“You are feeling sleepy, sleepy, sleepy!” If that hypnotic suggestion sounds familiar, you may have watched some cheesy Hollywood B movies that have painted a possibly negative picture about hypnosis. It’s not as schlocky and campy as it’s often portrayed by the entertainment industry.
You don’t go under so totally that you’re not in control of your actions or aware of your surroundings. And despite what you might believe about Franz Mesmer being the founder of hypnosis, that isn’t the case.
Ancient civilizations often used hypnotherapy to treat physical and mental illnesses and disorders. It can be found in the historical records of magic, sorcery, and even medicine.
As far as scientific history goes, Mr. Mesmer probably deserves the credit for introducing hypnotism to the modern scientific community. He was a German physician who employed hypnosis as an alternative treatment for health problems in Paris and Vienna in the late 18th century.
He believed that a force called animal magnetism could flow through a hypnotist into the subject. Positive healing energy could be sent into a patient to correct some health issues. While he was quickly discredited as a reputable scientist, his method was named after him. We still use mesmerism and mesmerize today to refer to someone in a hypnotic or trancelike state.
Introducing Hypnotism and Hypnosis
Fast-forward to the middle of the 19th century. English physician James Braid began a deep study of Franz Mesmer’s methods. He coined the terms hypnosis and hypnotism. Those words are based on the Greek god of sleep, Hypnos.
People were a little less close-minded then, including scientists. Braid was also more polished and well respected than Mesmer had been in his day. Hypnosis began to attract attention across Europe just before the start of the 20thcentury. That’s when Ambroise-Auguste Liebault used mesmeric methods. This little-known French country physician drew the attention of Hippolyte Bernheim, a medical professor in Strasbourg.
Bernheim and Liebault believed hypnosis had nothing to do with physical energy forces, as Mesmer had stated. At about the same time, famed Austrian physician Sigmund Freud began looking into hypnosis for treating neurotic disorders. Hypnosis was eventually used successfully to treat combat neurosis that soldiers developed during World War II.
American psychiatrist Milton Erickson used suggestive language as a type of hypnosis to communicate with the unconscious minds of his patients. He developed the Ericksonian hypnosis method, which he practiced and taught until he died in 1980. In the latter part of the 20th century, the American Psychological Association created the Division 30 Society of Psychological Hypnosis.
The practice of hypnosis and self-hypnosis is now seen by the established medical and scientific communities as a viable treatment method for several mental and physical health issues. It’s no longer seen as fringe science, and self-hypnosis has helped many people create positive life changes.
Leave a Reply