I spotted it yesterday, but was too busy ranting about one journalist’s depiction of hypnosis that I am a bit late on the draw with this one.

Today I join the ranks formed by The Transparent Hypnotist Ellie Blunt in her recent blog post… I am jumping on the band wagon in astonishment and in a hypnotic trance of disbelief at how utterly useless journalism is becoming.

I mean, can we call it journalism?

Let me explain… In a recent issue of UK publication of The Lancashire Evening Post, in this hynosis article — they have used the headline:

“Man Used ‘Hypnosis’ On Girls”

Ok, so the attempt to get attention is made in much the same way that I used a naughty word in yesterdays blog entry title to grab some attention and I feel dirty and ashamed… 😉 I sunk to that place… A place where I am metaphorically rubbing shoulders with the journalist that wrote the afore mentioned piece of fiction in the Lancashire Evening Post.

The headline is incorrect. Some might even say that is is a downright lie and a ridiculous attempt at doing nothing more than sensationalising and stretching the truth in order to get you reading. Is that their aim I wonder, or do they simply have an issue and need some therapy to help them be honest?

So, when you read the headline “Man Used ‘Hypnosis’ On Girls” — what do you think? Yes indeed, you think and read between the lines and the title itself is very vague, something of a good hypnotic principle in itself… Yet, we’d be inclined to use that vagueness in a way that leads to someone finding their truth, or a resource, or helping them in some way.

If you read the article, it follows up on this headline by saying this:

A pervert used a hypnotising game to sexually assault two young girls, a court heard.
David Holmes, 69, pretended to hypnotise the victims before kissing and touching them.

He carried out most of the assaults at his then home in New Longton, Preston Crown Court was told.

So, the guy did not actually use hypnosis at all. He used a hypnotising game. He pretended to hypnotise… His fantasy was as crooked as that being presented by the newspaper headline which continues to send this insinuating message that hypnosis was being used for evil purposes for a man to use it as a way of doing wrong things… (Draws deep breath…)

Come on, this is just a wrong portrayal and yet again we strive on to educate people differently. If the popular perception continues to be generated by people thinking that these shady, sinister characters are using hypnosis for wrong-doing, then it is going to continue to find it difficult to work its way into the NHS and into the mindset of people who would actually benefit hugely from using hypnosis to make some positive changes in their life, or for it to be a genuine health option… Because it will be dismissed before it is considered with people looking at it as some kind of dark art.

Am I demonstrating double standards here? Am I saying that it is ok for me to teach how to use hypnotic language patterns for enhacing some aspects of life and communication, yet it cannot be used in any way by journalists…

You see, the difference in my opinion, is that I always state that these things should be used and underpinned by a good intention and a desire to create well-being, heck I write a huge amount about that in my book ‘The Hypnotic Salesman’- I do not advocate the use to misinform — and that is what the article here did.