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Principles of Hypnosis (6) Classification of systems of most use in hypnosis
above systems can be analysed into subsystems, and that they can combine in various ways. This is not
an encyclopaedic book: it is intended to present a way of looking at things. The key idea is that
practitioners in the field of Hypnosis should be aware of just what systems they are activating or
inactivating at a given time, and some sort of classification is useful to detail their answers.
Now that we have looked at the main systems which are involved in the early stages of a Hypnotherapy
session, it will be useful to return to the large class of Maintenance and Defence systems, and look at one
in particular which looms very large in the work of the Hypnotherapist. The function of this system is to
enable the body to respond to a perceived danger. It is defensive. The responses are often summarised by
the phrase "fight or flight". The presumed origin of this system was in a more primitive world than our
own, when most dangers could be met either by running away from them or by fighting the wild animal
or enemy which posed the threat. It was seldom the case that threats could be met by drawing little marks
on a white surface, or by quiet reason. It was far more useful to have the lungs drawing in reserves of
oxygen, the heart beating fast, adrenaline flowing, the muscles ready for action, the stomach and/or
bowels empty, perspiration starting to keep the body cooled and so on.
Problems involving this system which may be presented to the Hypnotherapist include anxiety, panic
attacks, examination nerves, fear of flying, agoraphobia, "stress", bereavement, fear of dentists, and so on
endlessly. Many cases of sexual malfunction, for example, involve this same defensive response, because
another aspect of it is that it tends to switch off sexual drive. Consequently the man who gets anxious
about his performance and therefore activates this defensive pattern will further reduce his sexual
prowess. This will make things worse and a vicious circle begins.
In most of these cases the problem is that this particular defensive system is activated inappropriately.
There are very few threats in modern life that call for these kinds of emotional and physical changes.
Typically there is some sort of trigger - a place, a feeling, etc. - which is interpreted by a key mental
system as DANGEROUS. This will immediately activate the defensive "fight or flight" system. One
common strategy for the Hypnotherapist is to aim to change the first system so that it no longer regards
the particular trigger as being DANGEROUS.
In principle an alternative approach might be forcibly to prevent it from activating the defensive system,
but although this might work in the short term, it is potentially flawed in that the warning might later
break through again. As an analogy, suppose that the accounts department of a company is (rightly or
wrongly) saying, "We are in a financially dangerous situation. We must economise!" The effect of this
will run through the whole business. Now we may prevent the accounts department making everyone feel
demoralised by locking them up, or cutting their lines of communication. But not for long. Sooner or
later they will get out and shout all the louder as a result of not being heard before. As management
technique or Hypnotic technique that is bad practice. Correct practice is to pay attention to the system
which is reporting danger and then demonstrate to it that the situation does not call for the drastic level of
response that is being suggested.
There is evidence that Hypnotic techniques can in fact affect the functioning of Maintenance and
Defence systems which operate at a lower level, such as the immune system. Rossi & Cheek (1988)Bib
present some details on the effect of Hypnotic techniques on healing. There is plenty of evidence - vide
the placebo effect - that people's beliefs about their diseases can affect their course. But the exact
pathway by which the mental process affects the physical one is not totally clear.
This is an area in which more research would be useful. It is to be expected that the theoretical approach
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