Is Stage/Street Hypnosis a Sham?

[RendHeaven]

To preface this, I've gotta say that I'm well aware of the validity and strength of hypnotherapy. It is done in isolation in a comforting atmosphere, with the singular goal of healing. Sessions are spread out over many months (and possibly years) so the effects are believably gradual and transformative.

However, I've seen some viral street hypnosis videos circulating around YouTube recently, and I have trouble believing that what I'm seeing is not fake somehow. Typically this involves a guy telling a subject in public that they are now "in a deep state of relaxation," where they are "highly suggestible."

Then, still in public, the hypnotist supposedly has the subject lose motor control, forget their first name, hallucinate, etc.

There's just something fishy about this, even though thousands of people purport that "hypnosis is real, you just gotta believe in it cuz your mind is powerful."

Trust me, I keep learning not to underestimate the mind. And if psychedelics tell us anything, it certainly shows us the malleability (and ultimate groundlessness) of control, memory, and physicality.

However, to take a random dude off the street, (in front of other people, where there is massive social pressure to not look bad), and to honestly snap his name out of existence (which he has been conditioned to parrot for decades) seems otherworldly. It's possible, but it requires enormous awareness, and as far as I know that is not something that can be merely "suggested."

Here is just one example of what I'm talking about. Watch and you will see the "forgetting of the first name" happening too smoothly and perfectly. Not to mention the "seeing dinosaurs" lol.

So am I really just ignorant about this whole field and judging prematurely? Or are these performances a deliberate facade? Keep in mind I am making a distinction here between hypnotherapy and stage/street hypnosis. One is private and long term (which seems genuinely transformative), the other is public and short-term (which seems too good to be true).

[RendHeaven]

Bump

[Yann]

People have varying degrees of suggestibility. Here's an interesting clip of Derren Brown about the subject: 

 

[Leo Gura]

Hypnosis is real and it can be powerful when done by a master.

As far as videos go, of course those can be fake or exaggerted to gain views. As always, the more popular a thing is, the more dumb it tends to be.

[Ananta]

Years ago, a work picnic had a guy come to entertain. I raised my hand and got picked with maybe 12 others, that he was going to try to hypnotize. 

I followed his direction, but it didn't seem to be working on me. Finally, he came up to me, looked me dead in the eye, (he had been walking back in forth in front of us all) and said, "you can't be hypnotized, go back to your seat".

So, I went back to my seat (so did 2 others) and in about 10 more minutes he had these ppl running around the room flapping their arms and clucking like chickens ? .  Boy was I glad to be in my seat! Lol??

[bejapuskas]

I was hypnotized a few months ago  

The hypnotizer chose the most suggestible people from the audience, as others might be too boring to watch or they might even be difficult/dangerous, from what he told me after the show, he has seen some people go through serious hell while under hypnosis, so he tries to avoid those, but I don't know how he does that.

The deep relaxation is something like... you just become so open and so up to doing anything, all the things you perceive with your senses become so influential on you. I didn't forget my name, a woman next to me did, but I did some other things like having a strong urge to stand up every time the hypnotizer pronounced his name or falling into this even deeper relaxation when he stared at me. It was wonderful, kind of like meditation. 

I wouldn't be surprised if lot of the things were happening because you just don't want to embarrass the person's show, but the thing is, I was very suggestible even hours after we left the building and went home by car, I was still kind of hypnotized. I didn't feel my body's „boundaries“ as I usually do, I had to touch my face and stuff in order to not be confused as hell. Also even things that were not supposed to be suggestions were working like suggestions. My friends were talking about stones and suddenly I started feeling like I am unable to move certain parts of my body, as if they were made out of stone. I mean, this has to do with my ideas and projections onto stones, but I didn't expect that to happen.

If you ever have a chance to experience hypnosis or try out hypnotherapy, I strongly recommend it, it had a very pleasant and positive effect on my mood and psyche.