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| Photo courtesy of Microsoft Office |
A lot of people
observed particular rituals on Super Bowl Sunday. Devoted fans of the
participating teams donned jerseys sporting a favorite player’s number.
Millions of pizzas and chicken wings were prepared and eaten. Seemingly
countless glasses of beer were poured and consumed. There were parties,
cheering; then celebrating the winning team…or commiserating with/for the
losing team. Three or four hours spent watching football and the hilarious
Super Bowl ads went by as if no time had passed at all, and at the end of it we
may have wondered: So, what happened, exactly? No, seriously: What happened during those hours?
If that
scenario sounds familiar, you were likely in a state of light trance or
environmental hypnosis. This phenomenon is exactly what it sounds like: whether
you were cheering at the football stadium or partying at home or a local bar,
the stimuli around you so overwhelmed your conscious mind that you entered a
hypnotic trance. (Don’t worry, this kind of environmental hypnosis is a common
and natural phenomenon that you have likely experienced before if you have ever
been so lost in thought that you missed your freeway exit while driving home.)
Here are some
contributing factors of Super Bowl Hypnosis:
·
Overload of sensory stimuli. Before the
game even started, you were bombarded by a cornucopia of visual, auditory and
olfactory stimuli. You heard the raucous shouts, whistles and cheers of the
opposing teams’ fans in the stadium as well as similar noises that you and your
friends were making at your party. You saw bursts of color in the stands:
people wore their team’s colors and waved team pennants and the bright costumes
worn by halftime-show entertainer Katy Perry.
Meanwhile, at home, the vision and smells of all those game-day delicacies you
and your friends bought or prepared competed for your attention. This sensory
overload, combined with any stress (anticipatory anxiety) you were already
carrying around as the game progressed, could have easily pushed you into
environmental hypnosis.
·
Low-blood sugar effect. When we are
hungry and/or after we have consumed alcohol, the level of glucose (sugar) in
our blood drops. This state induces a state of hyper-suggestibility to various
factors in the environment, warned Hypnosis
Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D. In addition, a sudden drop
in blood sugar can trigger physical symptoms such as shaking, light-headedness
and feeling tired, as well as depression, paranoia, irritability and memory
problems. These psychological symptoms can be particularly problematic in this
kind of a high-energy environment, when emotions are already running high and
inhibitions are likely to be low.
·
Food and drink. Chances are high that the
goodies you munched on during the game will not be the most healthy food
choices you will make during the week. In addition to the veggie platter, there
would have also been chips and dips, buttery popped corn, the aforementioned
pizza, various sweet treats and, of course, alcohol. If you were already worked
up about the game you—especially after having rushing around to purchase and
prepare the party spread—these items will have likely made you even more
suggestible. Anything that is loaded with sugars and carbohydrates will also negatively
affect your blood-sugar level, which likely also increased your suggestibility.
During their afternoon broadcast KFI 640 AM afternoon on February 2, 2015, co-hosts Elizabeth Espinosa and Mark Thompson described different food-related behaviors while watching the game. One the one hand, Espinosa said she and her friends got so caught up watching the game that they barely touched any food during their Super Bowl party. In this case, environmental stimuli such as interacting with friends, watching the action on the screen and listening to the sounds of fans and themselves cheering, etc., overwhelmed the group from the get-go. Conversely, Thompson reported munching through bowls of potato chips, his admitted favorite Super Bowl snack. This behavior suggests to me that as the components of the chips affected his blood-sugar level, his suggestibility went up and he stopped paying attention to other aspects of his environment but continued because the snack was easily available.
What, if any, symptoms
of environmental hypnosis did you experience while you watched the big game
yesterday?
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/.
© 2015
What, if any, symptoms
of environmental hypnosis did you experience while you watched the big game
yesterday?
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/.
© 2015
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