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Common characteristics of someone in hypnosis are: profound physical relaxation & immobility; there may be involuntary twitching of muscles because they're relaxed. If eyes are open, they tend to be glassy/ unfocused; pupils will tend to dilate, & may not respond by contracting when a light is shined in them. Commonly, the whites of the eyes will appear slightly reddened (due to dilation of small blood vessels), & it's not unusual for the eyes to water (relaxation of tear ducts). The facial expression will tend to be fixed/ mask like; jaw may be slack; skin tone may be paler than normal, or flushed.

The pulse will probably be slow & regular, but it may speed up in some cases. Deeper breathing than usual is common, & sometimes there may be audible exhalation "sighs".

When eyes are closed, most hypnotized people manifest rapid eye movements of one form or another - may be side-to-side, up & down, or generalized. In deep hypnosis, it's not unusual for eyes to invert - ie roll up into the head - and some subjects may experience spontaneous penile/ clitoral erection.

Most hypnotized people are responsive to suggestions, playful even, but the degree of responsiveness will vary considerably between individuals. Some simply remain passive & immobile, listening to suggestions but not doing anything. Others, however, will be very responsive: they'll answer questions; stand/ walk around; experience positive & negative hallucinations suggested to them (eg smell, see, taste, hear things that are not there, or fail to see things that are there!); manifest limb paralysis/ whole body catalepsy; repeat actions instructed (eg circling their hands), and even experience partial or total anesthesia - eg be insensitive to a needle being passed through the skin of the back of the hand.

There are no completely reliable indicators of hypnosis, but most responsive subjects will manifest at least two of the above signs, & probably more. Generally, if the subject becomes visibly relaxed & immobile; shows no wish to move unless instructed to do so, and has either a fixed facial expression with pupil dilation, or with eyes closed there is REM, then it's pretty certain they're hypnotized.

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10y ago

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