Drugs/Herbs to Facilitate Hypnosis/Trance Induction

[Mish]

SWIM has been looking into this recently but has yet to find anything that seems substantial, so has resorted to looking for subjective experience reports from anyone who has every undergone either drug-induced, or drug-facilitated hypnosis or hypnotherapy.

Hypnotherapy works wonders on SWIM and has greatly eventually completely ridden him of his anxiety issues. However, now the negative has been restored to neutral, SWIM is looking to bring the neutral to the positive; to become more confident, and this forward movement is actually a lot harder.

SWIM was wondering if there were any drugs/herbs that would facilitate a deeper state of trance; one that would leave the unconscious open and more susceptible to suggestions...? SWIM has tried Psilocybin but the CEV's actually and the level of activity going on in all parts of the brain actual inhibit the effect. SWIM has also tried various herbal relaxants such as 5-HTP, Kava and l-Theanine, which, although have been beneficial in the relaxation stage, do not really help bring me down into a deeper trance-like state.

GHB has also been tried (but the dopamine rebound woke SWIM up too early), and Tramadol, but the effects on serotonin made SWIM feel unsure as to whether it was the hypnosis making him feel good or the excess chemical. Clonazepam has been trialled as well but, similarly, SWIM was not sure if it was the GABA A receptor agonism that caused the perceptual change...

So SWIM was wondering if anyone who has ever used hypnotherapy, (self)hypnosis or any other form of meditation that essentially temporarily 'silences' your right hemisphere, has managed to find a drug or herb that has allowed them to be a) more susceptible to suggestions under trance; and/or b) has helped move deeper into a trance state (which would subsequently affect the former).

SWIM did find this quite interesting source of information regarding 'drug-hypnosis' if anyone would like to read [source: http://www.hypnosiseducationcenter.c...duction3.html]

Originally Posted by Hypnosis Education Center, Module 13 - Induction of Hypnosis

"Drug Hypnosis" Not a lot is known about the effects of drugs on suggestibility and hypnosis. Three things are fairly well known:
Narcotics of all kinds can seemingly increase waking suggestibility if given in proper dosage.
It is often much easier to induce hypnosis following the administration of these drugs. In some cases the drugs allow the induction of hypnosis in otherwise refractory subjects.
These same drugs produce other effects when given in similar dosages, such as release of emotional material, breakdown of inhibition, hyperamnesia, regression and amnesia.

These effects may not be related to hypnosis, but it too can produce them. Possibly this is because, as Wolberg suggested, hypnosis and drugs partially act upon the same cortical loci. It has been shown by Brazier and Finesinger that barbiturates depress the frontal lobes first, then the motor cortex and occipital lobes.

HOWEVER....

Originally Posted by Hypnosis Education Center, Module 13 - Induction of Hypnosis

Nowhere, as far as I know, has it ever been demonstrated that any drug by itself induces a hypnotic state. At present all we can really say is that certain drugs (i.e., any strong depressant of the nervous system) can be used as an aid in inducing hypnosis by the Standard method or related techniques. They do seem to increase waking suggestibility. However, the exact action of these drugs on suggestibility is far from clear.

Narcotics may indirectly aid in inducing hypnosis because they produce many of the symptoms of sleep that we suggest to the subject in the verbal part of the induction procedure. In the early stages of inducing hypnosis it is the temporal contiguous association of the response with the suggestion that the response is taking place or will take place that is important; not what causes the response to actually take place. If drugs will produce the suggested symptoms in the correct time frame, then we can well expect that drugs will help in the production of hypnosis.

...this is all still about inducing the hypnosis, which SWIM is fine with, I'm more interested in increasing suggestibility.

Originally Posted by Hypnotic Education Center, Module 13 - cont...

In the early history of hypnotism, chloroform and Cannabis indica were first used as adjuncts to suggestions. When the barbiturates were developed there was a shift to there use. They proved to be safer, have a rapid action and their effect wears off quickly. Also their effects on the subject can be better graded and the optimal dosages determined. If the dose is too small the subject's suggestibility is not affected. To large a dose will depress the subject too much. We will list some of the dosages preferred by those who have had considerable experience with this technique.

Among the earlier experts, Schilder and Kauders recommended using 0.5 to 1 gm. (Maximum 1.5 gm) of Medinal. They claim quicker action can be obtained with 4 to 12 gm. But with a too rapid induction of narcosis you are more likely to miss the critical range when hypnosis can be induced, or you may not have time to produce hypnosis.

E. Stungo used Evipal sodium, about a 10 percent solution that was injected intravenously at the rate of 1 cc./min. He found that 1 to 3 cc. are required. To determine when the subject had reached the proper stage he had him count backward. When the subject began to display confusion he took this as a signal the subject had reached the desired stage. He then tried to maintain this level of sedation by continuous injection.

Wolberg recommended 6 to 9 gr. of Sodium Amytal be taken orally 30 minutes prior to hypnosis, or 1 to 2 drams of paraldehyde be taken 5 to 10 minutes before induction of the trance. If the preceding failed he suggested using intravenous injections of other drugs. He recommended 1 gm. Sodium Amytal in 30 or 40 cc. of distilled water injected at a rate of 1 to 2 cc./min.; or 7.5 gr. Sodium Pentothal in 20 cc. distilled water given in a similar manner.

Horsley in his book "Narco-analysis" states that 2 cc. of Sodium Pentothal (presumably a 2.5 percent solution) is usually sufficient, but for anxious individuals 4 cc. may be necessary. In a later book "Narcotic Hypnosis" he recommended giving orally 3 gr. of Nembutal about 30 minutes prior to the induction of hypnosis. According to him the choice of the drug used depends upon whether the patient was an in-patient or out-patient. Long-acting drugs like Nembutal are recommended with in-patients and short-acting drugs like Pentothal with outpatients.

As a rule the barbiturates used intravenously should be injected slowly with the patient counting backward. As soon as the patient becomes incoherent in counting the injection should be interrupted. This level of sedation should then be maintained. Rapport should be made prior to the injection and should be continued during and throughout the narcosis.

The standard practice using these drugs to induce hypnosis is to give a sub-anesthetic dose, just enough to cause a state of confusion and relaxation. Once the proper sedation has been obtained the subject is given suggestions aimed at inducing hypnosis proper, testing and deepening the trance as usual.

So basically, although there are drugs that can significantly affect the onset of hypnosis, SWIM is yet to find anything that might increase suggestibility, presumably by either increasing left-hemisphere activity (subconscious), or decreasing right-hemisphere activity (conscious).

Any info or links greatly appreciated

Mish added 168 Minutes and 13 Seconds later...

Thought I might add these in if anyone else gets interested:


Google Books on Hypnosis/Suggestibility

"In general, therapists working with small doses such as 25-50 mcg of LSD do so only to facilitate conventional therapy, most often psychoanalysis. Such doses may heighten suggestibility and facilitate recall, association, and emergence of unconscious materials. This type of treatment might involve weekly sessions that continue for months or even years."

[source: http://www.drugtext.org/library/articles/lsd3.html]

Reputation Comments on this post:

Well researched and interesting thread/post

[humdroid]

Y finds, in the starriest of ways, the visuals represent parts of his unconscoius. Even the ones which look like mother of pearl swirling snakeoids. Y finds, rather than seeing them as a distraction, just to 'be with them' and its a surprise what 'they say to you' in a metaphorical sense.
This is just Y's take.
When thinking of consciousness expansion and unconscious access and insights, psychedelics, and other man made trippys come to Y's mind.

[Mish]

No I get what you mean. And after reading the thing about the low dose LSD-25, SWIM thinks maybe a dose of a GABA receptor agonist drug followed by a low dose of 'cid once the subject is in trance phase could actually increase suggestibility by a lot.

SWIM needs to read into it a LOT more though. And possibly try it out on SWIM's friend's hamster...for a subjective angle...