Apex effect

The apex effect is a peculiar psychological effect, seen when practicing hypnosis, Thought Field Therapy or Emotional Freedom Techniques, is called the apex effect.

People affected by the apex effect may have lost their fear, pain, or whatever the symptom had been during the treatment, but will not credit the outcome to the treatment itself, trying to find other explanations ("You've just distracted me", "Its hypnosis", "It's a placebo effect," "It happened so long ago," "I only feel it when it really happens," "The problem wasn't that serious, anyway.")  Moments earlier, the patient may have been saying that the problem was current, serious, and that he was presently feeling its effects.

At the high end of the apex effect, the person might not even remember that they ever had the problem at all which is a most disconcerting thing - one minute, they recoil at the very mention of the word "Spider", and ten minutes later, they may insist that it had never been a problem in the first place.

Many people find that because EFT relieves them of serious problems quickly and effectively, their logical, conscious mind cannot accept it as being the reason for their relief. More traditional methods may have been far less effective with far greater effort, and sudden relief of the problem may seem incredible.

A person who has been hypnotized, and who remembers the suggestions that were given to him, may deny that hypnosis had anything to do with it. He went to a buffet and chose small amounts of low-calorie foods, because it was the rational thing to do (though he had been unable to do that previously.) He has begun an exercise program because he has finally made time to do that, even though he had not previously done that, and finding time was included in the suggestion. A person finally gets started doing her master's thesis, does not believe that hypnotism had anything to do with it (until she has a thought about wanting to do more, but will get a good night's sleep so she can do better work tomorrow, and realizes that was the exact wording of the suggestion.)

A person who has been hypnotized to close a classroom window whenever the professor says a certain word, may say he did that because he was too cool, and denies the effect of hypnotism, even when reminded of the suggestion. The rationalization seems more plausible to his left brain than an explanation of an effect that he can't sense, and doesn't perceive when it occurs.

This phenomenon also occurs during split-brain experiments, in which the left and right parts of a person's brain have been separated, and are unable to directly communicate with one another. Things done by the right brain are explained away by the left brain, even though the person is informed of how a behavior occurred. An external explanation is believed because it seems more plausible.