Religion v Hypnosis

Some Christians experience a narrative from fellow believers that suggests seeking Mental Health support from health care professionals indicates a lack of faith or rejection of God’s healing power.?It is okay to love Jesus?and?seek professional therapy.?In fact, seeking professional help for mental health difficulties can be a real act of faith.?Yes, it can be challenging to make contact with a therapist when you sense one of two believers might be closed minded or judgmental about this important form of support.?However, if you have any sense that you are struggling with your mental health and wellbeing, it’s time to shake off any sense of shame and find assurance that Your God does, indeed want you to live a fullness of life:

Jesus is on the Side of Anyone in Need.

Time and time again, the Gospels show Jesus to be a sensitive and loving presence, concerned for the mental wellbeing of those in need.?Jesus was the ultimate pastoral leader who loved the hurting and broken like no other.?He encouraged those in pain to find peace: “come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28.?NIV).?In the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us: “blessed are those who mourn,?for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4. NIV).?And in his encounter with the woman at the well in John 4, Jesus responds with a non-judgemental interest in the woman, and her life experiences.

For these reasons, it is entirely appropriate to combine faith in Jesus with professional therapy.?Therapy can move us towards the fullness of life God intends us to lead.?Therapy can release us from burdens that are not ours to carry, and therapy provides a safe space for us to explore more of what it means to be us.?An “us” that God has created, knows us by name and loves us with an eternal love.?Sometimes we need the support of a supportive and empathic therapist to remind us of this truth, to remind us that we are truly lovable and worthy.?

?Stewardship:?Caring for the Wonder that is God’s Creation.

Indeed, when we think about the Biblical concept of stewardship, it’s hard to understand why some believers are reluctant to embrace therapeutic help.?Stewardship reminds us that, as humans, we have been given responsibility for caring for the world and the creatures within the world.?That includes us as human creatures!?We are used to the Biblical verses of 1 Corinthians 6:19 suggesting that we care for our own physical health:

“Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you” (NIV).

Indeed, our mental health is a key part of our wellbeing and functioning. Our mind is contained within our body.?It’s not true that our mind and body are separate.?Our mental and emotional health impacts our body.?For anyone who has experienced severe depression, you’ll know how hard it can be to simply take a shower or even brush your teeth.?Your mental difficulty causes real physical issues.?And anxiety so often leads to compulsive skin picking, nervous physical responses and somatic unease.?

Sadly,?suicide was the?twelfth leading cause of death overall in the United States, claiming the lives of over 44,834 people in 2020.?These sobering statistics are a reminder that mental health truly impacts physical health.?We cannot consider one as distinct from the other.?God designed us to be holistic beings:?with body, soul and mind all connected.?Caring for our body means caring for our mind.?No-Christian would encourage another believer to leave a broken leg untreated, or to ignore worrying physical symptoms.?Mental health is simply an aspect of our wider health and wellbeing.

?Therapy Removes Barriers to the Gospel

The many Christian Therapists out there know that their training and professional experience can equip people to live the fullness of life God intends for them.?Of course, when we are in despair, hurting and experiencing mental agony its very hard to really hear and hold onto Gospel truths.?We can think of mental difficulties as a barrier to the gospel.?Christians think nothing of removing the barriers of poverty, geographical isolation and lack of access to the Gospel.?Mental health struggles should be treated as a barrier to the gospel and dealt with accordingly:?with professional and informed support.?

It is an act of charity and love to support any believer in their quest for better health and wellbeing.?Achieving the peace of mind that allows a person to really believe and hold onto the truth that they are loved by an Everlasting Father allows for the Gospel to be embraced in ways that are life transforming.

So, if you are considering making those tentative steps to accessing therapy, you need not hide your faith, or consider that your faith prevents you from this valuable form of support. Therapy plus Jesus is a powerful commitment to spiritual, metal, physical and emotional wellbeing.?

Hypnos was the Greek god of sleep and his name gives us the words 'hypnosis' (a particular mental state) 'hypnotism' and 'hypnotherapy' (related processes). It also gives us the familiar pharmacological term 'hypnotic' for a drug used to induce sleep.?

We understand surprisingly little medically about hypnosis, and it has always been somewhat controversial - the British Medical Association first expressed concern at a special meeting in 1890. In addition, most Christians recognise there may be specifically spiritual issues involved.?

History

Activities we would probably call hypnotism have been described for at least 3,000 years. The Ebers Papyrus describes Egyptian soothsayers using hypnosis, and 'the Hindu fakirs, the Persian magi, the Indian yogi and the Greek oracles also used similar methods under different names'.

However, it was the Viennese physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) who drew most attention to the phenomenon, and this led to another name for hypnotism - 'mesmerism'. As psychology was studied more at the turn of this century, interest increased, and some psychological casualties from the First World War were treated with hypnosis.?

From the early 1980s onwards there has been more interest still, associated with the rise of alternative medicine.?

Many who practise hypnosis in the UK are doctors or dentists, or hold proper psychological qualifications, and are members of respected bodies like the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis or the British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis. However, there are other practitioners with no formal qualifications or accountability.?

Medically speaking, hypnotism has been used in investigation and in treatment, such as:?

Repressions and regressions?

Twentieth century psychology has learnt more and more about the subconscious or unconscious mind (and hypnosis appears to have played a significant part in that understanding). Much psychopathology has been put down to repressions - the 'burying' of memories too painful to contemplate consciously. Hypnosis has been used to uncover such repressions so that the information can be used therapeutically.?

Pain, strain and gain?

Therapeutically, hypnosis has been used for medical and dental analgesia. 'Pain' is a combination of an organic response to a painful stimulus and the psychological perception of the feeling we call pain - and of course there are many everyday examples illustrating this interaction; eg the footballer with a serious injury who feels no pain until half-time when his mind is no longer 'taken off' it, or the mother who eliminates the pain in her toddler's knee: 'Mummy's going to kiss it better'.?

Hypnosis also claims to have been used in relaxation therapy, to help with the stresses and strains of life, and there is a huge market for aids such as relaxation tapes in our 'therapy culture'. Some non-professional fringe therapists also make much use of suggestion and the 'power of positive thinking' to offer various gains to their clients - eg to help people become more assertive, or to give up smoking.!?

So, what is hypnosis??

To get anywhere near understanding hypnosis, we need to take the broadest possible look at the subject, recognising that the prevailing culture will significantly colour our perceptions. Even the language we use is a source of bias - for example, what do I actually mean by the word 'trance'? What do you mean by it??

Mesmer believed he was a potent user of 'animal magnetism', and while science may have led us beyond this crude concept, similar ideas of 'vital forces' have come back with the New Age movement. In the heyday of psychoanalytic theories, hypnosis was explained according to the flavour of the month. Neurobiological theories have not been popular - the EEG of a hypnotised patient shows no change from that of someone who is in a normal state of consciousness, and does not resemble the EEG of someone who is asleep.

Others have ignored physical or psychological explanations and concentrated on the group-pressure concept of 'social compliance'. This links the effect of the expectations of others with the expectations of the person undergoing hypnotism.

I am currently most inclined to see hypnosis as being at one extreme of a spectrum of the phenomenon of suggestibility. Modern life abounds with suggestions - the whole enormously effective advertising industry is built on them, and politicians (and preachers?) rely on them. Many aspects of the doctor-patient relationship have a non-specific 'placebo' effect, and the most powerful therapeutic agent any doctor in any specialty will ever have is themself. We legitimately use the power of suggestion in every interaction with every patient, whether we realise it or not, and of course we could use that great power unethically too. Possessing it gives us a powerful responsibility.?

How have Christians viewed hypnosis?

Having attempted briefly to get a balanced overview of the physical, psychological and social aspects of hypnosis, what (if any) are the spiritual aspects? How have Christians reacted??

We know surprisingly little for certain about hypnosis, and should in all humility recognise this ignorance. Christians tend to react to uncertainties in one of two equal and opposite ways - to credit God with all the gaps in our knowledge or to blame the Devil for the very same gaps!?

Thus, in 1987, Nucleus carried two sharply contrasting articles from Christians about hypnosis. Norman Vaughton, who at the time lectured and practised privately in hypnotherapy and psychotherapy, wrote:

'As a Christian... I use my mind with all its strange and wonderful potential, in all its different states of consciousness, and with all its different functions, hopefully for good - and that includes the whole fascinating, mysterious and wonderful area of hypnotic effects. They are as much God created and open to use and abuse as any other function of creation. I also know that frequently during hypnotic sessions I will suddenly be filled with an awareness that what I am doing is something of therapy, something of hypnosis, and something of prayer, and they are all so much entwined and the same that I do not really believe any separation would be possible; and of the presence of God I am utterly certain.'

By contrast, A. D. Bambridge, a qualified male nurse with a BSc, was concerned that when psychological defences were lowered during hypnosis, there was a considerable risk of demons entering the psyche. He believed the roots of hypnosis were occult and ruled it out absolutely for Christians, concluding:

'Whilst hypnosis and its use in hypnotherapy seem merely to be the input by the hypnotist of ideas into the subconscious of a subject in a heightened state of suggestibility, I would contend that this art of psychic manipulation is in fact of demonic origin. Though these roots of hypnosis are now obscured by an undergrowth of scientific jargon, it remains a dangerous activity to anyone involved.'

Though much could be said for and against both these quotes and the viewpoints they typify, I am forced by constraints of space to conclude with my personal opinion. I believe that the phenomenon we call 'hypnotism' is just an extreme expression of suggestibility, and whilst we could have a fascinating theological debate as to whether God or the Devil is the author of suggestion and suggestibility, we must accept suggestibility as a phenomenon that is here to stay.?

What does the hypnotist MEAN to do?

What is their intention? What is their motive? These questions focus on possibly the most important issue in the assessment - the character of the hypnotist.

However we might explain the process of hypnosis, it is very clear that there is a significant amount of power involved, just as there always is in any therapeutic relationship. Patients say things like 'I'm under the doctor for my back' and that use of the expression 'under the doctor' is telling us a lot about these power relationships. That power must not be abused, and the therapist must intend the best for the total well-being of his patient, using the safest possible methods, tested as far as possible.

It is perhaps not just the nature of the therapy on offer we need to consider, but the nature of the therapist. This concept of the character of the healer is a real challenge to the Christian integrity of us all, whatever kinds of therapies we are going to use.

What does it all MEAN to the patient?

Given the ignorance we all must have about the nature of hypnotism, it is nevertheless important that the patient knows what they are letting themselves in for - ie that they are giving informed consent. They should receive a clear explanation of what is proposed, and be confident that the therapist will not go beyond that.

The patient's conscience is very important and the Bible's discussion of 'food offered to idols' may be relevant here.

Conclusion

If the concepts implicit and explicit in these rather artificial tests are safeguarded, I currently would cautiously accept the limited use of hypnosis in medical practice for specific indications, but I urge great caution. 'If in doubt, leave it out'. The thing I would suggest that is that if you give Hypnosis a try you will open your eyes to a different way to making changes to your life.

www.togethernesstherapy.co.uk