Suggestion is linked to persuasion or conviction.
Sugestion is a term that comes from the Latin word suggestĭo and refers to the act of suggesting . This verb , for its part, is linked to proposing, insinuating, proposing or recommending something.
Suggestion, however, usually refers to the process and result of suggesting (the action of generating fascination , charm or conviction through sayings or actions). In this sense, the concept mentions the thought , image or symbol that is suggested in some way.
Suggestion, dominance and trust
Suggestion is often associated with the control that an individual exercises over the will of another subject, causing the latter to act conditioned by the thought or influence of the first. Take the case of a child who, on a stormy night, listens to the horror stories his older brother tells him. Hours later, when the little boy is alone in his bedroom, he hears thunder and begins to scream, convinced that it is a monster that is approaching the house. In this case, the child's reaction is due to the suggestion he experiences due to his brother's stories.
As can be seen in the previous example, a fundamental element for suggestion to work is trust in the other. It is not uncommon for children to take their elders as reference points, as role models, and that is why they tend to blindly trust their words , something that often brings negative consequences.
If an individual is aware that someone trusts them a lot, they can use this for altruistic purposes (trying to advise them and protect them from dangerous or unfavorable situations, knowing that their words will have considerable weight) or take advantage of it and pursue control over the other person.
Hypnosis works by suggestion.
The power of persuasion
Suggestion is not always achieved from one second to the next, but in some cases it is the result of a prolonged effort, of meticulous work of persuasion , as if it were a question of building a house by placing each brick with extreme care, for the hope that one day it will become a structure impossible to demolish .
When suggestion reaches very deep levels, those who suffer from it can lose control of their life and remain in the hands of those who have influenced them, leaving aside their own interests and acting only to satisfy those of others.
Suggestion and hypnosis
In summary, suggestion can be associated with a process that takes place on the psychological level and is linked to manipulation . It is often indicated that hypnosis works with suggestion: the hypnotist, through suggestion, gets the person to perceive certain acts as if they were developing them involuntarily. This perception, in reality, is suggested and conditioned by the work of the hypnotist. The suggestion ends when the subject modifies his perception.
On the other hand, it is important to note that each individual has a different degree of susceptibility to suggestion, both to that which can occur through trust in a friend or family member and to that induced by psychology professionals. The mind is so complex that the same procedure can give very different results in two subjects.
When a hypnosis treatment fails, various factors usually come into play, such as the patient's lack of natural predisposition , their lack of trust in the professional or in the procedure itself, their difficulty in relaxing and concentrating on the instructions they receive, or the lack of authority of the hypnotist. The suggestion experienced through hypnosis is usually the focus of ridicule, and this leads many people to consider this technique a farce; Needless to say, this general perception also negatively affects practice.