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Hypnotism has tangible benefits but it also carries significant risks. So why would anyone allow a stranger to access their mind?

Curing phobias, managing pain, entertainment: hypnotism has a number of tangible benefits. But it can also carry significant risks for the most suggestible people. So why would anyone allow a stranger to access their mind?

Nicola Kelly speaks to performers, dentists and therapists who use hypnotism in their work and discovers how the brain functions when in a trance. Through hypnosis, she faces her own fear of rats, hears from a patient who had his front tooth extracted without anesthetic and witnesses colleagues convinced they are Donald Trump.

But does the hypnotic trance really exist? Sceptics explain why they no longer believe it works and set out the hidden dangers.

Presenter: Nicola Kelly
Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou

(Image and Credit: Ben Dali)

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23 minutes

Last on

Mon 12 Feb 201806:32GMT
BBC World Service South Asia

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  • Mon 5 Feb 201813:32GMT
    BBC World Service except News Internet
  • Mon 5 Feb 201820:06GMT
    BBC World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview & Europe and the Middle East only
  • Mon 5 Feb 201821:06GMT
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  • Tue 6 Feb 201802:32GMT
    BBC World Service except News Internet
  • Mon 12 Feb 201806:32GMT
    BBC World Service South Asia

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