Question:

Is it possible for a person to enter a hypnotic state while under anesthesia?

Answer:

Really interesting question. First and foremost thing to mention is that anesthesia itself can be a result of hypnosis, it need not be drug induced, but as most people think of it as only drug induced, I’ll just stick with that definition.

Yes, it is quite possible, with the caveat of the depth of anesthesia (and of course how you define ‘hypnotic state’, but I don’t think that’s the crux of the matter here). If the person is unconscious, although there may be some awareness it’s unlikely to be enough to make hypnosis possible (or worthwhile if it it achieved). For light anesthesia, yes, there should be little issue at all.

So to give a very quick answer, it really comes down to It depends. There is a surprising amount of crossover between the two though.

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