Psychiatrists do agree on the main characteristics of hypnosis and its process. Hypnosis is a trance state that brings about relaxation, maximum suggestibility, and aroused imagination. The subject is alert most of the time, so it cannot really be said that a person under hypnosis is asleep. He is fully conscious, but he has tuned out most of the stimuli around him. He only focuses on the subject before him, excluding almost any other thought.

In ordinary hypnosis, the suggestions of the hypnotist are approached as if they are reality. The hypnotist will suggest things that the person hypnotized should feel; and he will feel it, although he is aware that all those sensations are just imaginary. In this mental state, the person under the spell will feel relaxation and removal from inhibitions. This effect is the same when he does something that brings pleasure and relaxation to him, such as watching a movie. The more the person becomes engrossed with the story, the more he moves away from the pressures of everyday life.

A person under hypnosis is also in a very suggestible state. He may easily embrace an idea suggested by the hypnotist, although his sense of morality and safety will still be intact. He still cannot be forced to do something he does really want to do.

The basic school of thought on hypnosis states that it is a direct channel to someone's subconscious. In doing everyday tasks, the conscious mind works hand-in-hand with the subconscious. The subconscious is digs in into the vast information stored into a person's brain which enables him to solve problems. The subconscious is also the part responsible for the accomplishment of things that people do automatically, such as breathing.

So it is the subconscious that is the real brain of a person, because it decides a large part of what he does, and does most of his thinking. The conscious mind is dominant when a person is awake. It evaluates the thoughts, and decides on the things that need to be done. It processes new information and pass it on to the subconscious. But when a person is asleep, it is the subconscious that is active; and the conscious mind takes a backseat.

Psychiatrists suggested that the exercises of hypnotism works to relax and subdue the conscious mind, so it will take a backseat on a person's thinking process. A person still knows what is going on, but the subconscious is more dominant than the conscious mind. This enables the hypnotist to work directly with it.

At present, there are two distinct ways to apply hypnosis. The first one is the entertainment version. A hypnotist employs a variety of techniques to make the subjects relax until they finally appear asleep or in trance to the audience. During that state, the hypnotized person will obey the commands of the hypnotist to do things that he would not really do in a normal state.

The second method is the use of hypnosis in medical and health-related endeavors. It has been said that hypnosis is used for weight control, the alleviation of pain, for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome, and others. It is not used as a therapy by itself, but rather compliments other types of therapies, more like an add-on or an alternative method.

The validity of hypnosis is still a big question for some, but it will continue to be a source of fascination for all of us.