Free Hidden Depths: The Story of Hypnosis by Robin Waterfield Page B

the ages.
Changes to Voluntary Muscles
    Catalepsy
is the state when a muscle or group of muscles becomes rigid or hard to move. Many hypnotists say, quite early on in the induction: ‘You cannot open your eyes. However hard you try, your eyelids are as if glued shut.’ This eye-closure test is one of the ways in which a hypnotist can tell whether the induction has been successful. The muscles of the eyelids have become cataleptic. Full-body catalepsy is when the whole body goes rigid, and this is what stage hypnotists exploit in the trick I've already described called the ‘human plank’. In between, it is possible for the hypnotist to suggest catalepsy of the arm or leg or whatever. The opposite effect, abnormal plasticity, is also sometimes induced.
    Other alterations in the voluntary muscles are
relaxation
, as a natural result of settling comfortably into the hypnotic environment, and
increased muscular performance
. The famous British psychologistJ.A. Hadfield tested the strength of three men under normal, waking conditions. Their average grip was 101lbs. He then hypnotized them, and told them that they felt weak; their average grip fell to only 29 lbs. Still under hypnosis, he suggested to them that they were very strong – and their average grip rose to 142lbs. They had been able to increase their strength by about 40 per cent. The applications of this to sports hypnosis are plain. Although plenty of other researchers have been able to test this phenomenon, it does not seem to be an invariant phenomenon of hypnosis, and many psychologists now believe that any extra strength is given by the subject's increased motivation, rather than by anything intrinsic to hypnosis itself. However, in favour of trance states enhancing such abilities are reports that entranced shamans can perform astonishing feats of strength.
Changes to the Senses
    There are two main kinds of alteration which can affect any of the senses. First, they can become super-acute. The technical name for this is
hyperaesthesia
. Sometimes the effects are quite remarkable, and may explain some of the apparent paranormal phenomena so beloved of nineteenth-century researchers. A hypnotized subject, for instance, may appear to be able to detect words written on a piece of paper he has never seen, when it is being looked at by someone else; what he is actually doing is reading the reflection of the words in the other person's eyes. Stage hypnotists used to take handkerchiefs from several members of the audience, shuffle them up and get their subject to return them to their owners: perhaps the subject was using a heightened sense of smell. Tiny differences in temperature have been accurately noted, and differences of weight as small as a few grains have been detected. What is remarkable about all this is not the ability in itself. If you blindfold yourself and walk around a strange room, you will find that in a few days you can begin to use your hearing to tell where the obstacles are. So hyperaesthesia is within the capability of anyone. But what is remarkable is the speed with which hypnotized subjects gain the ability. Perhaps this is a result of the narrow focus of attention.
    The other important changes to the senses are
analgesia
and
anaesthesia
. The first term is generally used for local loss of sensation, and the second for unconsciousness, with its byproduct of total loss of physical sensation. This phenomenon is familiar from TV and stage shows. We all know that a hypnotized subject can be pricked with a pin or burnt with a cigarette and not feel a thing. The stage uses are obvious, as are the medical ones, particularly in the days before reliable anaesthetics, or with patients who are allergic to anaesthetics, or who prefer to avoid chemicals. Before inducing anaesthesia, a hypnotist will probably test the patient's susceptibility by inducing what is called ‘glove anaesthesia’ – that is, anaesthesia restricted to the