Name: 催眠真的有效嗎？- Devin Terhune (Does hypnosis ever actually work? - Devin Terhune)
Uploaded: 2026-02-24T21:39:36.000Z
Duration: 6 min 32 s

In the late 1700s, German physician Anton Mesmer was enthralling Europe, curing conditions from nervous disorders to blindness, or so he claimed.

在1700年代後期，德國醫生 Anton Mesmer 在歐洲引起轟動，據他聲稱，他能治癒從神經失調到失明的各種病症。

According to Mesmer, an invisible magnetic fluid animated all living beings and disturbances to it caused illness.

根據 Mesmer 的說法，一種看不見的磁性流體賦予所有生物生命，而這種流體的失調會導致疾病。

For so called treatment, Mesmer had his clientele form a chain around a contraption filled with water he allegedly magnetized.

為了所謂的治療，Mesmer 讓他的客戶圍繞一個裝滿據說被他磁化的水的裝置排成一列。

Then with waves of his hands, patients would fall into fits that would supposedly restore their health.

然後，他揮動雙手，病人就會進入據說能恢復健康的陣攣狀態。

Some, however, were skeptical, including King Louis XVI, who tasked renowned researchers with interrogating Mesmer's methods.

然而，有些人持懷疑態度，包括路易十六，他指派了著名的研究人員審問 Mesmer 的方法。

In 1784 they conducted science's first ever blind placebo trial, informing participants that they were receiving the magnetized treatment though they weren't, and

1784 年，他們進行了科學史上首次的盲性安慰劑試驗，告知參與者他們正在接受磁化治療，但實際上並沒有，

The committee ultimately concluded that any positive outcomes weren't attributable to magnetism.

委員會最終得出結論，任何積極的結果都不能歸因於磁性。

Instead they were results of the participants own imaginations responding to suggestions about the treatment's effectiveness.

相反，這些結果是參與者自身的想像力對治療效果的暗示所產生的反應。

Mesmer disappeared, but the tantalizing takeaway remained.

Mesmer 消失了，但引人入勝的啟示卻留了下來。

And decades later, Scottish surgeon James Braid began utilizing aspects of mesmerism minus the magnetism.

幾十年後，蘇格蘭外科醫生 James Braid 開始運用催眠術的某些方面，但沒有磁性。

Braid thought thought it induced a sleep like state, so he called it hypnotism.

Braid 認為這會讓人進入一種類似睡眠的狀態，所以他稱之為催眠術。

The practice today holds an entrancing place in popular fantasy.

如今，這項技藝在流行幻想中佔有一席之地，令人著迷。

But is there any truth to what it can accomplish or is it just illusion?

但它所能達成的究竟有沒有真實性，還是純粹的幻覺？

While stage hypnosis has contributed to the conception that hypnotized people lose control over their actions, this doesn't seem accurate.

雖然舞臺催眠術助長了一種觀念，認為被催眠的人會失去對自己行為的控制，但這似乎並不準確。

Whether or not they were hypnotized, one study found that participants were just as likely to dip their hands into acid.

研究發現，無論是否被催眠，參與者將手浸入酸中的機率都一樣高。

This might be because they felt motivated to take risks within the presumably safe confines of a psychology experiment.

這可能是因為他們覺得在一個假定安全的心理學實驗環境中，有動力去冒險。

Similarly, on stage, participants might comply in the context of social pressures and fun, with perhaps some hypnosis at play.

同樣地，在舞臺上，參與者可能會在社會壓力與樂趣的氛圍下配合，或許也夾雜著一些催眠的成分。

But hypnosis used in medicine today looks different.

但如今醫學上使用的催眠術看起來很不一樣。

And while hypnosis was initially considered a trance like state, it's now understood more as a set of procedures focused on suggestions, no matter how informal.

而且，雖然催眠術最初被認為是一種恍惚狀態，但現在大家更理解它是一系列著重於暗示的程序，不管多麼隨意。

Suggestions are natural features of doctor patient interactions and we now know they can influence a patient's experience of their treatment.

暗示是醫病互動的自然現象，我們現在知道暗示會影響病患對治療的體驗。

Research backed hypnosis sessions generally begin with a hypnotic induction where a trained professional primes a patient for suggestions by drawing their attention to simple tasks like relaxing certain muscles.

有研究支持的催眠療程通常會從催眠誘導開始，訓練有素的專業人士會引導病患的注意力到簡單的任務上，像是放鬆某些肌肉，來為暗示做好準備。

Induction is supposed to help facilitate a more receptive mindset.

誘導的目的是幫助促進更易接受的心態。

Then professionals make suggestions aimed at altering an aspect of the patient's perception, often describing something as though it will happen and be passively observed.

接著，專業人士會提出旨在改變病患感知某個方面的暗示，經常會描述某件事好像會發生，並被動地觀察。

The session may close with a de induction to ensure the patient is fully alert.

療程可能會以解除誘導來結束，以確保病患完全清醒。

Most people seem moderately responsive to hypnotic suggestion, while small percentages are extremely responsive or unresponsive.

大多數人對催眠暗示的反應似乎是中等的，而少數人則反應極強或完全沒反應。

A person's hypnotizability doesn't tend to change much over time, though certain drugs and brain stimulation may increase it temporarily.

一個人的催眠敏感度通常不會隨時間改變太多，儘管某些藥物和腦部刺激可能會暫時提高它。

It's unclear what determines hypnotizability, but certain traits seem seem to be associated.

目前還不清楚是什麼決定了催眠敏感度，但某些特質似乎與之有關。

Highly hypnotizable people tend to be open minded toward hypnosis, more prone to fantasy, and

高度催眠敏感的人傾向於對催眠抱持開放的心態，更容易幻想，並且

They also report more unusual perceptual and dissociative experiences.

他們也會回報更多不尋常的感知和分離體驗。

Overall, when a hypnotic suggestion works, the effects can be considerable and traceable.

總體來說，當催眠暗示奏效時，效果可能相當顯著且可追溯。

In some studies, researchers have prompted highly hypnotizable participants to perceive things that were otherwise absent.

在一些研究中，研究人員曾引導高度催眠敏感的參與者感知原本不存在的事物。

In response, the hypnotized participants brain activity has been shown to change in ways different from what's observed in imaginative processes to instead more closely resemble actual perception.

作為回應，這些被催眠的參與者大腦活動的變化方式，與想像過程中的觀察結果不同，反而更接近實際感知。

For those it works with, hypnosis can be a helpful medical tool, though its scope is generally limited to psychiatry.

對有效的人來說，催眠是一種有用的醫療工具，儘管其應用範圍通常僅限於精神科。

In one study, hypnotizable patients who received pain reducing suggestions during surgery reported less pain and required fewer opioids afterwards.

在一項研究中，接受手術時接受減痛暗示的催眠患者回報的疼痛較少，術後所需的鴉片類藥物也較少。

Among patients with brain injuries, hypnosis has been observed to improve their working memory, that is, their ability to hold information like sequences of numbers for short periods.

在腦損傷患者中，觀察到催眠可以改善他們的短期記憶，也就是在短時間內記住數字序列等資訊的能力。

This might be because the suggestions somehow ease cognitive deficits that are driven by the patient's own beliefs about their post injury abilities.

這可能是因為暗示以某種方式緩解了由患者自身對傷後能力的信念所驅動的認知缺陷。

And for certain things, including quitting smoking, hypnosis seems to be similarly effective to treatments like counseling and exercise.

而且對於某些事物，包括戒菸，催眠似乎與諮詢和運動等治療方法一樣有效。

But while hypnosis can help some people manage conditions like anxiety and depression, there's little evidence that it can treat things like schizophrenia.

不過，雖然催眠可以幫助一些人管理焦慮和憂鬱等狀況，但沒有太多證據顯示它能治療思覺失調症等疾病。

When hypnosis does help, though, it's certainly no thanks to magnetized fluids, but

但催眠確實有效的時候，絕對不是因為什麼磁化液體，

rather the mesmerizing power of the mind.

而是因為心靈那種迷人的力量。

No matter your age, you have ideas that are worth sharing.

不管你幾歲，都有值得分享的想法。

That's why students around the world from ages 6 to 18 are identifying, developing, and

這也是為什麼全世界從6歲到18歲的學生，都能在 Ted 上發掘、發展並

Ed student talks bring these free, customizable activities to your school or organization@ed.ted.com students student talks.

Ed student talks 將這些免費、可自訂的活動帶進你的學校或組織，請聯繫@ed.ted.com 學生 student talks。