Hypnotising A Subject to Feel No Pain - Derren Brown

A good communicator affects our physiology. The power of voice can entrance us, even induce or remove pain. I came to the old operating theatre at London Bridge. You're all medical students? Have you been here before? It is a remarkable place. This is where they used to perform amputations. Imagine yourself delirious with fear. There's no anaesthetic. Hold you down. And hope that you'd just pass out before they'd finished. So I want to try something with all of you. And while it may be a bit disturbing, I can absolutely guarantee your safety. If you don't want to do this, that's absolutely fine. You can say so. But if you do, once you're in, you're in. And there's no going back. Are you all happy to do this? No. You don't want to do it? No. Sure? Absolutely fine. Are you going to make your way back out there? So let's begin. It's very easy to get an idea in somebody's head. Do you study dentistry as part of the course? No. No? The whole area of toothache is an interesting one. Often what happens is the nerves at the actual base of the tooth, like right in there, right where the base of the tooth would be, go bad right in there. You must have had really bad toothache. The first sort of tingling feeling that you get, how would you describe this sort of toothache pain? Constant pain. Yeah? You're feeling that now, aren't you? Yeah. Yeah? What's that like? Sharp, down, straight across. Mm-hmm. You're genuinely feeling that now? Genuinely feeling it. Mm-hmm. Straight down. Sometimes it's the sort of thing that can spread. Are you getting it in your gums or is it in the teeth itself? It's also everywhere. Yeah? Down your jaw. Down your jaw? Yeah. And when it gets worse and it gets worse... ..and then suddenly it's gone. And gone. And you don't feel anything at all. It's like it's anaesthetised. You feel nothing. Nothing at all. Like in the back of your hand there. It's like a blueness. It's like a blueness in the hand. Nothing. Try pinching it. What's it like? Nothing. Clemmy and not responsive at all. I imagine you can probably feel your wrist. You can feel your arm. You really not feel that? Seriously. Would you be happy to bash that or twist it really hard or stick something through it? Yeah. Would you be happy to stick a needle through it? Yeah. Would you be happy to do that now? If I gave you a needle? Yeah. Just to show us that really is dead. You'd be happy? Yeah. These are sterilised hypodermic needles. You want to hold that in that hand. You really can't feel that, can you? Absolutely dead. It's just like a piece of dead meat on the table. It's like sticking a needle through a piece of dead meat. Go on, just push it through. Push it right through. Now the other side. Right through. Oh, my. You can't feel a thing, can you? No. How does it make you feel? Weird. That is... weird. It's just a dead hand. Have you ever seen anything like that before? No. And you're not bleeding? You're completely happy with that? Completely happy with that. Pull it back out. Gently. No blood. No bleeding. Now the feeling's going to come back in your hand now. There'll be no pain. You'll find you can start moving your fingers now, moving your hand. I saw the needle there, and then it just came back out the other side, and I'm thinking, now this really should be hurting, but just nothing at all. When you took the needle out, you just couldn't see anywhere that the needle had been. I was really surprised. I thought there'd be some blood at least. It was an amazing experience. Impressed. Very, very impressed. I want you to land the aeroplane. When you get close to the ground, you're going to have to just pull back a little bit or more on the stick than you have been. Pull it towards me. I am so very, very proud of you, Matt. This is the proudest moment in my career.