Although hypnosis is not as magical or dramatic as sometimes portrayed in the popular media, it can produce alternative perceptions through quiet persuasion. Using hypnotic suggestion Spiegel has been able to reduce pain associated with everything from chronic muscle aches to cancer. He has also helped Parkinson’s patients remain calm before surgery. Although hypnosis does not make discomfort disappear, it does help victims of pain to focus their attention elsewhere.
The posthypnotic suggestion that one will not notice pain works only for some people and then temporarily. Helping people to put themselves in a hypnotic state can increase its beneficial effects. A woman who experiences lower jaw pain from clenching her teeth in her sleep reports the strategy as effective.
Not everyone can be hypnotized. Tests can reveal one’s level of suggestibility. The narrator, who reports being skeptical of hypnotic effects, proves susceptible to Spiegel’s suggestion that her one arm will feel heavier and less controllable than the other.