Hypnosis is a psychological state whose existence and effects are strongly debated. Some believe that it is a state under which the subject's mind becomes so suggestible that the hypnotist, the one who induces the state, can establish communication with the subconscious mind of the subject and command behavior that the subject would not choose to perform in a conscious state (even behavior to be performed after the subject has left the hypnotic state, through post-hypnotic suggestion,) or even behavior the subject would be incapable of in a conscious state, such as not feeling pain, manifesting skin blisters as if the subject had been burned, or recalling things the subject's conscious memory does not retain. More... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnosis)Personally, I believe it is far too unreliable to be used in therapy, since it is possible for the patient to create false memories. I find the whole 'giving subconscious suggestions' too dangerous, the subconscious is a very complicated thing. It's like giving a gun to a child, he doesn't entirely known what he is doing, chances are he might shoot someone and seriously harm them. Like always, do express your views and opinions on the topic at hand.

PS: I also have certain religious beliefs when it comes to hypnosis, but I prefer to keep religion off this thread. So please, let's stray from it here.

Simply too dangerous at the current stage. It possesses some great potential for the future, but for now it should still be regarded as 'in the testing phase'.

I don't know, I have never done any research into the subject at all, but my gut instinct is that it is all :bs: .

Sort of like people believing in psychics...

My sister (who is currently doing a psychology course at university) has told me that there's is no empirical evidence that hypnosis actually does anything.

True, there might not be any actual scientific evidence, but it's still pretty obvious that it does something. It wouldn't be so popular if it didn't.

Unreliable - I went to one to quit smoking - it didn't work. Well I lasted 3 days, and that may have been a placebo effect.
For some people I know this has worked though - although this is in no way a reliable proceedure - it relies on the susceptability of the recipient.

I agree with Late-Night. Because we don't know enough about it some peaple think it might be the answer to all kinds of stuff. "It relies on the susceptability of the recipient" when there is no epitical evidence is another way of saying "It might work, some times... on some people". Shure some people might be able to quit smoking after hypnosis, but no one knows if it's the actual hypnosis that's helping them.

It wouldn't be so popular if it didn't.Popularity is not an indicator of efficacy.

My father is a practicing psychologist and, let me tell you, hypnosis is real. The problem with hypnosis is the same as it's advantages. It seems to connect to the subconscious, but everyone's subconscious is different. How someone will react to something is quite unpredictable. Remember, the subconscious isn't the base programing of a person, its the person itself. If the person doesn't want to cooperate, the hypnotic suggestions won't take. This is the real problem with hypnotic smoking suggestions. The driving power is still the person's own will and it is still battling an addiction.
That said, my father doesn't like hypnotic regression therapies unless absolutely neccessary, which is VERY rare, because people tend to want to please authority figures. This means that if the therapist, the authority figure, even unconsciously hints that they may want even a vague kind of answer, the patient will likely give it. This can easily mean creating false memories.
Hypnosis can result in some amazing autonomic controls as well as insights into the person's mind, but the unknowns are just too many and too complex for it to really be safe.

Sticker - is it all just a big coincidence then? People who want to give up smoking - and were not able to do so before, visit a hypnotist and give up?

I have also seen shows where some of the participants were people I know. And yes these people did do some things that they would never normally do.

I have stated thats it unreliable but I have also seen enough proof to know that hypnotism can have a remarkable effect. If someone can give up smoking because of it - all power to them. For other issues I'd be more cautious but don't knock something until you have experienced it first hand.

Hypnosis is one tool in the kit. To ignore it might be to miss out on a potential solution, while to rely on it alone might do the same in a different direction. A lot depends on the trustworthiness of the therapist - even moreso than with a traditional doctor of medicine, I think.

Popularity is not an indicator of efficacy.True, but hypnosis is popular due to the mass effect it has had on people. I seriously doubt people go to a Hypnosist and then all of a sudden decide to make a significant change in their life for no reason at all, something has to be working.

What about the people with diseases that miraculously cure themselves when they take a pill that is called something like Isophenobarbizan but is in fact a flavorless Cert?

Calling the flavorless Cert medicine is :bs: .

From having been under such influences, I can tell you that there is something to it, but the lack of empirical evidence makes it hard to tell just what that is. I guess it goes back to Rally's point, that it is one tool in the toolbox, and where it works, it works, and when it doesn't, try something else...

@Late-Night Thinking: I believe that to be a case of 'mind over matter'. They believe so strongly that it will cure them that they cure themselves in the process (of course, more complicated then that).

@Gnarfflinger: Yes, a tool best left to further study. It's like putting a drug still under testing to public use, sure it works sometimes, but it has pretty much the same amount of failures as successes. With serious side-effects.

Mind over matter is the whole point here. The human body can do some incredible things without the help of medicine if it is just prompted to do so. The curing addictions is really the same thing, but its mind over mind.