Posts Tagged ‘Franz Mesmer’
The Birth of Hypnotism
January 5th, 2012 | 
Author: According to one source, hypnosis in the west was derived from the practices of Asian shamans brought West by Jesuit missionaries. However, ancient Celtic priests already claimed to possess a skill called “glamour” which meant to dazzle another’s mind, often with only words.
The man credited with discovering hypnosis in the West is Marquis DePuysegur, a disciple of Dr. Franz Mesmer (1733-1851). From his studies of primitive shamanistic trances, Mesmer developed “animal Magnetism,” an early form of hypnotism. DePuysegur carried on mesmer’s research and during one session he observed one of his patients entering a trance-like state of true hypnotism.
By the mid-1800’s, DePuysegur’s hypnotism (a.k.a “magnetic sleep”) was being used to relieve patients pain during operations in London. After observing patients reactions while in magnetic sleep Sigmund Freud formulated his theory of the unconscious mind.
In 1852, Researcher James Braid coined the term “hypnosis.” Since the, hypnotism has been used to heal and to entertain. Hypnotism has also been used by mind-slayers for dark purposes.
Whether you know it or not, you’ve been in a hypnotic state literally thousands of times. Anytime you’ve been caught daydreaming or being absent-minded, you’ve been under a form of hypnosis. Ninety percent of people can be deliberately hypnotized to some degree and of that number, fully 10 percent are highly suggestible and thus susceptible to being in deep levels of trance.
How does hypnotism work? We still don’t know. We do know, however, that effective hypnotism depends on the power of suggestion.
The term absent-minded is appropriate since during hypnosis our usual controlling conscious “higher” mind is temporarily absent or asleep, while our “lower” subconscious “shadow mind” (responsible for emotion and motor control) is still awake.
Under hypnosis, our brains go to sleep while our lower brains, accustomed to being given commands by our higher brains, continue to take orders from the hypnotist. Thus, under hypnosis, this lower brain simply substitutes the outside commands of the hypnotist for the commands of its sleeping higher brain.
Three things make this hypnosis possible:
First, the subjects focus is narrowed to the point where only a single source of information is coming into the subjects brain, information controlled by the hypnotist. The hypnotist the literally defines reality for the victims subconscious mind.
Second, it is important the subject believe in the process of hypnosis and in the hypnotist.
Finally, for hypnotism to be successful the subject must be willing to suspend logic and temporarily accept distortions in cause and effect, and in his perception of time and space.
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When Did Hypnosis Start?
When it comes to the human mind, many things are still shrouded in mystery. Experts have discovered a lot already, but these are still but an inch of the whole painting. Moreover, some discovered concepts on the human mind are still being debated as they still have a lot of grey areas. One of these concepts is hypnosis. Hypnosis really is an interesting topic. It has been studied for decades already, but still a lot of it is shrouded in mystery. There is still much to discover about it, but the knowledge on it so far is indeed very impressive. The history of hypnosis is indeed very deep. It involves many people, theories and application. Here is a brief history of hypnosis:
The word hypnosis was first coined by brain surgeon James Braid. Hypnosis, as defined by Dr. Braid, was a state of mind where the person is in a state of nervous sleep. Dr. Braid based his studies on the mesmerism or animal magnetism theory of physicist Franz Mesmer. Later, the concept developed in to a more developed theory. Dr. Braid established hypnotism as science rather than just a random practice.
The history of hypnosis progressed as more experts developed its theories. After Dr. Braid, neurologist Jean Martin Charcot used hypnotism as treatment for hysteria. This led to several European experimentations. The studies of Dr. Charcot were carried on by his pupil, Pierre Janet. Janet further developed the practice, establishing the prototype framework for integrating hypnosis into treatment of personality dissociation.
As the theories and practices involved in hypnosis were very controversial, it met a lot of challenges. One of the biggest critics of hypnosis was the Roman Catholic Church. St. Thomas Aquinas was one of the theologians who challenged hypnosis, saying that it can skew a person’s reasoning. Hypnosis and its propagators were able to eclipse issues like these after more success came from experimentations.
Hypnosis also played a role in the American Civil War. Field doctors used hypnosis as a substitute for chemical anesthesia. This was actually the first time hypnosis was practically applied in medicine. Soon after, Ambroise Auguste Liebeault found that a strong rapport between subject and hypnotizer increases effectiveness of hypnosis.
A more modern history of hypnosis started with Emile Coue. Coue declared that hypnosis was a form of conscious autosuggestion and not subconscious instructing. Boris Sidis later formulated a law for suggestion. Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud also contributed to the development of hypnosis. Freud was a student of Dr. Charcot and was also a fellow of Liebeault. He developed hypnosis using abreaction therapy.
Finally, after years of criticism, the Church finally accepted the theories of hypnosis as valid. The Pope approved the practice of hypnosis in 1956, a year after it was approved by the British Medical Association as an applicable practice in psychoneuroses and hypnoanesthesia for surgery and childbirth. Currently, hypnosis is used for many causes such as for addiction and depression. Without a doubt, hypnosis will develop further in the near future.
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Posted in Hypnosis | 
Tags: Boris Sidis, Dr. Braid, Dr. Charcot, Emile Coue, Franz Mesmer, Hypnosis, James Braid, Janet, Jean Martin Charcot, lot, magnetism theory, Pierre, Read, Sigmund Freud, st thomas aquinas, St. Thomas | 
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