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The facts about hypnosis for entertainment

Film and TV depictions of hypnosis are often grossly inaccurate and can lead to some people developing a fear or distrust of hypnosis. People can be led to believe that the hypnotist can take control of the person being hypnotized, and even make them do something against their will. This is sometimes called the ‘Svengali effect' (after the sinister character in the 1894 novel Trilby by George Du Maurier). While this may make for interesting storylines, the reality is quite the opposite. In hypnosis you are always in control you are just so relaxed that your inhibitions seem to melt away and you develop a strond desire to follow the instructions given by the hypnotist..

There is a very big difference between clinical hypnotherapy and stage hypnotism. Whilst the former is a therapeutic process for the benefit of the client, the latter is a performance, a show designed purely to entertain the audience. The people who volunteer as subjects for stage hypnotism, are in effect self-selecting themselves, are happy to lose their inhibitions and be the center of attention (extroverts), and are willing to add to the entertainment

Is hypnosis dangerous?