Hypnosis vs Subliminal Messages

When you watch TV and suddenly have the unexplainable urge to buy the product in the commercial that you just saw, you might wonder if you experienced a form of hypnosis. Then comes the frightening question: Can someone in the form of an advertisement be able to use hypnosis on you without you even knowing it?

Sending subliminal messages is often confused as, and mistakenly so, a form of hypnosis. In a way, both revolve around the concept of tapping into a person’s subconscious over his conscious mind and for the purpose of planting in there a new idea, belief or suggestion. When one is under hypnosis, it would be as though his conscious mind is temporarily disabled and he is susceptible to whatever the hypnotist would place in his belief system. Subliminal messages are said to operate in the same fashion.

However, their similarities stop there. One major difference is in the ability of the person receiving the subconscious intervention to give permission to do so. In hypnosis, particularly in hypnotherapy, where the intervention is for the purpose of instilling positive change, the permission is a crucial factor or else the undertaking would fail. A parent, for instance, cannot just drag her child to go to a therapist against the child’s will in order for hypnosis to be performed on the latter. In subliminal messaging, permission is often not given by the person receiving the suggestion. Often, the subliminal messages come on in a split of a second and just as quickly disappear. The person watching or listening to it would not even be aware that he has just been subjected to it. There is no opportunity for him to give permission on whether to allow or deny that message from being fed into his subconscious mind.

Another area where the two concepts differ is in how they are used. Hypnosis is a recognized tool in the area of mental wellness; entertainers may harness it as part of their show in the form of stage hypnosis, but even this still involves the giving of the voluntary consent from its participants. More often than not, though, this is applied to help a person in overcoming negative beliefs and guide him on the road to a better perception of his issues. Subliminal messages, on the other hand, are employed as a marketing tool to promote a product, service or cause. An example of this would be the billboards along the highways that an average cautious driver barely even gives a glance. Driving has been linked to being somewhat in a trance and that is likely the reason why such kind of marketing is used. Same effect is also said to occur in TV watching.

It is also interesting to note that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would take back the offending party’s broadcasting license if it is proven that subliminal messages are applied for the purpose of influencing the consumers to behave according to the said message. Subliminal messages had been controversial in the sense that it was considered to be a way of breaching a person’s privacy. Hypnosis, particularly hypnotherapy, is not subject of any government regulation in majority of the states.

So the next time you have this burning desire to get the car keys and head to the nearest mall because of some TV commercial, relax. You now know that hypnosis is not the reason.