What Is Hypnosis

Hypnosis is not a new thing by any standard. Hypnosis is a physical as well as mental state of relaxation, an altered state of consciousness into which individuals allow themselves to enter so that desired, beneficial suggestions may be given directly to the subconscious mind. Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis to achieve an agreed or required outcome.
Hypnotherapy is thought to date back to the healing practices of ancient Greece and Egypt. Many religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and others have attributed trance-like behaviour to spiritual or divine possession.

Austrian physician, Franz Mesmer is credited with being the first person to scientifically investigate the idea of hypnosis and hypnotherapy in 1779, he used it to treat a variety of health conditions. Mesmer is believed to have been the first doctor to understand the relationship of psychological trauma to illness. He induced a trance-like state, which became known as mesmerism, in his patients to successfully treat nervous disorders.
Mesmer became interested in the effects of magnetism, and found that magnets could have tremendous healing effects on the human body. He believed that the human body contained a magnetic fluid that promoted health and well-being. It was thought that any blockage to the normal flow of this magnetic fluid would result in illness, and that the use of the mesmerism technique could restore the normal flow.
Mesmer's technique appeared to be quite successful in the treatment of his patients but he was the subject of scorn and ridicule from the medical profession. Because of considerable controversy surrounding mesmerism a commission was convened to investigate his techniques and procedures. The commission acknowledged that patients did seem to obtain noticeable relief from their conditions, but the whole idea was dismissed as being medical charlatanism.
In the 1840’s James Braid discovered that hypnosis could be used to successfully anesthetize patients for...