Twitter Thread: Confusion | 1/12/22
Added 2022-09-29 20:01:56 +0000 UTCOriginal thread: https://twitter.com/h_sleepingirl/status/1481283542156025857
Article that expands on this: https://www.patreon.com/posts/introduction-to-72380359
I really think confusion in hypnosis is really misunderstood. There's this idea that confusion is a goal, and to get there, you want to say nonsense. But this isn't it. If you're completely nonsensical, the listener won't engage; they dismiss it. Here's a better way.
Confusion in and of itself isn't what makes trance happen -- it's not the end goal. What you want is someone who is engaged but thrown subtly off-kilter so that they are seeking a way to reconcile what is happening. THAT is your opportunity for hypnosis.
For example, if you tell someone to raise their hand and you don't tell them why, part of them will be trying to figure out wtf is happening, why this is important, even if you direct the patter away from it. People want the status quo. People want to understand.
So then you can present them with trance as a solution to their confusion. Not just "now go into trance," but solving their confusion with the element that's causing it. Answer their question about "what is happening, why is this happening?"
So for example, "Now you can notice more fully that that hand has been signaling trance to me as it slowly lowers..." They jump on the opportunity to be not confused about it anymore. It clicks. They accept trance.
This is a more Ericksonian approach. Erickson said "good hypnosis involves confusion," but his approach was steeped in tension/release that utilized the whole. I think we can learn a lot more from that.
