Dangers of hypnosis.

Abstract

various kinds of complications which have been as- sociated with hypnosis are reviewed, and it is concluded that they have been greatly exaggerated. dangen that are involved in hyp- nosis occur through ignorance, overzealousness, lack of understand- ing of the bases of interpersonal relationships, and the irresponsible acts of those who would use the technique for entertainment. In any discussion on hypnosis, the subject of its dangers is not long in coming up for comment. In fact, before discussion ever stah, ob- servations about its dangers are forthcoming, often from those who know the least about it. are a11 cognizant of the fact that it is not hard to find experts in any field, who are willing to share their in- formation or misinformation with all who will listen, or who can be forced to do so. How real are these dangers? For the sake of classification they can be divided into two large groups: possible real dangers and imagined dangers. Neustatter (1940) has facetiously stated, The dangers of hypnotism, like the reports of Mark Twain's death, are greatly exag- gerated (p. 89). Schultz (1922) made a very systematic investigation of reports of due to hypnosis. He found that most of these had occurred where hypnosis had been used for entertainment, or to satisfy the curiosity of some amateur. Most of these injuries were shown to be amenable to appropriate treatment. Janet (1925) quotes Demarquay and Teulon, who wrote in 1860. We must not assume that hypnotism is harmless because it does not introduce any foreign element into the human body. A method which begins by shattering a nervous system can hardly inspire us