What is Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy?
Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy have been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. There is reference to forms of hypnosis from ancient Chinese documents as old as 4000 years. The word hypnosis comes from the Greek “to put to sleep”. However, hypnosis is not a state of sleep, but an altered state of consciousness and heightened responsiveness. In ancient times hypnosis was often referred to as a form of magic or sorcery. Sorcery and magic was divided into two categories: white magic (good) and black magic (evil). Black magic was used for harm while white magic was used for healing and to counter black magic. You will be pleased to know that hypnosis was in the white magic camp.
A good working definition of hypnosis is “an experience of focused attention leading to increased absorption in the experience”. Most people can be easily hypnotized. The depth of trance can, and will, vary from a light state of close to waking, to a very deep state resembling sleep. It should be said that at no time will the subject be “out of control” or do things that they do not want to do. Have you ever driven somewhere and not remembered how you got there? Have you ever “spaced out” while watching a TV program? Ever daydreamed or read the same paragraph over and over? Driven the same route to work each day without being aware of the surroundings? If you have; welcome to a trance.
Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis to facilitate the treatment of a variety of physiological and behavioural conditions. It creates a state of relaxation that can enhance the effect of the treatment. Using hypnotherapy you are able to access the subconscious in a deeply relaxed state of heightened awareness.
Modern day hypnotherapy was rediscovered by an Austrian doctor by the name of Franz Mesmer in the 18th century. Mesmer through a combination of hypnosis and magnetism helped many people who were suffering from a variety of ailments. Unfortunately there was a great deal of skepticism about his treatments and two committees of inquiry in France found his treatments to be fraudulent, despite his numerous successes. Mesmer’s ideas were further developed by a Scottish physician, James Braid in the mid 19th century. He too began by using magnets but stopped in preference for the trance like state that some people entered which seemed to facilitate recovery from various ailments.
In spite of possible ridicule from their peers, more doctors took an interest in the study of hypnotic effects in patient treatment. In 1880 Sigmund Freud went to France to study hypnosis under the tutelage of Jean Martin Charcot in Paris. Freud used hypnosis to help patients recall repressed memories and in the treatment of psychological disorders.
Today, Hypnotherapy is employed as a form of treatment in a wide range of disorders. The process is to induce a hypnotic state within which the treatment can be carried out. There is a strong school of thought that says that people already have the resources needed to resolve their problems and they are hidden away in the unconscious part of the mind. Because Hypnotherapy deals with the unconscious it can help people access those resources and facilitate recovery.
Hypnosis can allow new observations, generate experiences, and facilitate learning. Hypnotherapy is extremely flexible and can be used to treat a large range of conditions such as:
Performance Enhancement |
Anxiety |
| Self Confidence | Depression |
| Public Speaking | Weight Control |
| Stress and Tension | Quitting Smoking |
| Procrastination | Relationship Problems |