A Brief History of Hypnosis
Hypnosis and therapy using hypnosis is nothing new: It has been practiced and used ever since the dawn of civilization. For example, a Greek engraving dated 928 B.C. depicts a well-known physician, Chiron, placing a patient in a hypnotic trance. The Delphic Oracle and many other ancient writings mention the curative powers of hypnosis. Additional records of the earliest hypnotic sessions were recorded on a stone stele from Egypt in the reign of Ramses XII of the Twentieth Dynasty, some 3000 years ago. Centuries ago, the Persian magi, the Hindu fakirs, and the Indian yogi used hypnosis without realizing it. Throughout history, however, the use of hypnosis waxed and waned.
The modern use of hypnosis was inspired, among many others, by Franz Anton Mesmer (1733-1815), an Austrian physician. Mesmer created a hypnotic method that he called animal magnetism. As Mesmer’s healing methods became famous he created a baquet, or a large tub, which was filled with iron filings. Mesmer’s patients grasped metal rods that were connected to this device to experience a “magnetic” flow. Thirty or more persons were connected by cords and were magnetized as Mesmer touched each patient with a glass rod. Many of these patients developed seizures or outbursts similar to those observed among some religious sects. Mesmer originally claimed that magnetism emanated from the astral bodies, and later that it was transferred from himself to the patient by his magnetic wand.
In 1784, the French Academy stated that the cures Mesmer achieved were due to imagination not magnetism. The Academy issued a negative report, which temporarily discredited Mesmer’s contributions to the use of hypnosis.
Inadvertently, however, Mesmer’s work laid the precedent for present-day group psychotherapy, spiritual healing, imagery conditioning, and psychoanalysis. Charles d’Eslon, a pupil of Mesmer, remarked, “If the medicine of imagination is the best, why should we not practice the medicine of imagination.” Unfortunately, this wisdom has been neglected for nearly 200 years.
The present resurrection of hypnosis is contributed to the pressing need to treat many psychosomatic conditions of both World War I and World War II veterans who would not respond to traditional medical treatment. Other wars put medical personnel in situations in which the lack of anesthetic had to be substituted for by the use hypnosis and hypnotic pain control. As the use of hypnosis has been brought to the forefront once again, it is slowly being accepted into mainstream medical care.
| Some physicians – the present day pioneers – embrace, use, and recommend hypnosis to their patients. For instance, Dr. Herbert Benson, known to have made a tremendous contribution to the understanding of the mind/body connection, recognizes that the states he induces in his patients share common elements with hypnosis. Similarly, Dr. Deepak Chopra endorses the use of hypnosis in the treatment of various conditions. Dr. Andrew Weil, the author of the book Spontaneous Healing (and many other publications), writes that he frequently refers patients to hypnotherapists because he has seen it produce excellent results in many illnesses that are managed poorly by conventional medicine. Among these illnesses are a wide range of skin and gastrointestinal ailments, allergies, autoimmune diseases, and chronic pain. Dr. Weil states that diseases of the skin and gastrointestinal tract should be assumed to have an emotional basis until proved otherwise, because these systems are the most frequent sites of expression of stress-induced imbalances.
The use of hypnosis as an adjunct to traditional medical treatment, however, seems to be limited only by its practitioners. Literally, there is no medical condition or ailment that cannot be assisted by the use of hypnosis and hypnotherapy.
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