{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T19:57:22Z","timestamp":1787169442716,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,15]],"date-time":"2024-01-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1705276800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"MTA-ELTE Lend\u00fclet Adaptation Research Group, Institute of Psychology, ELTE E\u00f6tv\u00f6s Lor\u00e1nd University"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Brain Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This paper proposes the \u201ccalm contact\u201d technique: an imaginative scenario where someone is in gentle contact with a loved one where the essence of the experience is to enjoy safety and calmness in peaceful social contact. The theoretical background is outlined by combining the brain mechanisms of stress reactions and hypnosis. In addition to the ancient stress responses (flight or fight or freeze), there are oxytocin-based options at the human level: tend and befriend behavior and the state of calm and connection, which is not a stress reaction but a resting reaction. These social-based reactions could prevent the organism from the primitive freezing response. Some studies proved that \u201chypnosis\u201d as a setting reduces cortisol levels and could raise oxytocin levels. The beneficial mechanisms of the \u201ccalm contact\u201d technique are analyzed in relation to \u201csocial support\u201d and the psychoaffective effects of central oxytocin. The subjective effects of the proposed technique are outlined based on reports of healthy volunteers. The \u201ccalm contact\u201d technique could be an alternative or adjunct to the \u201csafe place\u201d technique, applying the recent findings of endocrinological brain mechanisms of hypnosis. Clinical implications and limitations are briefly summarized.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci14010083","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,15]],"date-time":"2024-01-15T11:15:01Z","timestamp":1705317301000},"page":"83","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Calm Contact Technique Based on the Endocrinological Mechanism of Hypnosis\u2014A Theoretical Proposal"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Katalin","family":"Varga","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Affective Psychology Department, ELTE E\u00f6tv\u00f6s Lor\u00e1nd University, 1064 Budapest, Hungary"},{"name":"MTA-ELTE Lend\u00fclet Adaptation Research Group, Institute of Psychology, ELTE E\u00f6tv\u00f6s Lor\u00e1nd University, 1053 Budapest, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zita S.","family":"Nagy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mixed Profile Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Department, National Institute for Medical Rehabilitation, 1121 Budapest, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cannon, W.B. 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