The brain is an intricate organ. Responsible for our identity, it controls our breathing, identifies pleasure and pain and cradles our imagination. Yet we still know very little about it.

​Natalie Bushe joined the experts at the recent Hay Festival to take a fantastic journey around the brain. Continue reading

Originally posted on BBC Arts.

We've all seen hypnotists portrayed in movies, as they swing gold pocket watches and whisper, "You're getting sleepy. Very sleepy." But did you know hypnosis is used in therapy? When it's utilized by trained hypnotherapists, patients can use hypnosis to recover from trauma, move past addictions, and just generally improve their lives.

Despite the fact it can seem a bit scary, or like some form of magic, the way hypnosis works is actually quite scientific. "People are induced into a relaxation state, or alpha brain wave activity," Edie Raether, MS, CSP, a hypnotherapist and behavioral psychology expert, tells Bustle. "It is a meditative state where the client is more open and receptive due to being relaxed."

Once in the relaxed state, the hypnotherapist can begin to work with their patient on whatever it is they'd like to improve. "There are two types of hypnosis: suggestive and exploratory, which is very effective for PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder)," Raether says. "Unconscious and buried experiences rise to the surface and are expelled, allowing people to experience immediate healing." Continue reading.

Originally posted on Bustle.