity is like an ocean in which mankind has mastered only coastal waters.