Hypnosis Essay Research Paper TheEncarta Encyclopedia defines

Hypnosis Essay, Research Paper

The

Encarta Encyclopedia defines hypnosis as,"altered state of consciousness and

heightened responsiveness to suggestion; it may be induced by normal persons

by a variety of methods and has been used occasionally in medical and psychiatric

treatment. Most frequently brought about through actions of an operator, or

"hypnotist", who engages the attention of a subject and assigns certain tasks

to him or her while uttering monotonous, repetitive verbal commands; such tasks

may include muscle relaxation, eye fixation, and arm leviation. Hypnosis also

may be self-induced, by trained relaxation, concentration on one’s own breathing,

or by a variety of monotonous practices and rituals that are found in many

mystical, philosophical, and religious systems." Another generally reliable

source Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines it as,"a sleep

like condition psychically induced, usually by another person, in which the

subject loses consciousness but responds, with certain limitations, to the

suggest

ions of the hypnotist." As I stated earlier, these two sources are

very reputed and the general population believes that they are correct. Yet,

however often they may be correct, in this case they are not, or at least not

completely. Not according to the scientific community at least. My sources

for this statement are The World Book Encyclopedia, The Wizard from Vienna:

Franz Anton Mesmer, Applied Hypnosis: An Overview, American Medical Journal,

and Hypnosis: Is It For You? Although they state it in different ways they

all basically agree that nobody can give a very accurate definition or description

of hypnosis, or hypnosis. Although some may get the definition partly correct,

the chances of doing so completely are very, very low. So although I will

probably not be able to give a totally accurate account of hypnosis and its

workings, I will try.

Although evidence suggests that hypnosis has been

practiced in some form or another for several thousand years, such as in coal

walking, the earliest recorded history of hypnosis begins in 1734. It begins

with a man named Franz Anton Mesmer. Although he was eventually disavowed

by the scientific community because of his unorthodox methods that made him

seem more of a mysticist that a scientist, he is generally known as the father

of hypnotism. Mesmer called his methods Mesmerism, thus the word mesmerize,

but the name didn’t stick, it later changed to hypnosis, its name being derived

from Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep. He believed that hypnosis was reached

by using a person’s "animal magnetism". He used "mesmerism" to cure illness.

In

1795 an English physician named James Braid, who was originally opposed to

Mesmer’s methods became interested. He believed that cures were not due to

animal magnetism however, but the power of suggestion. This was the generally

accepted opinion of the scientific community.

Then in 1825 Jean Marie Charcot,

a French neurologist, disagreed with "The Nancy School of Hypnotism", which

followed the guidelines of James Braid’s ideas. Charcot believed that hypnosis

was simply a "manifestation of hysteria". He revived Mesmer’s theory of animal

magnetism and identified the three stages of the trance; lethargy, catalepsy,

and somnambulism.

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936) was not a scientist who

worked with hypnosis. Although he had nothing to do with the hypnotic development

itself, his Stimulus Response Theory is a cornerstone linking and anchoring

behaviors, particularly NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming).

Emily Coue (1857-1926)

a physician, formulated the Laws of Suggestion which are greatly used in the

hypnotic community. Her first law is The Law of Concentrated Attention: "Whenever

attention is concentrated on an idea over and over again, it spontaneously

tends to realize itself". The second law is- The Law of Reverse Action: "The

harder one tries to do something, the less chance one has of success." Finally,

the last law is The Law of Dominant Effect: "A stronger emotion tends to replace

a weaker one."

Milton Erickson (1932-1974), a psychologist and psychiatrist

pioneered the art of indirect suggestion in hypnosis. He is considered the

father of modern hypnosis. His methods bypassed the conscious mind through

the use of both verbal and nonverbal pacing techniques including metaphor,

confusion, and many others. He was definitely a major influence in contemporary

hypnotherapy’s acceptance by the American Medical Association.

There are

many misconceptions about hypnosis that are totally without basis. Such as,

"Hypnotized persons will tell secrets or will always tell the truth." The

truth is, hypnosis will not cause a person to tell information the do not want

to tell and a person under hypnosis can purposefully lie or remember in a distorted

fashion. Another myth about hypnotism is, "Hypnosis won’t work on highly intelligent

people." In reality innate characteristics such as intelligence do not at

all effect hypnotism. Any person however can resist being hypnotized either

actively or passively, if they desire. I believe that hypnotism would be a

more commonly used method in medicine if it were not for all the myths going

around about hypnotism. They are probably the result of the very limited knowledge

of exactly how hypnosis works.

Hypnosis has been used to treat a variety

of physiological and behavioral problems. It can alleviate back pain and pain

that comes from burns or cancer. It is controversial as to whether this actually

works or not, but it is believed that it can be used to insure normal and safe

childbirth. Hypnosis sometimes is employed to treat physical problems with

a psychological component, such as a circulatory disease known as Raynaud’s

Syndrome. It has also been used to initiate behavioral changes, for example

cigarette smoking, overeating, insomnia, and the overcoming of phobia’s. Although

hypnotism has shown its uses as a fairly valuable medical tool, in this modern

"technological age" there are very few physicians who use it.

The major use

of hypnotism in modern days, is entertainment. Performed as a sort of "Magic

Show" it is used to cause some people to laugh, and some people to be amazed.

Hypnotism has come a long way since 1734 and who knows what future developments

will be made in this field? It may become a commonly used medical tool, or

it may come to be thought of as a completely useless "magic trick".