The story of Hypnotism

Use of hypnosis has been documented since times immemorial. Sammohan, from ancient Hindu texts, Sleep Temples of Ancient Egypt and Greece and numerous mentions of hypnosis in one form or another in the Holy Bible are just a few examples.The modern use of hypnosis is associated with Franz Anton Mesmer, a late 1700s doctor from Vienna. Mesmer banked upon the existing folk-lore and peoples’ traditional wisdom and evolved his own form of hypnosis through experimentation. His technique was not verbal but he depended on using magentic induction to bring his subjects under a (hypnotic) trance. He coined the term Animal Magnetism to name this process.

Whether Mesmer was aware of any medical antecedents to his work is still not clear. He has stated that he was inspired to learn his form of hypnosis, after seeing the healing work of a priest, Maximilian Hell, in 1774. The priest, reportedly, was able to treat persons suffering from spiritual ailments.Mesmer’s work was an instant hit among the upperclass citizens of France. There was a general acceptance to his claim that there was some kind of invisible fluid (invisible force) that moved from the magnetizer (usually a man) to the person seeking a cure (usually a woman) for any ailment. Mesmer believed that any illness meant that there was some sort of imbalance of a universal fluid within the body of the patient. The induction of animal magnetism created a healthy redistribution of this fluid to cure the patient. According to Mesmer, this process was an invisible physiological process like electricity or magentism - subjects of great interest to scientist of that age. His so called "scientific" explanation for the creation of healing convulsion as contrasted with contemporary faith healing, has brought the credit for founding dynamic psychiatry to Mesmer. Initial technique of Mesmer was the use of magnetized object that his patients could touch, or magnetized water that they could drink or pour over themselves. In large gatherings, the people could be connected by a rope to a magnetized tree, or sit around and touching a hot tub. Mesmer soon discovered that
simple "passes" made by him using his hands were sufficient to put patients into a trance. In Mesmer’s technique, the patients usually went into a convulsive hysterical motion after which they felt relieved and refreshed.

Marquis de Puysegur, a disciple of Mesmer, was responsible for totally altering the practice of "animal magnetism". He focused his attention on what happened to people in deep hypnosis and named it magnetic somnambulism. He observed that when someone was in this state their symptoms and behavior could be influenced by what the "magnetiser" said. Puysegur is said to have developed the following principles, all of which have stood the test of time and still guide most therapists today:

— Convulsions were not necessary; words were sufficient,

— the magnetist had to listen to the person seeking relief, often the client had to re-experience painful feelings,

— the sessions had to be of regular frequency and duration,

— the magnetist had to be neutral and patient,

— symptoms might return temporarily.

While in a deep magnetic sleep, the client was asked to establish his own diagnosis... and the form of his treatment... He was also asked to predict the development of his treatment: when he would recover, when the attacks would occur, etc. This was a kind of psychodrama in which the patient caused the magnetist to play a part in a series of successive catharses.

Unfortunately the positive results of Mesmer’s work or the psychological implications of the illnesses and the results of his treatment were not properly documented. The skeptics also did not comprehend that the cures were genuine enough even if there appeared to be no physical or organic origin to the illness.A century later Sigmund Freud’s system of psychoanalysis pushed hypnosis out of the limelight. However the theories of hypnosis and psychoanalysis overlapped. Freud did not use the label of hypnotism but his technique of psychoanalysis was quiet similar to hypnosis. Freud infact used the power of therapeutic hypnosis for many years. He also translated books written by the leading practitioners. As psychoanalysis grew in popularity, hypnosis fell out of favor for decades. Its use as an anasthetic was also superseded by chemical methods.Stage hypnotists kept the art alive. Several of them began to use hypnosis off-stage to help people, for example, to overcome shyness or stuttering, to change bad habits such as smoking and nailbiting.

Today, scientists believe that hypnosis is triggered anytime a person is remembering a sequence of events. Such a recall process is a crucial part of many current therapeutic methods. Thus many therapists who claim no expertise with hypnosis unwittingly use it in their work.Meanwhile, research into hypnosis in the West, continued within the walls of universities. These scientific findings confirmed and amplified the knowledge about hypnosis that had been gained in the past and confirmed contemporaneously by courageous clinical practitioners. In the 1950s both the British and the American Medical Associations acknowledged the value of hypnosis as a tool for healing. Despite this, only a minority of doctors practised hypnotherapy.

The new respectability of hypnosis in scientific and medical circles was matched by exciting developments in therapy offices. Spurred on by the example of geniuses such as Milton Erickson more and more psychologists and other professionals endorsed hypnotherapy and developed innovative techniques for its use with troubled clients.

Because psychoanalytic therapy drags on and on for years, and rarely, if ever, results in a cure and is very expensive, it has waned in popularity. The late 1990s’ thirst by clients, insurance companies and psychotherapists for short-term, cost-effective methods makes hypnotherapy an attractive alternative in the West.