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| Photo courtesy of Microsoft |
According to Hypnosis Motivation Institute
founder John Kappas, Ph.D., people escape or flee into hypnosis when they perceive
a threat or danger. As I learned during my
hypnotherapy training at HMI: “Hypnosis is
created by an overload of message units, disorganizing our inhibitory process (Critical
Mind), triggering our fight-flight mechanism and ultimately resulting in a
hyper-suggestible state, providing access to the subconscious mind.”
Apparently,
sharks do a similar thing.
Last night, I watched
a fascinating documentary about shark behavior on the Discovery Channel’s® Shark
Week series (www.discovery.com/tv-shows/shark-week).
In an episode titled Zombie Sharks, Eli
Martinez, a shark expert, explained a neuro-physiological phenomenon called “tonic
immobility.” (http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/shark-week/#!/thu/zombie-reload)
According to Martinez, sharks can be rendered immobile whenever they are turned
over onto their backs or, in some cases, by touching an area of a shark’s face.
For all intents and purposes, tonic immobility renders the fish temporarily
paralyzed until the contact is removed and/or it may rotate its body to a
normal position.
Apparently, this
area of the face and down the back is loaded with sensors which can quickly
become overloaded by sensory stimuli. For example, an overload of sensory
stimuli would occur when a researcher places his or her hands on the animal’s
face or flips the fish onto its back to subdue it when inserting a tracking
device, or if a larger predator, such as an orca, catches it and turns the
animal onto its back as a predatory behavior. To complete this picture, imagine
the psychological stress that a shark experiences when another animal—whether it
is a human or another predator(s)—is swimming and lunging with hands or an opened
toothy mouth, to catch it. There would be even more stress and anxiety for its
survival when the fish is cornered and caught. In some instances, as in the
case of the researchers and videographers for Shark Week, there would be
additional sensory stimuli from the cameras and extra lighting in the ocean. By
the time the shark is subdued on its back, it has endured an incredible overload
of sensory stimulation. It is no wonder that the fish zones out.
This phenomenon
sounds a lot like hypnosis, to me.
For more information about tonic immobility, check out the articles at
the following links:
“Tonic Immobility on Sharks”at http://www.sharkaidinternational.org/report_tonic_immobility_on_sharks.html
“Discovery Channel’s ‘Zombie Sharks’
Explores Tonic Immobility”, Woodlands
Online at http://www.woodlandsonline.com/npps/story.cfm?nppage=53506
Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in
Southern California. She graduated with honors from the
Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about
Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2014
