What Is Hypnosis? Describe the Psychological and Physical Aspects of Hypnosis and Discuss the Role of Relaxation in Hypnotherapy.

Hypnosis has always been a misunderstood pathway of psychology and still is to this day. There are many myths that surround hypnosis and many beliefs about what hypnosis actually is. In this essay I will be discussing the fundamental underlying features of hypnosis whilst also discussing the immense part relaxation plays within hypnosis and hypnotherapy. The term hypnosis was first coined in 1840 by James Braid after the Greek God of sleep 'Hypnos'. Contrary to the name hypnosis is not a state of sleep but rather a physiological and neurological state of intense relaxation. Many people are under the false assumption that hypnosis is a form of mind control in which a person may control another person and force them to do things beyond their own will, however these are merely myths and such things cannot occur whilst under hypnosis. The patient can never be made to do something against his or hers own will. The American psychological association describes hypnosis as 'A cooperative interaction in which the participant responds to the suggestions of the hypnotist/hypnotherapist.' This further reiterates the notion that the client must be willing to undergo the hypnotism for it to be effective. Hypnosis is a way of helping a person relax and enter a safe place or haven in which they feel so relaxed that they're subconscious becomes highly alert. Once in this state the hypnotherapist may start to make suggestions which will then be taken into account by the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is the underlying element of all our thinking, it does the things for us so we don't have to for example breathing and blinking. This is why the subconscious plays such a large part in hypnosis.

The forefather of Hypnosis was said to be Franz Anton Mesmer. His theory of animal magnetism suggested that a 'cosmic fluid' flowed through people through the use of magnets and he believed he had the power to heal people through correcting their damaged 'cosmic flow' (Pintar et al). Originally Mesmer used magnets in his therapy but later on he believed that he was the source of power and started to use his hands to heal with instead. Mesmer's career had its ups and downs but towards the end of his life he lived mostly in seclusion as people were very critical of his work. However Mesmer's work inspired the work of one his students Marquis de Puysegur; Puysegur noticed that whilst Mesmer was working on some of his clients they seemed to enter a 'somnambulistic state as a result of being mesmerised' (Hadley et al, 1996). He also found that the clients could enter into trances through the use of words and not magnets, and how clients seemed to be more responsive once in this trance like state. Shortly after he rejected the idea of the use of magnets and focused solely on the use of words in his treatments. After Puysegur emerged James Braid as mentioned above, he coined the term hypnosis after the Greek God Hypnos. Furthermore round about the same time another doctor James Esdaile recorded using hypnosis successfully to operate on patients in India but his findings were refuted as the operations had not been performed in Britain. Shortly after this Dr John Elliotson was the first doctor to use hypnosis in British medicine and he reported that through the use of hypnosis he was able to carry out many surgical operations painlessly. Hypnosis then progressed even further with the help of Leibeault and Bernheim, they suggested that hypnosis was a normal phenomenon. However other theories started to come to light such as Jean Marie Charcot who argued that hypnosis was s state of hysteria and tried to reinstate Mesmer's use of magnets and animal magnetism. Freud then became interested in hypnosis and he reiterated the notion of the subconscious playing an important part in psychology; however Freud soon gave up hypnotism and moved onto his free association and psychoanalysis theories. Although hypnotism has had its decline, it has made its mark in the modern world and have revolutionised therapy in today's society.

It is evident that hypnosis has had its ups and downs but it is now being recognised in the modern world today as a key form of therapy. Hypnosis is difficult to measure as it is not quantifiable like other measures such as blood pressure or heart rate. Hypnosis is mainly based on the clients own experience and differs between clientele; some clients will be more susceptible to hypnosis and fall into a deeper state of the subconscious whilst others will merely be in a relaxed state of mind. However due to the scientific world developing at a rapid speed we now have a more scientific outlook into hypnosis. By measuring the electrical activity of the brain through the use of an electroencephalogram (EEG) scientists have found that the brain has four types of main brain waves; Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta. The slowest of the waves being Delta and Theta. The brain waves exuded by a client under hypnosis are normally Alpha waves or Theta waves, as these are the slowest waves without being in a deep sleep (Delta waves). It is whilst in these states the subconscious mind takes over. One of the most well known theories of hypnosis is Hilgard's neodissociation theory (1979). The theory proposes that whilst the client is in a hypnotic state they experience a form of split consciousness in which the brain has two forms of streams of mental activity occurring simultaneously. One of the forms of consciousness will be responding to the hypnotherapists suggestions whilst the other stream is dissociated and processes information out of the client's conscious awareness. This supports the notion that whilst under hypnosis the subconscious mind takes over and the client may be processing thoughts outside of their own knowledge.

There are other physical aspects associated with hypnosis such as the brainwaves mentioned above,