Hypnotism

Hypnotism

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 suggestions

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