What is your view of hypnosis?
It works, and it's useful. One example:
The so-called "Mother of Anesthesia," Alice Magaw, the anesthetist for the famous Dr. W.J. Mayo, wrote about using suggestion to reduce anesthesia in an article that was published in the Journal of Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics in 1906 titled,
A review of over fourteen thousand surgical anesthesias. She wrote:
Suggestion is a great aid in producing a comfortable narcosis. The anesthetist must be able to inspire confidence in the patient and a great deal depends on the manner of approach. One must be quick to notice the temperament and decide which mode of suggestion will be the most effective in the particular case the abrupt crude and very firm or the reasonable sensible and natural. The latter mode is far the best in the majority of cases. The subconscious or secondary self is particularly susceptible to suggestive influence therefore during the administration the anesthetist should make those suggestions that will be most pleasing to this particular subject. Patients should be prepared for each stage of the anesthesia with an explanation of just how the anesthetic is expected to affect him: "talk him to sleep," with the addition of as little ether as possible.
If you want to learn more about hypnosis, I suggest reading Dave Elman's book Hypnotherapy. He taught many dentists and doctors how to hypnotize patients. Most of the opinions you've already received on this thread are based on misconceptions about hypnosis. Elman's book dispels those misconceptions.
