The term autosuggestion is used for
positive or negative physical symptoms explained by the thoughts
and beliefs of a person. For example, some will experience
more pain when they think it will hurt. Headaches sometimes
go away after taking a painkiller, but before the painkiller
could actually start acting on its own. Related to this is
the placebo-effect.
This influence of the mind on the body can be used in a
positive way to improve the way a person feels (mentally
or physically).
Autosuggestion (or the related autogenic training) is a
process by which an individual trains the subconscious mind
to believe something, or systematically schematizes the person's
own mental associations, usually for a given purpose. This
is accomplished through self-hypnosis methods or repetitive,
constant self-affirmations, and may be seen as a form of
self-induced brainwashing. The acceptance of autosuggestion
may be quickened through mental visualization of that which
the individual would like to believe. Its success is typically
correlated with the consistency of its use and the length
of time over which it is used. Autosuggestion can be seen
as an aspect of prayer, self-exhorting "pep talks",
meditation, and other similar activities. A trivial example
of self-improvement by autosuggestion is the New Year's resolution,
especially if it is followed up by systematic attention to
the resolution.
Autosuggestion is most commonly accomplished by presenting
(either through caressing or bombarding) one's mind with
repetitive thoughts (negative or positive), until those thoughts
become internalized. Practitioners typically hope to transmute
thoughts into beliefs, and even into actualities. Visualizing
the manifestations of a belief, verbally affirming it, and
thinking it using one's "internal voice", are typical
means of influencing one's mind via repetitive autosuggestion.
Autosuggestion is normally thought of as a deliberate tool,
but it can also refer to an unintentional process.
The French psychologist Émile Coué wrote extensively on
the theory and practice of autosuggestion.
Applications of deliberate autosuggestion are intended to
change: the way one believes, perceives, or thinks; one's
acts; or the way one is composed physically or physiologically.
An example might be individuals reading nightly aloud a statement
they have written describing how they would like to be, then
repeating the statement in their mind until they fall asleep.
People have attributed changes to such a nightly routine
or similar employment of autosuggestion, for example, increased
confidence, the conquering of life-long fears, heightened
mental faculties (e.g., ability to calculate mathematics
or read at a quicker rate), eradication of diseases or infections
from one's body, and even improved eyesight and growing taller.
It is not uncommon to hear people claim that they have been
able to get rid of warts on their hands, simply by making
a point of saying, "There go my warts!" every time
they saw a garbage truck or a trashcan, but it is not clear
whether such anecdotal reports should be taken as evidence
of the power of autosuggestion. The ability to fight sicknesses
and infections, as well as many other things, shows that
it may be a form of a placebo. Making yourself "believe" the
body is curing the sickness by itself may affect what your
cells and body do, although this hasn't been conclusively
tested.
The same type of effect that deliberate autosuggestion may
achieve can also be seen in individuals not consciously trying
to program themselves through autosuggestion. The dominant
thoughts that occupy a person's conscious mind, if constantly
present over an extended period of time, may have the effect
of training that person's subconscious mind to organize that
individual's beliefs according to those thoughts. In this
sense, the mechanisms of pathological fixations and obsessions
to some extent resemble the process of autosuggestion.
Autosuggestion is differentiated from brainwashing in that
the suggestions given during the sessions originate with
the individual, rather than originating with suggestions
from others.
Johannes Schultz developed this theory as Autogenic training. |
