Dissociative PTSD Symptoms Triggered By Stage Hypnosis

This case report describes the dangerous side effects of stage hypnosis in a 35-year-old male combat veteran who had previously been injured by an improvised explosive device (IED.) In the year following the injury, the veteran had been treated for transient right-side paralysis and chronic neuropathic pain. He had no previous psychiatric history before the injury, and was receiving no psychotropic medications other than gabapentin for pain control. The veteran was married with two children, and rated his marriage as “way above average.”

Approximately one year following the injury, the veteran took a rehabilitation trip for injured combat veterans. According to the authors of the case report,

One evening during the trip the group attended a performance involving a professional stage hypnotist where the patient volunteered, and was persuaded to come on stage, and was subsequently hypnotized by a stage performer. The hypnotist had him perform numerous embarrassing acts. Although he reported to having had reservations, he was nevertheless compliant with the hypnotist’s suggestions. After the performance, the stage hypnotist told the patient that he was a “great hypnotic subject and the star of the show.” He further offered to pay for him to return anytime if he agreed to participate again in the show.

He and his companions reported that he had been in good spirits during the day prior to this event, and had consumed only two alcoholic drinks. There is no evidence of illicit drug use.

After leaving the stage hypnosis show, the veteran was not feeling well and reported feeling overwhelmed by the lights and sounds outside of the hotel where the hypnotist has performed. He then entered a dissociative state which lasted about three hours, for which he later had little to no recollection of his actions. When one of the group’s female guides accidentally bumped into him during that time, he grabbed her and began choking her, and was subsequently arrested. He later reported that he had believed himself to be a prisoner of war. He believed that the cell where he was being held was filling up with water and was terrified that he was about to drown. He finally awoke on a hospital gurney in four-point restraints, with some mild lingering symptoms of anxiety and hypervigilance. Upon being told of his violent outburst he expressed distress and fear of recurrence. He later experienced a number of flashbacks to the period after his stage hypnosis experience, along with other post-traumatic symptoms.

The veteran was referred for psychological treatment. His hypnotizability was assessed using Spiegel & Spiegel’s Hypnotic Induction Procedure (HIP), which indicated that he had a high level of hypnotic susceptibility (a score of 4 out of a possible 5). Hypnotic susceptibility has some correlation with dissociative capacity. Hypnosis was used as a primary treatment modality, with both cognitive and psychodynamic techniques being utilized. After six months of weekly treatment, the veteran was free of traumatic and dissociative symptoms related to both the stage hypnosis incident and his original IED injury, and has also gained control of the neuropathic pain associated with these injuries.

The authors argue that cases like this one provide strong support for closer scrutiny and regulation of the use of hypnosis as a form of entertainment. Although most people who participate in stage hypnosis shows report no negative effects or experiences, there have been a number of published cases in which psychological and even physical injury resulted from exposure to stage hypnosis.