IamA guy who participated and was hypnotised in one of Derren Brown's TV shows (Fear & Faith) (self.IAmA) AMA!

Have you ever been hypnotized by someone before?

Did you think, "Hang on a sec wtf am I doing?" While under his spell?

If it's all legit, why the secrecy agreements?

What are, and are not, you allowed to disclose?

I'd never been hypnotised by someone before.

Several times whilst under I thought 'this doesn't make any sense! There is definitely not a mouse in my hand!' My brain simply said 'yeah, but he's cute right? look at his cute face!' So it was essentially playing along and buying into it. Other things were more strange. When we were told to forget our names, I totally forgot it. The more I questioned why the hell I couldn't remember my name when there was no apparent logical reason, the harder it was to remember anything resembling a name. I guessed Aaron. I was way off.

The agreements were mainly about his specific methods. As well as agreeing to TV rights and appearance rights. That we couldn't sue. All that malarky. I can talk about my general experiences but I'm keeping this anonymous so that I can skirt that bit of the agreement. It's not a secrecy agree persé. more a legal "Don't steal my shit or allow others to steal my shit!....but can we have your appearance rights please?"

Incredible, thanks for your answers : )

No problem. If you think of anymore, jump on back and ask away! :) Thanks for your interest.

Too bad hypnosis isn't real and you're a liar.

Yes, clearly I'm lying about being on the show. That's why I've been verified by 3 mods. I'm only relaying my experiences. What you take from that is up to you but I pinky promise you I'm not lying. Have a hug! hugs

I could care less about the show, I've been on TV almost a dozen times for different things, what's not real is hypnosis, so you're a liar, or too stupid to realize you're a liar.

Or your misunderstanding that your opinion is reality. Hypnosis is a real thing. Whether that constitutes being unconscious or aware and playing along is another discussion entirely. I hereby award you the misunderstanding, inability to reason and troll of 2013 award. hugs

Stay in school kid.

Haha. Ok buddy. Merry Christmas.

What ever happened to Kurt Angle?

The gold medalist pro wrestler? He was hired to take out the boys in One Direction.

Like.. on a date?

That would be awkward. Which one would get the most attention from him? I'm thinking pull an old yeller on them though.

Was there anything you saw that looked odd or out of place even before of after you was hypnotised? Did anything happen that they didnt air in the show?

Lots happened that they didn't show. Contestants were split up into groups of 3 or 4 and those with the most television friendly stories were the primary stories in the show. We had to send in daily video diaries (2 x 1 minute diaries a day) and some footage of us opening and eating the pills (I guess that last bit was a pickup). Of course, that's hours and hours of footage to fit into a show so short. They did a good job highlighting the most affected participants.

The one thing that I wish they DID show though was from before we all started. We were put up in a hotel so we could start early in the morning. So naturally, all the participants met each other over pizza and beer and started chatting. It came out there that we all were very convinced Derren was involved (this hadn't been confirmed at this point) and that the drug would be a placebo. As a group we decided 'what the hell? this isn't something you get to do everyday and if it works, that's amazing!' So in spite of us essentially knowing the ending, it STILL worked. That, to me, is more impressive. I wish they'd have shown us doubting it a little bit for that reason.

I always thought if I was one of the contestants that I'd guess it was a placebo. I was surprised that it wasn't guessed at when I watched the show but it turns out it was. Amazing that it still managed to work though.

Well studies have shown that medical placebos tend to work even if you're aware that they are a placebo.

Very intriguing isn't it?

That's exactly what I thought people would think. Did themselves a disservice by not showing us guessing that or even hinting that we had an inkling. It would have shown that it worked very well and that we weren't all that stoopid, which I'm always all for!

I might give that episode another watch. You were the guy with the social anxiety right? How are you coping with it now?

I'm not, no. Nick is doing fine with that. He actually gave me a call today because he was amused folk think I'm him. Nick is fine and dandy and loving life but I am not him. You can drop the guess who tile.

how did you get involved as a participant?

After see in this show live, I checked twitter to see other peoples responses and saw that he'd posted a survey. It warned you up front that it was pretty intrusive but it all went into creating a better show. All about greatest fears, weaknesses, talents, any weird stories you have. That kind of thing. A few months later I received a phone call and pretty much did the same questionnaire over the phone, being told it was for a Channel 4 show (at this point, I had an inkling Derren was involved.) Eventually I had to go up to London as part of the recruitment. So yeah, that's how I get involved.

Also, thanks for including the link to this thread. I'm sure there are a lot of questions about behind the scenes type things that I can answer that people would ask Derren.

Cheers :)

Penn & Teller on hypnosis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_BM34ViAxk

Skeptic's Dictionary on hypnosis: http://www.skepdic.com/hypnosis.html

"... hypnosis is merely an agreement between the subject and the operator that they will fantasize together, nothing more. It may well have some limited value as a psychiatric tool, but it's not a "power," it's not a "force," it's a role-playing game, and only highly emotional persons will react as [a particular subject] did. She probably would have reacted to any suggestion, by anyone, that would produce imaginary events and the resultant trauma." ~James Randi

I wouldn't disagree with that. I liken it to a child playing imaginary dinosaurs or something. You have to be able to let yourself go and not be so self conscious. Undertake hynosis in the same way you'd watch Twilight (switch your brain off!) If you can do that, it'll work.

Also, high five on the Penn & Teller link. Love those guys! Fascinating. Would love to know what they think of Derren's work. They're all in the business of dispelling magic...and then blowing your mind with it.

Heh, I also did Derren Brown - trick of the mind. It was a fun experience.

Hello there fellow army of Derren member, we shall rise. ;)

Bunch of hypnotic Manchurian Candidates.

I'd never know but it's crossed my mind!

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No problem at all. Actually, I've seen many people do this. Less stopping it and more slowing your heart rate down so slowly to the point where it seems that it has completely stopped to an observer. There are tribes all over the world where they do this. Deep sea divers can do it too (I hear) as it conserves oxygen.

No financial compensation whatsoever. We got fed and such like we would on any TV show but for me, the skills and ideas learned are worth much more than they could've paid. But I wouldn't say no if they wanted to chuck me a couple of thousand now. Haha.

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you too dandino7! Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Has Derren contacted you since to check up on you to see how you are doing?

He replies on twitter every now and then, as do his production team. All the participants stay in touch too. We talk about the experience but it's never a 'hey, is your face melting? hope not, love Derren' message. :'(

Have you heard about anyone experiencing short or long term negative effects?

A few people quit smoking. I know that would be considered a negative to lots of folk! haha. Everyone else I know from it seems great (we all keep in touch). I can really only speak for myself.

Just after finishing filming, I kept thinking I needed to finish the course of the pills and spend a bit of time with the shows producer calming myself down. I'd panic in social situations because I overthought things and thought 'Shit, I need my Rumyodin!' even though I knew it was a placebo. So I could by into that conceit easily but couldn't get myself out of it. I'm selling it short though, I've had SO many positive long terms side effects from Derren's initial aim.

Well, you just gave away your identity.

A few people did this so no dice, plumbtree!

How would you describe Mr Brown in person?

Taller than I expected. An absolute gentleman. Very easy to talk to and not at all intimidating. He seemed genuinely interested in every person taking part. I have a lot of respect for him, his team and his talents - even more so now that I've been a part of one of his shows and seen behind the scenes.

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What if he's Banksy?

What if he was phone?

What if he was THE phone?!

The mind is a very powerful thing and with time and practice you can bring about dramatic physiological conditions. There is some theory that physiological conditions themselves that people have, whether they are positive or detrimental are themselves brought about by life's conditionings. At the same time there are physical ailments that cause people to varying degrees of deterioration and which themselves cannot altogether be remedied. QUESTION: Since the experience how have you fared long term toward overcoming your physiological condition? And how much did you find it a remarkable experience of being able to participate in a Derren Brown experiment?

Yes, fully. The issue addressed in the show is 99.9% gone and I now rationalise it so much better if it even slightly comes up. I've run into a bunch of whole other issues that have nothing to do with it but using the lessons of the show (knowing that all I need is my mind and I can effect my own mood in seconds) is a pretty darn powerful tool. It effects everything.

How stoic of you.

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic. :/ If not, what do you mean? If so, why the sarcasm? :/

I up voted you I was being serious. I took philosophy for the first time this year so I wanted to put some terms to use, sorry.

No need to apologise. I'm just used to sarcasm on reddit. Thanks for your comment :)

Stoic believe emotions are completely within our control and it is not events that upset us but only our judgment on the event.

Ah. Thanks for enlightening me. That's really interesting. Some reading for me today! Thank you. And yes, I'd agree. We choose to respond to things in different ways. Having a bad day? Decide not to. Simple as that. Easier said than done but just practise it.

His reply looks sarcastic indeed. But it is true that it is very stoic of you. And that is a good thing.

Phew! :) I'm evidently too used to reddits sarcasm level. Haha.

What was it like to be hypnotized?

Very strange. I remember feeling as if I was aware of what I was doing but unable to stop playing along. I likened it to when you see children playing, pretending to be dinosaurs etc. In their heads, they ARE dinosaurs. I was put in that state of mind and asked to play pretend. Worked wonders on me! For example, I had to pretend I had a mouse and describe it. I got super defensive of it! I also forgot my name and had a man make himself invisible to me. Again, I could see him but my mind wanted to play along with him and not acknowledge he was there.

Sounds like bs. You only believe this shit if you want to believe it - derren ( and many other hypotists, mentalists etc. ) are quite open about the fact that 'it doesn't work if you don't let it'...that says it all really

You're mixing up 'BS' and what they've actually said. Hypnoticism is very real and works on many types of people. I've seen it work on people who swore it would never work on them. People who didn't want it to work on them. It's less about that and more whether certain parts of your character are a certain way. Are you creative? Then there's a darn good chance it will work on you. It makes it easier if you 'believe' (purely because they don't have to put with you working against them at every possible moment,) but we're not talking santa clause here, we're talking very real psychological techniques.

All that said, do take it easy. You're going to give yourself a hernia! Smile, be happy, be intrigued and most to all, be open minded!

I've always imagined getting hypnotized is something akin to drifting off to sleep, not completely losing awareness but kind of drifting into a different state. I was at a stage hypnotist show once and I really really wanted to be hypnotized and didn't put up resistance but it didn't work on me at all and they pulled me off stage. I've always had trouble drifting off to sleep and I wonder if there's any correlation.

I'd agree with you there. You get caught just before you're fully asleep and kind of just move around totally aware and just going with it because it feels so hazy.

Derren mentioned to me that sometimes people who are overeager have trouble being hypnotised as they're so focused on it working (thinking "is this it? is it working?" that they can't actually let themselves go to the extent they need to. It also only works on certain type of people. I'm a 'creative' and it apparently works on us folk really well because of our rich imagination (which is why I liken it to children playing dinosaurs and believing they ARE dinosaurs rather than just playing pretend. Maybe you're too aware you're a human, not a dinosaur? I think that's the weirdest thing I've ever written! ha)

What's Derren like in real life? Is he as nice as people say? I've always wondered...

Genuinely lovely guy. Very funny too. It gets pretty amusing when you have to film his surprise entrance 4 or 5 times because one of us messes up due to being a tad starstruck. He's a gent though and always did his best to put us at ease.

Haha that's hilarious! I'm so glad to hear he's lovely :) Fear and Faith is one of my favourites, it's really interesting. I bet you had a lot of fun!

Mine too. He didn't put any of us through crazy plane landing or zombies etc. Just genuinely helped us. Totally changed who I am.

How were you hypnotised? Walking down a staircase? Hands glued together? Looking at the ceiling?

By listening to someone with a very gentle voice guide me into hypnosis. Very cliché.

Are you asking how was I walking down a staircase? I approached stairs and thought "I'd like to go down those". The rest is history.

Hands glued together? Never happened to me.

Looking at the ceiling? I was laying on my back. Hard to avoid.

Which parts are you not allow allowed to discuss? You mentioned you had to sign an NDA Edit: oops already been answered..

If anything hits it I'll let you know. I've attempted to put this together anonymously so I can skirt most of it :)

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Hey :)

1) Definitely. All the participants were housed together and we all joked not to eat the food because Derren had done something to it! It was pizza though, so of course we ate it! Over said pizza we discussed the show and Derren's involvement and decided to just with it. If it didn't work, oh well. If it did, then wow! It was worth our time to just go for it. It worked inspire of us being suspicious which is more impressive to me.

2) Ah, my anxiety around people wasn't my fear in the show. If the producers are playing guess who, they can put some flip cards down on that note though. It was a negative side effect that seemed to happen.

Thanks for your questions.

Do you ever get in contact with some of the participants of his other specials? Is there a secret Darren Brown "victims" forum somewhere?

We all talk to each other over twitter and Facebook. You can even jump into the threads if you like! Many people do.

Was it all legit or was some of it fake/exaggerated

What do you mean? The show? All absolutely legit. Mind blowing right?

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Haha. I always worry I'm going to see him on TV and he'll mutter a secret activation phrase. He's gathering a silent army.

"Gosh, that Italian family at the next table sure is quiet"

Well, I know it's not that now. I'd wager it's going to be something in latin I think! or a bane-esque 'riiiiiiise'.

Thanks now i have proof its real ( my mum thinks all his stuff was fake )

Ask her to jump in if she likes. Prod away and ask questions she wants. It's not magic, but that's the draw right? It's using psychology.

Loved that show! Your transformation was remarkable in it! If I ever am back in England, let me buy you a beer. If you ever make it to the states, look me up, and once again, beer.

I'll happily take you up on that. PM me if you ever visit the UK! Woohoo, free beer and good company! Merry Christmas buddy.

I saw a video on how hypnotise works, its fake right. I mean you are fully awake and you know what you are doing all the time right.

Kind of. You're playing along but you feel very hazy and sleepy. It's like you're drifting off to sleep but stop half way there.

A good example to address this when I forgot my name. I was told to forget my name until told otherwise. And I did. I felt stupid for doing so, I knew I was under a light hypnosis and was talking to people freely as myself. But every time they asked my name or expected an introduction, I couldn't grasp my name. The harder I tried, the further it seemed from my grasp until I was so laughably far off my actual name. And I knew how ridiculous it was but it worked anyway.

Dude. Read his replies. Its not 'fake'. Think of it as like your brain accepting suggestions given by the hypnotist while your conscious mind can't seem to argue the suggestions are false.

Well, that is what most people would consider fake in regards to almost everything else. It's still only a form of placebo. It only "works" on people who believe in it (read: gullible people). You bet your ass that if someone in the audience were to draw a gun or something, the so called hypnotized person would instantly stop believing that he's a dog or whatever and make a quick run for the door along with everyone else. And that's the difference. If he actually believed he was a dog, like a delirious person might do, well, then he would have actually believed it.

No. What most people would consider fake is someone being coached beforehand to act in a certain way for the show, deliberately deceiving the audience. But if you think hypnotism is fake because its not 'real magic', congratulations. You're right, Derren Brown is not a wizard.

Every sane person would consider a 'medicine' that's purely based on placebo as fake medicine. Apply the same principle to hypnosis. It's fake, dude, face it. It's nothing more than people playing make believe.

I have to disagree here. The term 'fake' is too vague and the definition of medicine allows for placebos to be a medicine. Hypnosis isn't quite make believe but that's the nearest thing I can think of. I'd honestly suggest you give it a go if you ever have the chance. It's bewildering.

I understand the premise of the show. I dont know what your specific "fear" was. I was just wondering what was your fear and how did you overcome it?

I only ask because one of the girls who appeared on this show had a "fear" of singing in public or on stage and i have recently found out that this was all a lie and she was in drama school with a close friend of mine during the filming of the fear and faith series and sang on stage a number of times for different shows they performed as a class. Which unfortunately has made me think a lot less of anything the Derren Brown now creates and puts out there.

Ah, you're talking about Katie. Katie's specific fear was that she couldn't sing on stage. She definitely could perform but singing was very different. That's why her story focused on her singing. A few people had things they were able to do but for some reason couldn't anymore. One man wanted to be a musician but one day just became anxious on stage and couldn't do it anymore. I'd Katie was once able to sing on stage, she certainly wasn't able to when the show started. So not really a lie, just not explained very well :)

I can't comment on what my fear was unfortunately but I can say I overcame it by facing it. That may sound an obvious way to overcome it but I think we were just all unable to get to the point where we felt determined to face it. Derren helped us get to this point in by helping us be rational about it.

Thanks for the question :)

Were there participants of different cultures, like someone who wasn't very "westernized"? //

Were all the participants pretty friendly & polite? For example, do you think any of this would work on the typical eastern european cocky confident guy or chav who wouldn't feel any at all pressure to play along and would even want to expose it as phony?

Well the thing I like about Derren Brown is that it IS phoney. It's not magic. Unless you mean you think he only invites actors on his shows? I'm the worst actor ever so I'd have been the spanner in that plan! haha.

We were all typically British in our own ways I guess. There was a chav. And we all thought it was nonsense but that we'd play along just on the off chance it would work. It worked, so yay! It's not so much where the person is from but whether they're susceptible to suggestion or not.

What's your favorite color?

You know, I haven't thought about this question in a long while. Used to be lime green. Then bright yellow (I have a gorgeous bright yellow stratocaster). But recently I seem to be going towards red. Yellow and red...thank Iron Man/Tony Stark on that one I think!

i wonder if you could raise someone's iq via hypnotizing or math ability or smthng. what if 12 yrs of schooling could be condensed to like 1 yr by using hypnonsis/placebos all that shit?

There was actually an attempt to do this in the show but it was shown because of the varying degrees of success. They were the first people to figure out the anagram of the drug name though (it was called Rumyodin which is an anagram of Your Mind). Think of that what you will!

what the heck is the "snap induction" at 40:30 in the video?

Snap induction? You mean when Derren clicks his fingers and Katie falls asleep straight away? Basically, the more you are hypnotised in a certain way, the easier it is to go under (you can build in prompts and such whilst people are under - a certain word or action etc). Derren worked with Katie a lot because her fear was so tough to overcome. She ended up being taught that snap induction into sleep by Derren and eventually overcame her fear. Power to her!

Oh! Thank you for the reply! It seemed so automatic and was startling to see without expecting it.

Yeah, I agree. It seems pretty crazy. It's some some magic power Derren has though, so don't worry too much :)

I'm interested in the process of being hypnotized, specifically whether you are really being put into a state of trance or semi-consciousness.

How big of a factor would you say 'peer pressure' or the pressure of playing along is? Obviously Derren is quite convincing and very confident. I would estimate that actually actively resisting the 'hypnotizing' and trying to disprove him would require a strong will. Many people might just keep playing along because it would be way too awkward to stop.

So did you ever feel like being entranced or unconscious?

Well we were initially hypnotised as a group without Derren being present. We didn't know he was involved and thought it was a totally different show at that point. So there was no pressure there. We had no idea whether it was a good thing to be hypnotised or not, so you couldn't try and game the system, you know?

I'd go as far as to say that if you put pressure on yourself for it to work, it wouldn't work. You have to be willing to let go of yourself. I liken it to children playing pretend. They're not self conscious at all. Some people may have played along but I can only speak for myself really.

Never felt unconscious. Just in a haze of 'play along', if that makes sense?

How is the experience of filming the show itself? To what extent is it pretty much spontaneous and were there many parts that while appearing to be a surprise in the show were actually filmed several times?

Thanks for the AMA as well!

Before we went into the actual building to be given our pills, we did things a few times. For examples, Derren's surprise entrance. Some of us were a bit starstruck! Haha. For the rest of the time we were interviewed at various times as we were going through the 'facility' (it's the same facility used for the ending of World War Z! Pretty cool I thought!). So all of that stuff was capturing our true expressions and we didn't get any do-overs! Was amazing to see the amount of work that goes into it. Must be so tough to edit down into a 1 hour show.

No problem. Thanks for the questions. Merry Christmas :)

Did you experience any anxiety, when you were hypnotized, due to not being able to remember basic things about yourself?

It was honestly too crazy to experience anxiety for me. I imagine if I was hypnotised for a long time I'd experience anxiety though. Looking back it's pretty crazy.

Thanks for the question :)

Thanks for doing this AMA - my whole family loves Derren and we watch his every show. We've also been to the Infamous live - planning to go again next year. Fear and Faith is likely to be one of his most important shows and it's great to read that Derren is a genuinely nice guy.

No problem at all. Thanks for taking the time to say hi. Derren puts on an incredible show doesn't he? I'm taking a few people to his next show (Infamous) as we haven't seen it yet. Can't wait! Is it as good as the others? I was a little disappointed by his last show (it seemed to fizzle out at the end) but LOVED enigma. Merry Christmas :)

Thanks for a reply :) I really loved Fear and Faith - we watched it as a whole family. I think Derren could do a lot of good with this type of shows and I remember him saying that he did not expect such interest and will definitely go into this direction.

Infamous is stunning. It is pretty much people-centered, very intimate and despite being in a massive theatre - it has a very special atmosphere. Pricey, but worth it.

Awesome. I can't wait :)

I completely believe in the power of placebo, but this entire show looks scripted to me. Just my opinion, of course, but I'm convinced of it.

Definitely wasn't scripted. We're all just awkward in front of the camera so it comes off as badly acted, maybe? The experience we all go through is scripted but the participants are definitely not. The doctors etc are actors who are improvising (we grilled those guys so much and they never missed a beat! They earned their paycheque on that show! haha).

The effect of the placebo is an interesting one isn't it? One participant cleared up his dermatitis through using the placebo and could finally wear his wedding ring! That's pretty special.

I actually think that it looks more like actors trying to act awkward in front of the camera, etc. The only way for me to believe in something like this is going to be experiencing it first hand.

Actors or not, at least it was interesting!

That's fair enough. Many folk say the same thing. A lot of my friends thought Derren used actors before I was on the show. Now they're converts. Would love for you to experience something like I did!

I really don't think anyone can be truly hypnotized...you have some balls for coming on reddit man.

It depends on what you think of as hypnosis. I do? I've found most people in this AMA to be lovely.

I believe people convince themselves that they get hypnotized for real in the very same way that some will convince themselves that they get high by sound waves from computer programs like I-Dozer.

Now, many would say that if one thinks he is hypnotized, then that is essentially the same as him actually being hypnotized, but no, it's not. You bet your ass that if someone in the audience suddenly was to draw a gun, screaming "allahu akbar", he would instantly stop believing that he was a dog or whatever and get the hell out.

I'd agree with you. Obviously the effects vary from person to person but to me it was like a willingness to go with it (similar to how children think they're actually dinosaurs when playing dinosaurs etc). It's a very interesting topic of discussion.

Hypnosis is a voluntary state. Any good course or book on hypnosis will tell you this.

In fact, Derren Brown's book goes into this subject, and he even addresses whether people are truly in some altered state or just "playing along" due to pressure.

He does and I've read it. Feel free to read my replies on here before trying to look ahead of the curve.

Can you talk about the "Derren Brown Penis" clause? I'll take my response off the air.

That penis is something penis that I unfortunately cannot penis talk penis about. But penis thanks penis for the penis question!

Did he feel you up while you were all hypnotized n shit?

Absolutely not. Hypnosis doesn't work that way. You'd be able to stop someone doing that or at least be aware enough of it afterwards I think. I'd hope so. Damn you, You've planted the seed of doubt....

Do you hate that you are so weak minded that someone was actually able to hypnotise you?

On the contrary my friend, I know myself so strongly that I was able to let myself go and experience something unique. It has more to do with imagination and creativity. But enjoy being a Christmas troll. Someone will love you one day.

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Absolutely zero. There was a clause in the contact saying we should be paid £1. I never saw that pound! They gave us lots of pizza and transport though, so that £1 was definitely covered :)

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Well, not really. We were paid nothing at any point. I'm just sharing my experience. Why the hostility though? You have a bad experience or don't believe in it?

You're responding to a troll, don't bother!

D'aw. But I like feeding animals.

I love your positive attitude. :-)

I don't get animosity that people show. It bewilders me. Thank you though buddy :) Kill the haters with niceness.