HYPNOTISM & MESMERISM

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MESMERISM
Mesmerism was coined in the 18th century by Anton Mesmer. Mesmerism is a bit of medical quackery at those times

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 In 1770 Mesmer, met Maximillian Hell, a Viennese Jesuit and healer. Fr. Hell cured people with a magnetic steel plate & explained, it is because of magnetic healing power. But Mesmer argued that the curative property is due to the magnetic fluid flowing through everything.

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 Mesmer eventually discovered that he got the same results without the magnets. He posited that " animal magnetism" accounted for his ability to correct the flow of the universal magnetic fluid. Today, the term "animal magnetism" means mesmerism or hypnotic power.
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 Franz Anton Mesmer Born - 1734 in the village of Iznang Graduated in medicine in Vienna at the age of 32. Wrote a dissertation entitled The influence of the planets on the human body. All known theory were now brought together under a single therapeutic umbrella, that of magnetism.
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 Mesmer was convinced that by this means he could alleviate the symptoms of illness such as

Retention of urine, earache, depression, trances, temporary blindness and attacks of paralysis who had hitherto been considered to be incurable.

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James Braid, a well known local surgeon, happened to be present with a colleague. The saw a girl apparently put into a trance, and Braid was so incensed that he went upon stage himself to expose it as a complete fake. To his intense astonishment he found that the trance was perfectly genuine.

MESMERISM changes to HYPNOTISM.?

 He consequently began a series of experiments upon his relatives and friends, and found that he could soon produce a similar trance state quite easily by inducing them to fix their eyes upon a bright object, such as his lancet case. Needless to say his offer was rejected and his paper branded as ridiculous, together with his reports of cures of contractures and disorders of sensibility such as deafness through the use of mesmerism.
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 He also discovered that he obtained excellent results when he used the trance for medical and surgical purposes, and in 1842 he offered to read a paper on the subject for the British association which was meeting in Manchester.
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 Needless to say his offer was rejected and his paper branded as ridiculous, together with his reports of cures of contractures and disorders of sensibility such as deafness through the use of mesmerism. He maintained that animal ,magnetism was a form of sleep brought on by the total concentration of the subject and so he called the condition Hypnos, after the name of the Greek God.
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 The phenomena were due to suggestion alone, acting upon a subject whose suggestibility had been artificially increased. Misdirected attention + Belief +Expectation = The Hypnotic state.
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What is hypnosis?
Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness. It is a state of artificially induced increased suggestibility. It is physiologically quite different from sleep, the EEG recordings are similar to those of waking state. The technique-aims at narrowing the patients attention & awareness to the hypnotist alone. www.similima.com

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 Hypnosis Not a form of sleep, but of concentration that bypasses the usual critical or evaluative activities of the mind. The patient becomes much more open to suggestion and guidance Not so much a loss of control as an openness, agreeing to what someone else is suggesting.
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THEORIES REGARDING NATURE OF HYPNOSIS

SUGGESTION THEORY: NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL THEORY: THEORY OF HEMISPHEII SPECIFICITY:
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Basic needs for successful production of hypnosis are Willingness to co-operate. Confidence. Ability to concentrate.

INDUCTION OF HYPNOSIS

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INITIAL REQUIREMENT FOR ACHIEVEMENT OF HYPNOTIC STATE

Positive motivation Removal of doubts & fears: Fear of failure & over anxiety Fear of hypnotic state itself. Preparation of patients mind.
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STAGES OF HYPNOSIS

Light stage. Medium stage. Deep stage. Somnambulistic stage.

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 Light stage: [anxiety, nervousness] Here EEG recordings of the patient are same as that of himself in a relaxed position 8-12 cycles per second.

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 Medium stage: There is no absolute dividing line between the stages of hypnosis. classification are made for the convenience of the therapy. The medium stage trance begins to develop as the deepening proceeds. The patient begins to look more relaxed. The respiration rate slowly decreases & it becomes evident that simple suggestions given are being acted upon.
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 Deep stage : This is achieved by slowing down the rate of speech using emphasis on words, in order to slow down the rate of respiration. Expression of obvious repose with simultaneous reduction of respiratory rate and flaccidity of limbs indicate that deep stage of hypnosis has been reached.
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 Somnambulistic stage: Patients will open his eyes ,talk and move about & obey other instructions and generally act as if he were awake and yet remain in hypnosis .Its most valuable from hypnotherapy point of view and is an assurance of potential success in treatment.
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 Fixation of attention. Limitation of the field of awareness. Physical relaxation with limitation of voluntary movements. Suspension of all ideas other than those upon which concentration is suggested.

THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF TRANCE INDUCTION

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TYPES OF APPROACH TO ADAPT

Active participation with attention Passivity of mind with distraction

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MANNER OF GIVING AND PHRASING SUGGESTIONS

Alteration in the volume of the voice. Change in the rate of delivery. Stressing particular words. Change in the modulation of voice. Insertion of suitable pause between successive ideas. Loud tones are best avoided. Slow deliberate rhythmical delivery in an even tone of voice will be effective.
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USE OF HYPNOTHERAPY
Most effective in conditions accompanied by strong emotional components, physical disturbances that originate from emotional disturbance. Hypnosis can also afford symptomatic relief in certain chronic physical diseases.
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Conditions in which Hypnotherapy can be used

Neurosis Problems of personality. Psychosexual problems. Miscellaneous problems.

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 Neurosis Anxiety Phobic illness Psychosomatic responses Obsessive compulsive disorders Hysterical conversion symptoms

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Problems of personality
Alcohol, drug addiction, smoking Anorexia, bulimia Social disability stammering Immature personality

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Psychosexual problems
Loss of libido In man premature ejaculation, erectile impotence In women vaginismus

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Miscellaneous problems
Alleviation of pain Obstetrics Surgery Terminal care Dentistry

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CONTRAINDICATIONS TO THE USE OF HYPNOSIS

Depression Schizophrenia Drug dependence Mentally subnormal Pathological personalities Thyroid dysfunction Hypoglycemia Cerebral tumours
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THANK YOU

THANK YOU

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