Hypnotism Essays - Hypnosis, James Braid, Hypnotherapy,

Hypnotism By:Rick Gambrino The Encarta Encyclopedia defines hypnosis as,"altered state of consciousness and heightened responsiveness to suggestion; it may be induced by normal persons by a variety of methods and has been used occasionally in medical and psychiatric treatment. Most frequently brought about through actions of an operator, or "hypnotist", who engages the attention of a subject and assigns certain tasks to him or her while uttering monotonous, repetitive verbal commands; such tasks may include muscle relaxation, eye fixation, and arm leviation. Hypnosis also may be self-induced, by trained relaxation, concentration on one's own breathing, or by a variety of monotonous practices and rituals that are found in many mystical, philosophical, and religious systems." Another generally reliable source Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines it as,"a sleep like condition psychically induced, usually by another person, in which the subject loses consciousness but responds, with certain limitations, to the suggestions of the hypnotist." As I stated earlier, these two sources are very reputed and the general population believes that they are correct. Yet, however often they may be correct, in this case they are not, or at least not completely. Not according to the scientific community at least. My sources for this statement are The World Book Encyclopedia, The Wizard from Vienna: Franz Anton Mesmer, Applied Hypnosis: An Overview, American Medical Journal, and Hypnosis: Is It For You? Although they state it in different ways they all basically agree that nobody can give a very accurate definition or description of hypnosis, or hypnosis. Although some may get the definition partly correct, the chances of doing so completely are very, very low. So although I will probably not be able to give a totally accurate account of hypnosis and its workings, I will try. Although evidence suggests that hypnosis has been practiced in some form or another for several thousand years, such as in coal walking, the earliest recorded history of hypnosis begins in 1734. It begins with a man named Franz Anton Mesmer. Although he was eventually disavowed by the scientific community because of his unorthodox methods that made him seem more of a mysticist that a scientist, he is generally known as the father of hypnotism. Mesmer called his methods Mesmerism, thus the word mesmerize, but the name didn't stick, it later changed to hypnosis, its name being derived from Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep. He believed that hypnosis was reached by using a person's "animal magnetism". He used "mesmerism" to cure illness. In 1795 an English physician named James Braid, who was originally opposed to Mesmer's methods became interested. He believed that cures were not due to animal magnetism however, but the power of suggestion. This was the generally accepted opinion of the scientific community. Then in 1825 Jean Marie Charcot, a French neurologist, disagreed with "The Nancy School of Hypnotism", which followed the guidelines of James Braid's ideas. Charcot believed that hypnosis was simply a "manifestation of hysteria". He revived Mesmer's theory of animal magnetism and identified the three stages of the trance; lethargy, catalepsy, and somnambulism. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936) was not a scientist who worked with hypnosis. Although he had nothing to do with the hypnotic development itself, his Stimulus Response Theory is a cornerstone linking and anchoring behaviors, particularly NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming). Emily Coue (1857-1926) a physician, formulated the Laws of Suggestion which are greatly used in the hypnotic community. Her first law is The Law of Concentrated Attention: "Whenever attention is concentrated on an idea over and over again, it spontaneously tends to realize itself". The second law is- The Law of Reverse Action: "The harder one tries to do something, the less chance one has of success." Finally, the last law is The Law of Dominant Effect: "A stronger emotion tends to replace a weaker one." Milton Erickson (1932-1974), a psychologist and psychiatrist pioneered the art of indirect suggestion in hypnosis. He is considered the father of modern hypnosis. His methods bypassed the conscious mind through the use of both verbal and nonverbal pacing techniques including metaphor, confusion, and many others. He was definitely a major influence in contemporary hypnotherapy's acceptance by the American Medical Association. There are many misconceptions about hypnosis that