[Thousand Umbrellas]

Does anyone know much about auto-suggestion and if it really works?

I was reading a book by Harry Brooks about it and how he went and met Emile Coue. Some of it seems so crazy and unrealistic that I was having troubles deciding on whether or not it was serious. At one point in the book, Brooks mentioned how, while at one of Coue's sessions, Emile Coue simply whispered to a few people in wheelchairs and they were able to walk, another healed curvature of the spine over a 6 month period, another healing a problem in the uterus, many cases of depression and anxiety being healed, and many more like that.

If the mind alone can really do all of this stuff, why is it that we spend so much on medication and therapy? Are there modern day clinicians and/or researchers that study this?

[FooZe]

When I was 13 or 14 I bought Coue's book (for a quarter or a dime or something) at a second-hand store. I noted that it didn't seem to be in much demand but I was puzzled why not -- he seemed convinced that his ideas worked so if they did, why wasn't everyone using them?

I tried out some of his suggestions (before letting my parents find the book and debunk it ) but was disappointed in the results. Of course I suspected, as usual, that I must not be doing it right but I couldn't figure out how. There was only one place where it made a difference -- sort of. I'd recently learned chess and was trying to learn to play better. I gave myself some suggestions to the effect that I'd look more carefully before making a move, be able to see further ahead, have better ideas for moves, and play better in general. Mostly I think it was the idea that I might have a gimmick that would help me win, that helped me relax and play a little more confidently.

I'm thinking now that Heywood Broun's story The Fifty-First Dragon (1919) might have been about the same principle, whether or not it was meant as a commentary on Coue and autosuggestion.

[ECHOES]

And what were those words?

It sounds like hypnotic suggestion to me, and given the time period, it could be this person was exploring the possibility of suggestion without the hypnosis.

Psychotherapy also is words, whispered to the unconcious mind through direct concious speaking.

[Thousand Umbrellas]

Originally Posted by ECHOES

And what were those words?

I'm not quite sure. Later, the book goes into detail on how to practice auto-suggestion yourself, but I stopped reading. From what I read, it all seems to be confidence-boosting wordplay. Maybe similar to "the train that could" or whatever that old story was called. You tell yourself you can, you constantly fill your head with positive and confidence boosting thoughts (it mentioned phrases before and after you sleep at night), then you just be patient, I suppose.

[madisgram]

it sounds a lot like self hypnosis. works for some and not others. if we throw enough sphagetti against the wall something's bound to stick.

[FooZe]

I'm way behind on my other reading so I don't expect to get to Coué anytime soon, but I like some of what the Wikipedia article says. If we have something to distract us from telling ourselves we must be in trouble, we're less likely to believe our own fears of imminent disaster and to be more present and available to deal with the situation.

As I understand it, in Coué's day there was heavy emphasis on "willpower": basically, showing yourself who's boss. You were expected to demonstrate that you were tough enough (or whatever) to make yourself succeed in school or business, be happy at appropriate times, fall asleep easily, or not think of a white elephant when you didn't want to. It was an extremely artificial standard but hardly anyone wanted to admit that they couldn't measure up -- because lack of "willpower" was one of the popular explanations for mental illness.

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

For example, when a student has forgotten an answer to a question in an exam, he will likely think something such as "I have forgotten the answer". The more he or she tries to think of it, the more the answer becomes blurred and obscured. However, if this negative thought is replaced with a more positive one ("No need to worry, it will come back to me"), the chances that the student will come to remember the answer will increase.

Coué noted that young children always applied his method perfectly, as they lacked the willpower that remained present among adults. When he instructed a child by saying "clasp your hands and you can't open them", the child would thus immediately follow.

[Thousand Umbrellas]

Originally Posted by Fool Zero

As I understand it, in Coué's day there was heavy emphasis on "willpower": basically, showing yourself who's boss. You were expected to demonstrate that you were tough enough (or whatever) to make yourself succeed in school or business, be happy at appropriate times, fall asleep easily, or not think of a white elephant when you didn't want to. It was an extremely artificial standard but hardly anyone wanted to admit that they couldn't measure up -- because lack of "willpower" was one of the popular explanations for mental illness.

Yes, your wiki quote was a lot like some of what I read. Instead of telling yourself "I can or I will get over xxxxxx", one would tell themselves "I am over xxxxxx". And of course phrasing applies to any issue.

[turquoisesea]

I've heard of lots of similar things too - I even heard on the radio that a study tested a group of people. They had people think of eating M&M's. not just about the candy but about chewing and swallowing it, and telling themselves that they ate it. The other group did nothing regarding M&Ms. following this the groups were allowed in an area where there were M&Ms - the people who had envisioned eating them earlier did not have as many (significantly so) than the other group.

I think there's an element of will power to these things - if you truly believe something we work hard (our body and mind) to make it so. But not every thing is possible - and no matter how true your will power some things won't happen. I think all of this depends completely on the person and the circumstance.

Such an interesting question though xD

[RomanSunburn]

To me, it sounds like self-affirmations, sort of. Like telling yourself you're beautiful every morning and night, which has been shown to improve self esteem. I've also heard them used to reduce anxiety as well. Perhaps this is where self-affirmations got their start?

Side note... It was "The Little Engine That Could "I think I can, I think I can!"

[FooZe]

Originally Posted by RomanSunburn

To me, it sounds like self-affirmations, sort of. Like telling yourself you're beautiful every morning and night, which has been shown to improve self esteem.

It's quite likely that different people have very different experiences with affirmations. For me it's been more like this:

• As part of some class, workshop or program I'm doing, I'm supposed to tell myself that I'm (let's say) "brave".

• I repeat the affirmation as instructed and the first thing that comes up for me is, "But I'm not brave, that's my problem! If I were brave I wouldn't have bothered with this silly workshop, and I don't see how I'm going to get any braver just from doing dumb stuff like this!"

• I repeat the affirmation a few more times and more stuff comes up for me, starting with all the reasons I have no business ever calling myself brave.

• Even with all the stuff that's coming up for me, though, there don't seem to be any other consequences. Lightning doesn't strike the building. The workshop leaders don't bring in coward-sniffing dogs to spot people who are there under false pretenses.

• After a while I start to catch on that it's really my choice to call myself brave or not, and that just because I haven't always been brave before, I don't need to justify that by never being brave again.

• After a somewhat longer while I may even find myself thinking I had to have been pretty brave after all, to go through all that.

By then, I'm probably not bothering with the affirmation itself any more.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Thousand Umbrellas

Does anyone know much about auto-suggestion and if it really works?

I was reading a book by Harry Brooks about it and how he went and met Emile Coue. Some of it seems so crazy and unrealistic that I was having troubles deciding on whether or not it was serious. At one point in the book, Brooks mentioned how, while at one of Coue's sessions, Emile Coue simply whispered to a few people in wheelchairs and they were able to walk, another healed curvature of the spine over a 6 month period, another healing a problem in the uterus, many cases of depression and anxiety being healed, and many more like that.

If the mind alone can really do all of this stuff, why is it that we spend so much on medication and therapy? Are there modern day clinicians and/or researchers that study this?

LOL yes what you call auto suggestion does work. heres an experiment you can do on your own. when you are with other people scratch your head repeatedly, or lick your lips, then watch how many around you start scratching their heads, or licking their lips. or talk about head lice. watch how people suddenly without realizing it lift their hands to scratch or itch their heads.

we did this as a part of our psych courses to show how susceptible our future clients may be to our spoken and unspoken words. we learned during that class experiment that human beings are social creatures that are susceptible on many levels to auto suggestion / auto responses to stimuli whether they are verbally or non verbally given.

you can test how susceptible you are by thinking of your favorite foods. and most hated foods focus on the taste and smell and texture. then notice your responses. do you cringe when thinking of say a lemon vs chocolate, did your mouth water or grit your teeth. notice your physical and emotional reactions when talking with others about your favorite/disliked food items.

[lavieenrose]

At times, I've been able to elevate my mood, at least temporarily, through auto-suggestion. Yesterday, I used various positive qualities, stating them to myself as a mantra during meditation. I often focus on problems and disaster scenarios, fearing the steps I need to take to improve my life.

When I've visualized as specifically as possible, a positive outcome from taking a scary step, it's sometimes helped me to move forward, however modestly. I think our minds are very suggestible, positively and negatively. I think that repetition in intervals would enhance learning new patterns of thinking and behavior. I often forget to do this, getting caught by the habitual, or I resist the "work".