Monday, February 2, 2015

Hypnotized by Super Bowl XLIX

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