Hypnosis: A Case Study

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,

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

The history of hypnosis dates back to the times of ancient Egypt and it has been quite a contentious history. From Mesmer to de Puysegur in the 1700’s; from the first use of the term hypnosis by Braid in 1840 to it’s use as an anaesthetic in surgery by Esdaile and Elliotson; from the work of Erikson (widely

Hypnosis has proven to involve much activity in the brain. It is much more than a person obeying, there are underlying mechanisms in the brain that are still being studied today.

Hypnosis has a positive effect on the performance of athletes. Though hypnosis and athletic performance are two very different topics, they surprisingly go hand in hand when creating a high performance athlete. Hypnosis is defined as relaxation training which allows a person to become uncritically accepting of suggestions from a certified therapist (Ferguson, 2015). The history of Hypnosis began with Franz Mesmer (1734-1815) in 1774 who was infamous for using his personality and a tool for persuasion. The term hypnosis was brought into effect by James Braid, who believed hypnosis was to be considered a “nervous sleep” based on the Greek word “hypno” meaning sleep. In 1889, the first international congress dedicated to therapeutic and experimental hypnosis arouse, as well as the main theoreticians Wundt and James, began publishing scientific papers regarding hypnosis (Holdevici,2014).

Hypnosis is nothing new, in fact it has been widely practiced since the early 1700”s

Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness in which a person is susceptible to suggestion. In general "Hypnosis is a therapeutic technique in which clinicians make suggestions to individuals who have undergone a procedure designed to relax them and focus their minds"(Hypnosis). There is a lot of misconception regarding hypnosis, for example, many people believe that the hypnotized person has not control over their actions and that hypnotized person is acting involuntary, but this is entirely false. Although hypnosis a controversial tool, especially when used in therapy to recover repressed memories it can be an effective therapeutic technique for a broad range of conditions, like anxiety and mood disorders. Hypnosis can also help people

Prior to reading this chapter, I absolutely had preconceived notions concerning hypnosis. I was extremely skeptical about the ability to transform someone into a subconscious state of mind and have them voluntarily recall information about their past. Yet, on the other hand, I’ve always been terrified of the idea of being hypnotized. I, like many others, have been told stories about individuals that have been hypnotized for one reason or another and were made to perform embarrassing behaviors. For example, one may be told when they hear a phone ring they are to bark like a dog. The connection between the ring and barking remains until someone transforms them back into their conscious state of mind. As silly as that sounds, it’s that thought

Hypnosis has always held a fascination for me. Even when I was little, I had a keen interest in the topic as it seemed both mysterious and mesmerizing to me. However, I was always skeptical as to its authenticity. Sometimes, it looked too theatrical to be genuine. This year, I took a psychology course and was re-introduced to hypnosis. In order to develop a deeper understanding of it, I gathered more information about the topic and learned that it was not, at all, fake. In addition to hypnosis, I also studied about other variations in consciousness and dreaming, as these topics were all combined into the same area of learning. I was keenly disappointed to discover that hypnosis covered only a page and a half in my psychology textbook. I felt that I needed to learn more so I could get decent background knowledge of the topic. Therefore, I was quite excited when I was given this project.

Today I am going to speak about the history of hypnosis by introducing the most influential figures in the development of hypnosis, and finally, the strong healing features of hypnosis in a number of medical conditions.

Hypnosis: a highly controversial topic in the medical field. Capable of changing a person’s behavior, modifying daily routines, causing odd reactions to normal things, plus countless other phenomena’s. Many people believe that the mystic of hypnosis does not exist and is just a simple stage routine used for entertainment. But, in this report, I will prove that on the stage, in the therapy office, and in the mass public, Hypnosis does exist and is capable of changing our behavior and that it is a very delicate process and not a power to be taken lightly.

Hypnosis is often used in many areas, medically. It is used in rehabilitation, habit and learning control, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, the inquiry into the studies of personality disorders, and a number of other disciplines (Teitelbaum). There is often much pain in medical procedures and diagnosis’ such as, contact lens fittings, childbirth, physio psychological disorders, and the treatment of asthma. Hypnosis not only relieves the pain of these instances but also many others by distracting the patient, in a way, or convincing them, mentally, that the procedure is not painful and relaxes them

When most hear the word hypnotism, they think of a mysterious, suited figure waving a pocket watch back and forth in front of someone’s eyes. Most picture this ominous man guiding his subject into a semi-sleep, zombie-like state with absolute ease. Once hypnotized, the subject effortlessly moves and speaks and acts as if they are on an invisible leash guided by the hypnotist. We believe the subject is compelled to obey any command, no matter how strange or unreasonable, muttering, “Yes, master.” This popular representation is what is shown of hypnotism in movies and television, but in fact, it is so much different. People have been pondering and arguing over hypnosis for more than 200 years, but science has yet to fully explain how it

This means that we can judge and we can think. Hypnotism seeks to go into the subconscious and alter the states of the mind and make us do things. Nevertheless, there is one inherent flaw in this application of the age old technology of hypnotism, is the fact the subconscious is a direct representation of the conscious mind's filtering techniques. Which means that if we are aware of the inherent dangers of something, we translate that into data and inject it into our subconscious mind, which then will

When people hear the word “hypnotism”, most of them think that it is somewhat like a trick, a magic or an illusion. Some of them believe that a simple look at the eyes of a strange person can hypnotize them. Some of them think that a person who hypnotize uses a pendulum-like object that catches the attention of his victim. Lots of incidents were recorded that hypnotism is said to be used in robbery. Stories tell that strangers talk to their victims and look at their eyes. They will tell something to their victims until they become unaware of the things around them, and when they regain consciousness, they will notice that something’s missing from them.