 Magazine
for Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy
A Modern Hypnosis Dictionary:The Letter T
Tachycardia -
Rapid heart beat
Tactile induction -
The method of inducing hypnosis by gently stroking the
subject's body, usually the forehead but can be almost any part of the
body. Not often used in therapy these days, it has it's roots in Mesmerism
and animal hypnosis (trout tickling!).
Taphophobia -
Excessive dread of being buried alive.
Thanatophobia -
Morbid fear of death
Tic -
Involuntary muscle spasm, 'twitch', often facial and
of psychogenic origin.
Time Distortion -
Typical hypnotic phenomenon, usually time appearing to
have passed more quickly than usual but also refers to time appearing to
pass slower than usual.
Tinnitus -
A condition where the sufferer hears or appears to hear
noises, typically ringing in the ears. Can be distressing and is amenable
to hypnosis even though it may have physiological or psychological origins.
Usually the 'selective' hearing process has to be de-tuned.
Toxophobia -
Excessive fear of being poisoned.
Trance -
A big word in hypnosis which is not too easy to define!
This is exacerbated by the fact that trance is associated with a wide range
of ill defined phenomena ranging from drug abuse to spirituality to occultism.
Never the less 'trance' as it applies to hypnosis is held to be a natural
state which occurs easily (and frequently) to a person when their attention
is, on the one hand, directed inward - and away from external sensory experience
and on the other hand, narrowed and focused, usually on the hypnotist's
voice. The hypnotic trance seems to have much in common with the dream
state but without the usual unconsciousness. The deeper the hypnotic trance
state the closer this comparison becomes, especially in regards to spontaneous
amnesia and loss of criticality. Trance is subjective and difficult to
measure but experienced hypnotist's know to look for certain physical signs
to gauge the onset and depth of the state. For example you can observe:
-
Physical stillness
-
Change of breathing
-
Pallid / waxen complextion
-
Gradual postural slumping
-
Increased body temperature
-
REM type eye movements
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Fluttering eyelids
-
Swallowing / gulping
-
Increased lachrymation
-
Redness around the eyes
Trance induction -
The process of bringing about a 'hypnotic' state, either
in oneself (self hypnosis)
or in another (hetero hypnosis).
Transference -
A word that has come to us from psychoanalysis and refers
to the way that patients sometimes 'project' unconscious associations onto
the therapist. For example, patients may come to project emotional attachments
that they cannot feel for a parent onto the therapist. Usually only a problem
when therapy it protracted.
Trauma -
Shock to the person, either physical or psychological
or both. Can have effects which endure beyond the immediate healing process.
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Tom Connelly© ed@hypnos.co.uk
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