By removing nervousness and increasing confidence and teaching the patient to relax, hypnotism can be of use in many widely varying walks of life. In any situation where a personal performance is necessary in front of a critical audience, there is always a degree of anxiety, even in those with great experience.
This is seen in cases where a person may have to make an after-dinner speech on some very important occasion. Even barristers-at-law, when pleading in some case where success or failure means a great deal, admit to a feeling of anxiety. One even wrote to see if he could learn hypnotism for the purpose of self-hypnosis.

In the world of sport, hypnotism, if used sensibly, can be of value. Recently, it has been reported that even a boxer has received hypnotic treatment. Although he did not win his bout, no doubt it enabled him to do his best. Suggestions should be directed towards removing nervousness and inspiring confidence in ability, rather than commands to go ‘all out’. In a very good subject, a foolish command to drive himself beyond endurance could cause serious physical harm.

When used by a medical man who is able to gauge the physical capabilities of the patient, both in hypnosis and out of it, there is no danger. The same cannot be said if hypnotism is used for this purpose by enthusiastic but medically ignorant lay hypnotists.
In all sports, relaxation is essential; and nervous tension, by causing a tightening up of the muscles, can interfere seriously with performance. In such cases hypnotism can help a great deal. Many sportsmen think it would show weakness to seek hypnotism, although they will try all sorts of ‘quack’ remedies which often employ hypnotism in a disguised and highly unscientific manner.

Recently, there was an amusing account in a leading newspaper of a wonderful cure for golfing troubles. It was claimed that no hypnotism or suggestion was used. The patient merely rested on a couch in a drowsy state and looked at a dim light! A marvellous exercise was then prescribed, and consisted of the patient holding a pendulum over a circle drawn on a piece of card. Strangely enough, as the Patient let his eyes travel up and down the diameter of the circle, the pendulum would move! The whole atmosphere as described reeks of suggestion, and readers will recognize the ‘wonderful exercise’ with the pendulum as a simple suggestibility test for hypnosis, known as Chevreul’s pendulum.

Weight lifters place great reliance on a mysterious performance known as concentration. By staring at the weight and concentrating for some time, they induce a state of light hypnosis and so enable themselves to give a better performance. It is well known that strength can be apparently increased enormously under the influence of hypnosis. The inhibiting factor in the mind is removed and the muscles are able to exert the full strength of which they are capable, thus enabling apparently weak people to give an astonishing performance.

A frail and slightly built young man is easily able to support the full weight of a man much heavier than himself while stretched between two chairs.
If sportsmen desire to improve their performance, hypnotism is a legitimate way of doing it. It is remarkable how those who are prejudiced against hypnotism will submit to ‘quack’ remedies and procedures which are nothing but hypnotism in a crude, usually cleverly disguised but highly unscientific form.

There is one bad habit, seemingly the product of our unnatural modern method of ‘high-pressure’ living, which responds to hypnotism very well. Insomnia, as this habit is called, never killed anybody, but the worry about it has undoubtedly shortened many lives.
People who suffer from this distressing complaint literally stay awake in order to watch themselves trying to go to sleep. The average person who sleeps well does not bother to think about it at all. When tired, at bedtime, he simply makes himself as comfortable as possible, isolates himself as much as he can from outside disturbances and is asleep almost before he knows it.

Not so people who suffer from insomnia. They begin to worry about sleep or the lack of it long before bedtime. Once in bed, they perform a complicated ritual, according to the latest fad at the moment for inducing sleep. This may be anything from reading a book to counting sheep.
All the time they are carrying out this performance their brain is wide awake to detect the first signs of approaching sleep. The ritual having failed, they next try ‘will-power’ by gritting their teeth and saying, ‘I will sleep, I will sleep,’ but all the time their imagination is saying, ‘You know you cannot sleep.’ - As we have seen before, when the will-power and the imagination are in conflict, the imagination always wins; hence the sufferer remains wide awake.

This in itself would not matter much, as Nature would make sure that the person slept eventually. The sufferer from insomnia, however, now begins to make matters worse by worrying over it. Exaggerated fears are entertained as to its effects on bodily and mental health. The worry generates nervous tension which, by discharging itself through the organs in various ways may cause them to work unevenly.

Thus the patient may suffer from nervous headaches or even nervous palpitation. These signs and symptoms confirm the patient’s worst fears and cause him to worry even more, thus setting up a vicious circle. This nervous tension is always very obvious in patients who suffer from insomnia, as they have no idea how to relax.

People who suffer from insomnia usually make difficult hypnotic subjects at first, but the results are well worth while if they persevere. It might be thought that such patients would be most anxious to ‘sleep’ and would therefore make good patients. Certainly they have the ‘will’ to sleep, but their imagination, which is the stronger force, insists that they will be unable to sleep. As a result they are on the defensive immediately hypnosis is attempted. The mere mention of the word ‘sleep’ is sufficient to jerk them wide awake and should not be used.

With such patients the usual technique of suggesting ‘sleep’ should be abandoned. A technique which teaches them to relax their mind and body completely will succeed better.
It should be pointed out that hypnosis is not sleep but a trance-like state in which complete relaxation of mind and body is possible. Relaxation is better than ordinary sleep for, while in ordinary sleep people toss and turn about, when completely relaxed they remain perfectly still and so obtain greater rest. Even the heart relaxes for a moment of time between beats, and this slight pause enables it to recuperate and go on beating without further rest for as long as the patient lives.

Having established the importance of relaxation, it can be suggested that in future they will not worry whether they sleep or not. At bedtime they will not set out to sleep, but simply to relax completely. As they relax it will be impossible for them to stop falling asleep. This plan will always succeed after the patient has been taught to relax completely, body and mind, by a few simple sessions of hypnosis.
This woman illustrates a typical case. Nursing a sick relative first disturbed her sleep pattern, and this was aggravated by considerable domestic worry. As a result, the patient was a ‘bundle of nerves’ and addicted to taking heavy doses of sleeping-drugs. After this enforced and unnatural sleep, she felt heavy and depressed and thought the drugs upset her digestive system.

At the first session the patient was so restless and uncooperative that hypnosis was impossible. She was taught, however, the elements of relaxation, and she agreed to come for further treatment.
At the next session she relaxed very well and was soon able to enter a light trance. This was increased slightly during following sessions, and the patient rapidly learnt to relax for herself. As a result she slept perfectly and was able to give up drugs, with consequent improvement in her health.
Case after case of this condition has shown similar improvement and demonstrated the value of hypnosis in overcoming this distressing complaint.

Nail biting is a very common habit, which causes a lot of distress to the victim. Fundamentally it is merely a foolish attempt to relieve nervous tension. As with all these conditions, the cure consists in teaching the patient to relax, and so dispel nervous tension normally. Discovery of the cause, with explanation, re-assurance, and re-education enables the patient to face life in an adult manner.

One woman worried a great deal about her bitten nails, which caused her much embarrassment in her business and social life. Investigation showed that she feared quite unnecessarily that her second marriage would break up. A few sessions of hypnotherapy enabled her to see that she could give up her foolish jealousy. As a result, she lost her nervous tension, and any desire to bite her nails.

Habit spasms and tics are oonditions which usually respond very well to hypnotherapy. One patient had an unfortunate habit of jerking his head around as though to look behind him at the most unexpected moments. Investigation revealed that he had been a prisoner of war, but had escaped. Fear of capture had caused him to look over his shoulder constantly to see if he were being followed. As the spasm was linked by association of ideas with anxiety, it continued to occur even after the war had finished, especially during times of stress - Worry over the condition merely increased the anxiety, and kept the spasm going. A short course of hypnotherapy enabled the patient to relax, realize the cause of his trouble, and adopt a sensible adult outlook, so that the spasms soon disappeared.