Definition [edit] Hypnotism versus mesmerism Hypnotism is often, mistakenly, thought to be the same as mesmerism, its histori cal

precursor. According to Hans Eysenck, The terms "mesmerise" and "hypnotise" have become quite synonymous, and most peo ple think of Mesmer as the father of hypnosis, or at least as its discoverer and first conscious exponent. Oddly enough, the truth appears to be that while hypn otic phenomena had been known for many thousands of years, Mesmer did not, in fa ct, hypnotise his subjects at all. It is something of a mystery why popular beli ef should have firmly credited him with a discovery which in fact was made by ot hers.(Eysenck, Sense & Nonsense in Psychology, 1957: 30-31) Franz Anton Mesmer held that trance and healing were the result of the channelli ng of a mysterious "occult" force called "animal magnetism". In the mid-18th Cen tury, this became the basis of a very large and popular school of thought termed "Mesmerism". However, in 1843, the Scottish surgeon James Braid proposed the th eory of hypnotism as a radical alternative, in opposition to Mesmerism. Braid ar gued that the occult qualities of Mesmerism were illusory and that its effects w ere due to a combination of "nervous fatigue" and verbal suggestion. A bitter wa r of words developed between Braid and the leading exponents of Mesmerism. I beg farther to remark, if my theory and pretensions, as to the nature, cause, and extent of the phenomena of nervous sleep [i.e., hypnotism] have none of the fascinations of the transcendental to captivate the lovers of the marvellous, th e credulous and enthusiastic, which the pretensions and alleged occult agency of the mesmerists have, still I hope my views will not be the less acceptable to h onest and sober-minded men, because they are all level to our comprehension, and reconcilable with well-known physiological and psychological principles. (James Braid, Hypnotic Therapeutics, 1853: 36) However, there is agreement that the origin of modern hypnosis is with the metho ds employed in Mesmerism. Whilst Braid differed in offering an explanation of hy pnotic effects that did not rely on supernatual forces, he credited the methods used in hypnosis to the practice of Mesmerism. Braid said of the subject: Hypnotism might therefore not inaptly be designated, Rational Mesmerism, in cont ra-distinction to the Transcendental Mesmerism of the Mesmerists.[2] In their original committee report on hypnotherapy, the British Medical Associat ion (BMA), likewise, made a point of condemning the occult theories of Mesmerism and sharply distinguishing them from hypnotism. The Committee, having completed such investigation of hypnotism as time permitte d, have to report that they have satisfied themselves of the genuineness of the hypnotic state. No phenomena which have come under their observation, however, l end support to the theory of animal magnetism . ("Report on Hypnotism", British Medical Journal, 1892). Whereas Mesmerism is a supernatural theory, hypnotism attempted to explain the s ame phenomena in terms of psychology and physiology. As Braid puts it, it is a s cientific and "psycho-physiological" (mind-body) discipline. There is no doubt that some individuals have suffered the ill effects of being i nvolved in stage hypnotic shows. Stage hypnotists use words like 'magic' and 'co ntrol' in an attempt to mystify the effects of hypnosis. In addition, using vari ous tests of hypnotic suggestibility, they focus on 'hypnotic virtuosos' and pro vide the audience with hours of entertainment at the participants' expense. Trai ned hypnotherapists, or rather therapists who use hypnosis as an adjunct to thei r treatment programme, create an environment by which the clients can access the ir inner resources in their own, unique way. Therapists, unlike stage hypnotists , who give the illusion that individuals are out of control , give the control to the i ndividuals.[3] [edit] Definition of Hypnotherapist A therapist who utilizes hypnosis as a primary tool for assisting clients to ach ieve their goals. A Hypnotherapist often differs from others therapists by focus ing on the role of subconscious behaviors and influences on the client's life. In 1973, Dr. John Kappas, Founder of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, wrote an

d defined the profession of a Hypnotherapist in the Federal Dictionary of Occupa tional Titles: "Induces hypnotic state in client to increase motivation or alter behavior patte rns: Consults with client to determine nature of problem. Prepares client to ent er hypnotic state by explaining how hypnosis works and what client will experien ce. Tests subject to determine degree of physical and emotional suggestibility. Induces hypnotic state in client, using individualized methods and techniques of hypnosis based on interpretation of test results and analysis of client's probl em. May train client in self-hypnosis conditioning."[4 Traditional hypnotherapy The form of hypnotherapy practiced by most Victorian hypnotists, including James Braid and Hippolyte Bernheim, mainly employed direct suggestion of symptom remo val, with some use of therapeutic relaxation and occasionally aversion to alcoho l, drugs, etc.[5] This simple form of treatment employed relatively direct metho ds and few theoretical constructs, but has continued to influence most subsequen t forms of hypnotherapy Medical hypnosis [edit] Hypnosis in childbirth Main article: Hypnotherapy in childbirth Hypnotherapy has long been used in relation to childbirth. It is used during pre gnancy to prepare a mother for birth, and during childbirth to reduce anxiety, d iscomfort and pain.[12] [edit] Hypnosis in surgery Main article: Hypnosurgery In the middle of the 19th century, Mesmerists used hypnosis to alleviate pain an d distress during surgery. Most notably, James Esdaile in India and John Elliots on in England were renowned for their work in this area. The founder of hypnothe rapy, James Braid was a surgeon himself, specialising in muscular conditions, an d has reported many cases of minor surgery using hypnotism. [edit] Psychotherapy Hypnotism was originally used to treat the condition known in the Victorian era as hysteria. Modern hypnotherapy is widely used in the treatment of anxiety, sub clinical depression, and certain habit disorders, as well as in the treatment of conditions such as insomnia. The term subconscious is used in many different contexts and has no single or pr ecise definition. This greatly limits its significance as a definition-bearing c oncept, and in consequence the word tends to be avoided in academic and scientif ic settings. In everyday speech and popular writing, however, the term is very commonly encou ntered as a layperson's replacement for the unconscious mind, which in Freud's o pinion is a repository for socially unacceptable ideas, wishes or desires, traum atic memories, and painful emotions put out of mind by the mechanism of psycholo gical repression. However, the contents do not necessarily have to be solely neg ative. In the psychoanalytic view, the unconscious is a force that can only be r ecognized by its effects it expresses itself in the symptom. Unconscious thoughts ar e not directly accessible to ordinary introspection, but are supposed to be capa ble of being "tapped" and "interpreted" by special methods and techniques such a s meditation, random association, dream analysis, and verbal slips (commonly kno wn as a Freudian slip), examined and conducted during psychoanalysis. Carl Jung developed the concept further. He divided the unconscious into two parts: the pe rsonal unconscious and the collective unconscious. The personal unconscious is a reservoir of material that was once conscious but has been forgotten or suppres sed. The idea of the "subconscious" as a powerful or potent agency has allowed the te rm to become prominent in the New Age and self-help literature, in which investi gating or controlling its supposed knowledge or power is seen as advantageous. I n the New Age community, techniques such as autosuggestion and affirmations are

believed to harness the power of the subconscious to influence a person's life a nd real-world outcomes, even curing sickness. Skeptical Inquirer magazine critic ized the lack of falsifiability and testability of these claims.[1] Physicist Al i Alousi, for instance, criticized it as unmeasurable and questioned the likelih ood that thoughts can affect anything outside the head.[2] In addition, critics have asserted that the evidence provided is usually anecdotal and that, because of the self-selecting nature of the positive reports, as well as the subjective nature of any results, these reports are susceptible to confirmation bias and se lection bias.[3] The word "subconscious" is an anglicized version of the French subconscient as c oined by the psychologist Pierre Janet. Janet himself saw the subconscient as ac tive in hypnotic suggestion and as an area of the psyche to which ideas would be consigned through a process that involved a "splitting" of the mind and a restr iction of the field of consciousness.[citation needed] This article is about the development of concepts, beliefs and practices related to hypnosis and hypnotherapy from prehistoric to modern times. Although often viewed as one continuous history, the term hypnosis only gained w idespread use in the 1880s, initially amongst those influenced by the developmen ts in France, some twenty years after the death of James Braid who had adopted the term hypnotism in 1841. Braid adopted the term hypnotism (which specifically applied to the state of the subject, rather than techniques applied by the operator) to contrast his own, u nique, subject-centred, approach with those of the operator-centred mesmerists w ho preceded him James Braid The Scottish surgeon James Braid coined the term "hypnotism" in his unpublished Practical Essay on the Curative Agency of Neuro-Hypnotism (1842) as an abbreviat ion for "neuro-hypnotism," meaning "sleep of the nerves." Braid fiercely opposed the views of the Mesmerists, especially the claim that their effects were due t o an invisible force termed "animal magnetism," and the claim that their subject s developed paranormal powers such as telepathy. Instead, Braid adopted a skepti cal position, influenced by the philosophical school of Scottish Common Sense Re alism, attempting to explain the Mesmeric phenomena on the basis of well-establi shed laws of psychology and physiology. Hence, Braid is regarded by many as the first true "hypnotist" as opposed to the Mesmerists and other magnetists who pre ceded him. Braid ascribed the "mesmeric trance" to a physiological process resulting from p rolonged attention to a bright moving object or similar object of fixation. He p ostulated that "protracted ocular fixation" fatigued certain parts of the brain and caused a trance a "nervous sleep" or, from the Greek, "neuro-hypnosis." Later Braid simplified the name to "hypnotism" (from the Greek hypnos, "sleep"). Finally, realizing that "hypnotism" was not a kind of sleep, he sought to chang e the name to "monoideism" ("single-idea-ism"), but the term "hypnotism," and it s cognate "hypnosis," have stuck. Braid is credited with writing the first ever book on hypnotism, Neurypnology (1 843). After Braid's death in 1860, interest in hypnotism temporarily waned, and gradually shifted from Britain to France, where research began to grow, reaching its peak around the 1880s with the work of Hippolyte Bernheim and Jean-Martin C harcot.