What Is Hypnosis?

In this essay, I shall attempt to find a generally accepted definition of the word "Hypnosis" and its origins with a brief history of the subject. I shall explore the various psychological and physical aspects experienced by clients undergoing hypnosis and consider the function of relaxation in hypnosis used for therapeutic purposes.

Hypnosis is not a modern concept and, until the nineteenth century, was widely viewed as a religious or supernatural practice. Egyptian hieroglyphics allegedly depict local people in a sleep-like state being cured of illness by priests. In classical Greece, it was well documented that ailing locals slept in the Temple of Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine. As they slept, priests would speak to them offering suggestions for healing. Throughout the ages, hypnosis has been observed and used in rituals by numerous cultures in one form or another by the likes of shamans, witch doctors, medicine men or healers and usually involved rhythmic and monotonous drumming, dancing, singing or chanting to induce a trance-like state in which the healer could focus the subconscious mind to visualise and will the sick person to heal through the power of suggestion. (Hadley & Staudacher, 1996. p14) Indeed, similar practices can still be observed in Australian Aborigines, North American Indians and Hindu yogis today. However, although it seems reasonable to infer that hypnosis was known to numerous cultures throughout history, conclusive, tangible evidence is ambiguous or scarce, at best, with no continuity of technique or research (Waterfield, 2004. p58) until the 1700s.

Hypnosis in modern times is generally thought to have originated with Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), a German physician, who claimed to cure diseases by correcting the flow of 'animal magnetism' (a predominantly liquid substance he believed existed in all humans, plants and animals that was affected by the planets and invisible, magnetic energy) in his patients' bodies during séance-like group sessions. Later investigations of "mesmerism" would conclude that any cures were actually due to the powers of suggestion. However, Mesmer's claims stimulated serious study of mesmerism in Britain by such men as John Elliotson (1791-1868), a driving force behind the establishment of the London Mesmeric Infirmary, and James Braid (1795-1860). Braid, a surgeon in Manchester, was initially sceptical of mesmerism until he accidentally discovered that he could induce a hypnotic trance in patients by getting them to fix their view on a single point. Braid mistakenly concluded that mesmerism was a form of 'nervous sleep' and so called the phenomena 'hypnotism' (derived from the Greek 'hypnos', meaning sleep). (Heap & Dryden, 2010. p128) Braid soon discovered that hypnosis was not the same as sleep and tried to popularize the term 'monoideism' (fixation of attention on a single idea) but he was unsuccessful and the word 'hypnosis' persists in our language today. (Waterfield, 2004. p203) Meanwhile, in France, Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-93), a French physiologist noted for his studies of the nervous system, raised the profile of hypnosis within the medical profession by his extensive clinical work in neurology. However, he wrongly believed that hypnosis was a symptom of mental illness that he termed 'hysteria'. In opposition to this, Ambrose-Auguste Liebeault (1823-1904) and Hippolyte-Marie Bernheim (1837-1919) developed the foundation of modern hypnosis with their view that the psychological force of suggestion can influence even physical disorders which they called 'psychotherapy' - a crucial step in the legitimisation of hypnosis. (Waterfield, 2004. p2158) Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), an Austrian psychiatrist and pioneer of psychoanalysis, developed an interest in hypnosis through his collaboration with Josef

Breuer and his studies with Liebeault and Bernheim and later with Charcot. However, after only a few years, he abandoned the practice in favour of his own technique of 'psychoanalysis'. Freud hypothesised that mental activity existed in three domains: unconscious, pre-conscious and conscious (Sanders, 2011. p27) and he would later shed light on the workings of the unconscious mind and the motives, desires and conflicts of human behaviour - an important contribution to the field of hypnosis. Freud's abandonment was a setback to the therapeutic use of hypnosis but a few devoted individuals continued to promote its benefits such as Pierre Janet (1859-1947), whose work led to the theory of neurosis and psychosis by the subconscious persistence of emotional trauma, and Milton Erickson (1901-80), a psychiatrist and innovator in the development of indirect, flexible and personalised clinical applications for hypnotic techniques. Erickson's love of language enabled him to develop the conversational style of hypnosis called 'permissive style' that is popular today. By the turn of the century, hypnosis was firmly established as a means of treating certain psychiatric disorders, phobias and addictions. However, no one generally accepted definition of 'hypnosis' has yet been established because it takes place in the internal environment - so it is difficult to communicate effectively (like describing a dream) and because the experience differs from one individual to another.

The physical aspects of hypnosis, how a person's body responds when they enter into a light trance or hypnotic state, are much the same as when they relax and can be observed and measured. The most common body responses are - the heart and pulse rate slows, the breathing rate slows down and becomes deeper, muscles throughout the body become less tense (there may be alterations in involuntary muscles and certain muscles may twitch), eyes may water, blood is evenly distributed throughout the body, the digestion system works more efficiently (the stomach may gurgle), and thoughts become less

concrete and more abstract - more image and feeling based. The client may feel listless and arms and legs may feel heavy. Indeed, hypnosis is a state of mental relaxation and restricted awareness in which the subjects' attention is focused inwards to their inner experiences such as feelings and memories. Subjects also think more intuitively rather than intellectually. The subjects have an enhanced capacity to respond in an automatic and dissociated manner to suggestions offered by the hypnotist and this is achieved or enhanced by means of the procedure termed 'hypnotic induction'. (Heap & Dryden, 2010. p12) As the trance is deepened, more extraordinary phenomena may begin to manifest - alterations in voluntary muscles such as catalepsy (when the hypnotist suggests that the client's eyes