Hypnosis. Psychological and Physical Aspects of Hypnosis Essay

The hypnotist induces a trance by slowly persuading the participant to relax and lose all interest in external distractions. The participant is not under the hypnotists control but can be convinced to do things that he or she would not normally do. However, anyone can resist hypnosis by refusing to open his or her mind to the hypnotist.

Freud’s interest in unconscious ideas was sparked in France after watching demonstrations by Jean-Martin Charcot and Hippolyte Bernheim. Charcot showed that hysterical conditions like “glove anesthesia” and blindness without a scientific cause could be cured (though often temporarily) through ideas and suggestions. The idea on the part of the patient that he cannot see or feel his hand or any other number of things can be reversed by the hypnotist’s command to do whatever he believes he cannot. His demonstrations showed that the afflicted were not suffering from a problem in the brain, but rather in the mind.

Hypnosis, as a term and as a practice, is shrouded in centuries of mystery and surrounded by misconception. Even the word itself, derived from the Greek ‘hypnos’, meaning sleep, is misleading; most people today, even if they hadn’t experienced it themselves, would recognise that being in a hypnotic state is not the same as being asleep. In order to reach a satisfactory definition of hypnosis, it is necessary therefore to explore its origins,

Hypnosis is one to the most controversial and misunderstood way of psychological healing. It gives you the

What is hypnosis? Hypnosis has amazing benefits and can enhance people lives in many ways. In modern times, it is unfortunate that Hypnosis is seen as a method of entertaining people instead of it being respected for its true aspects. In reality, hypnosis bears little resemblance to these stereotyped images, as it can improve focus and general well-being mentally and physically. It is a cooperative interaction in which the participant responds to the suggestions of the hypnotist. It can also be described as a sleep like trance state or better expressed as a relaxed creative mind, focused by the individual. Despite stories about people being hypnotised out of their consent hypnosis requires voluntary participation on the part of the

By the 1870s, there were two schools of hypnosis in France. One was run by Dr. Jean Martin Charcot and the other by Doctors Benheim and Liebalt. Around the same time, Sigmund Freud also became interested in hypnosis and visited Benheim and Leibalt’s clinics to learn their techniques. Freud was the first to recognise the importance of the subconscious in psychological disorders, but he later became disillusioned with hypnosis and turned his attentions to psychoanalysis. As a result, the use of psychoanalysis grew in popularity during the first half of the 20th century and with this rise, hypnotherapy became less popular. By the 1950s this situation began to reverse as new research found new uses and positive benefits for using hypnosis as a therapy. Milton Erickson (1901-1980) was a psychotherapist who used hypnosis in his work. Erickson believed that the unconscious mind was

Hypnosis can be traced as far back as the ancient Egyptians where it was used as a means of curing illnesses through suggestion, it was known as the curing sleep. Hypnosis can be described as a sleep like trance and a state of heightened relaxation, that hypnotists today call a trance state this is where you are more susceptible to suggestion and influence. Hypnosis can be used in many ways such as stage entertainment, therapy and as a means of investigation. For example Milton Erickson who is known as the father of modern hypnosis said “You use hypnosis not as a cure but as a means of establishing a

Looking back, it is clear now that hypnosis has been around for many centuries and the use of hypnotic states can be traced back to Shamans or Witch Doctors. In the 1700’s Franz Anton Mesmer produced his theory of “animal magnetism” in which he believed healing forces could be transferred through “cosmic fluid” there is no evidence to support the transfer of the healing energies devised by Mesmer but his success rate was high which lead to his patients being described as “mesmerized” and mesmerism is an early forerunner for modern day hypnosis. Many theories

The first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of hypnosis is usually a magician convincing a person to act like a chicken, however, hypnosis is actually an approach that doctors can use to treat pain, depression, anxiety, phobias, and more. Hypnosis is a state in which a person appears to be under a trance and is extremely concentrated (Brandt). It is not a new concept. In fact, hypnosis has been used by the ancient Egyptians over 2,000 years ago (healing power). In the 1770s, the Austrian physician Franz Anton Mesmer began to study hypnosis scientifically. More recently, it was used during World War I and World War II to treat soldiers who experienced post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental disorders (World Book).

The history of hypnosis is a bit like a history of breathing. Like breathing, hypnosis is an inherent and universal trait, shared and experienced by all human beings since the dawn of time. It’s only in the last few decades that we’ve come to realise that hypnosis itself hasn’t changed for millennia, but our understanding of it and our ability to control it has changed quite profoundly. The history of hypnosis, then, is really the history of this change in perception (History of Hypnosis, 2012). Although through the ages many rituals and practises from all over the world resemble modern day hypnosis, hypnosis from a western medical point of view started in 18th Century

Two others who have helped shape modern-day hypnosis are Dave Elman renowned for his authoritarian and direct approach and Milton Erickson famous for his permissive and indirect

This essay will explore the difference between permissive and authoritarian approaches in hypnotherapy. Included will be history of the two approaches, background of the way they work and practical examples to show the influence they have on clients. Gathering information through various means (which will be discussed in this essay) will help the hypnotherapist create a personalized induction. The essay will explore this personalized induction and see if it will always be most effective to use a script that is modified of tailor made for the particular client.

Kihlstrom (1992) mentioned that ‘hypnosis has matured as both a fascinating topic for scientific research and an effective technique for clinical application’. Hypnosis is an alternative state that raised by the procedure which consist of the hypnotic induction and the specific suggestion. At this state of altered consciousness, participant could have focused attention, reduced peripheral awareness and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion. For example, there were some studies using the hypnotic suggestion as an investigative tool in cognitive neuroscience, such as vision (Kosslyn et al, 2000), attention (Raz, Shapiro, Fan, & Posner, 2002), attentional conflict of the Flanker effect (Iani, Ricci, Gherri, & Rubichi, 2006), and Stroop

Hypnosis explained by the psychology community as an altered state of consciousness that leaves people in a more subjective state, or more likely to listen to verbal suggestions. The term of hypnosis came from the Greek root word for sleep. There have been records of Hypnosis going back 2,500 years in ancient China and Egypt, (Gurgevich, 2011-2015, para.1). Hypnosis or also known as hypnotherapy is said to be used to help you gain control over undesired behaviors or to help you cope better with anxiety or pain, (“Test and Procedures Hypnosis,”2015, Para. 2). An example of how a hypnotherapy session might go like this; a therapist comes in while a patient was in an relaxed state and proceeds to tell the patient that they will be cured from their illness when they came out of the relaxed state and then the patient may or may not be cured.

In the twenty-first century our society has become sceptic on the controversial issue of hypnosis. Our society recognizes hypnosis as a foolish man holding a swinging stopwatch in front of people saying, "When I snap my fingers, you will feel sleepy". Our society does not recognize hypnosis as a way of therapy or treatment. Hypnosis by definition is a trancelike state that resembles sleep but is induced by a person whose suggestions are readily accepted by the subject.