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What research knows about desire, attention, fantasy and hypnosis – in plain words, and honest about what it does not show.
Listen instead of reading · 35 minDirty Mind: Dirty Talk Hypnosis – Find Your Own WordsNo script, no borrowed lines: a trance that lets your own words out – in a lower, slower voice. - Why desire begins in the mind – and often gets stuck there Desire is often not a starting button but a response: for many people it only arises once closeness and touch have already begun. And it depends a lot on where attention goes – to your own sensations, or to worries and self-observation. That is exactly where trances come in: they guide your attention into your body. Read more
- Mindful touch: Sensate Focus and mindfulness Sensate Focus is a series of touch exercises from sex therapy. The focus is not on arousal or orgasm but on attentively feeling the touch itself. That takes pressure to perform out of the equation. Mindfulness follows a similar idea: noticing what is there without judging. A trance can let you practise this attitude on your own. Read more
- Sexual fantasies: how common and normal are they? Almost all adults have sexual fantasies – they are as normal as daydreams. A large review found no sign that fantasies indicate dissatisfaction; people who fantasised more tended to report fewer sexual problems. Fantasies are not plans: what you imagine is not something you have to want to do. Read more
- Is hypnosis a special state – or expectation at work? Researchers disagree. State theories describe hypnosis as a distinct state of focused attention and reduced peripheral awareness, supported by brain changes during hypnosis. Sociocognitive theories explain the same effects through expectation, motivation and the social situation, supported by experiments where instructions and beliefs change the results. Most current researchers accept parts of both and focus on what each explains. Read more
- How hypnotizable are you? How researchers measure it Researchers measure hypnotizability with standardized scales such as the Harvard Group Scale and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales. After a scripted induction, participants receive a fixed series of suggestions of rising difficulty, and the score is the number they respond to. Most people score in the middle; a minority respond to almost all suggestions or to very few. Read more
- What happens in the brain during hypnosis? Brain imaging shows that hypnosis is not sleep and has no single brain centre. In highly hypnotizable people, hypnosis has been linked to reduced activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, stronger coupling between the prefrontal cortex and the insula, and weaker coupling with the default mode network. Suggestions can also change activity in the regions that process the targeted experience, such as colour or pain. Read more
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