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History
of hypnosis
Franz Anton Mesmer
(1734-1815), an Austrian physician, is widely acknowledged as the
'Father of Hypnosis'. He believed that there was a quasi-magnetic
fluid in the very air we breathe and that the bodys' nerves somehow
absorbed this fluid. As a doctor, his main concern was how to effectively
treat his patients, and he considered disease to be caused via a
blockage of the circulation of this magnetic fluid in the blood
and the nervous system. Curing disease would, in his view, involve
correcting the circulation of this liquid.
Initially, he used a magnet, and later his hand, which was passed
over the diseased body in an attempt to unblock the magnetic flow.
The hand (and later the eyes) was believed to unblock the fluid
by increasing its amount and flow as his hand passed over the affected
area. The term 'animal magnetism' was born, and the procedure referred
to as Mesmerism.
The Marquis de Puysegur (1751-1825), a pupil of Mesmers, used 'animal
magnetism' on a young peasant who entered into a state of sleep
while still being able to communicate with Puysegur and respond
to his suggestions. When the peasant 'awoke' he could remember nothing
of what had occurred. Puysegur thought that the will of the person
and the operators' actions were important factors in the success
or failure of the 'magnetism', in other words psychological influences
were extremely important in the whole process.
John Elliotson (1791-1868), an English physician holding a chair
at University College London was disbarred from the medical profession
as a direct result of his demonstrations of animal magnetism, while
James Esdaile, a surgeon was operating on his patients using 'mesmeric
sleep' as his anesthetic of choice in the 1840s. The medical profession
was therefore divided on its opinion of the usefulness of mesmerism.
It wasn't until 1843 that the terms 'hypnotism' and 'hypnosis' were
coined by James Braid (1795-1860), a Scottish surgeon working in
Manchester. He found that some experimental subjects could go into
a trance if they simply fixated their eyes on a bright object, like
a silver watch.
He believed that some sort of neurophysiological process was involved
and that hypnosis was very useful in disorders where no organic
origin to the problem could be identified (e.g. headaches, skin
problems etc.) He showed that a single stimulus (e.g. a word or
an object) was enough to re-hypnotize his subjects. No-one knew
how the process of hypnosis 'worked', though there were several
theories put forward:
1. Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893), a leading neurologist of his
day and head of the neurological clinic at the famous Saltpetiere
in Paris, used hypnosis to treat hysterics. He concluded that hypnosis
was an induced seizure when his hysteric patients showed epileptic-like
symptoms when they were in a trance.
2. Hippolyte Bernheim (1837-1919), a professor of medicine at the
University of Nancy regarded hypnosis as a special form of sleeping
where the subject's attention is focused upon the suggestions made
by the hypnotist. He therefore emphasized the psychological nature
of the process of hypnosis.
3. By the 1920s, hypnosis became the focus of experimental investigation
by psychologists like Clark L. Hull (1884-1952), who demystified
hypnosis saying that it was essentially a normal part of human nature
(1933). The important factor was the subject's imagination - some
people were more responsive or suggestible' than others to hypnosis.
Conclusion:
Support for the teaching of the therapeutic use of hypnosis in medicine
finally came in 1955 from the British Medical Association, who was
closely followed in 1958 by the American Medical Association. Today,
an International Society of Hypnosis coordinates and assesses standards
and practices of professional hypnotists across the world. Hypnosis
is currently used in dentistry, medicine and psychology and has
proved helpful if used alongside more conventional treatments and
therapies.
It has received a 'bad press' of late, mainly due to the unscrupulous
practices of some stage hypnotists, but its professional use in
treating both physical and mental disorders continues to thrive.
Now it is generally seen as a form of 'relaxation', and it is possible
to teach individuals how to hypnotize themselves (via progressive
relaxation techniques). It is widely used in the treatment of addictions
(e.g. in aiding smoking cessation), but should always be conducted
by a professional in a controlled setting.
Misuse of hypnosis can have dire consequences, and may be especially
harmful in the treatment of people who were sexually abused as children
(as is the case in False Memory Syndrome). Care should always be
taken when hypnosis is to be employed and patients should be 'brought
out' of the hypnotic trance before they leave the clinic. Historically,
the use of 'trances' is much older than Mesmers' findings but it
was the Austrian physician who first brought the process to the
attention of the medical community.
The
Institute of Hypnotherapy
Edison, New Jersey 08837
190 Lincoln Highway
(732) 446-5995
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