Richard is a Pro in an article called
'Sex Life Slump? Glamour calls in the pros…'
As a member in good standing with The General Hypnotherapy Register, Richard follows the GHR Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. Read them here: GHR Code of Ethics
Below is a brief description of the application of hypnosis and its origins with many cultures and races all over the ancient world.
Hypnosis was used way before history records can show. People in places such as Africa, India, Australia and Egypt used rhythmic chanting, strained fixation and monotonous drums in order to enter a trance state; this happened regularly during their religious or healing ceremonies. Even though hypnotic trance was used it was not given its current name until 1842, when a Scottish surgeon called James Braid (1775-1860) took the Greek word “hypno” with means “to sleep” and coined the term hypnosis (see the section on Braid).
Following is a detailed description of the application of and advances in hypnosis over the last three hundred years, from Dr Franz Anton Mesmer right up to the present day.
Hypnosis and hypnotherapy as we know it today, all started way back on the 23rd of May 1734, in Europe, at a place called Bodensee (Lake Constance) on the German-Swiss border, with the birth of Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), the “Father of Hypnosis” (as he is known throughout the world of hypnosis and psychology).
He was raised in a Swiss-German family, in a small Swabian town called Iznang, and was the third of a family of nine children to be born to Anton Mesmer Senior and his wife. Unfortunately there is not a great deal known about the parents of Mesmer, except that his father was a gamekeeper and a forest warden for the Bishop of Constance. Both parents were very strong Catholics, and tried encouraging the young Mesmer into the priesthood, but to no avail.
Due to his father’s work his parents were able to afford a decent and modest lifestyle for the family while living in Iznang. Mesmer at the age of 25 years went off to study law, but after one year he became bored of this subject and changed his educational direction to study for his medical doctorate at the University of Vienna. He received his medical degree in 1766 at the age of 32 years. His dissertation was on the influence of heavenly bodies on people's health, which he supposed to be by means of "animal gravity".
After qualifying Mesmer met a well-off aristocratic widow, who was ten years his senior, and soon after made her his wife. It was Frau Mesmer’s connections that helped to build a prosperous practice for the recently qualified Mesmer.
In fact a young female relative of Frau Mesmer called Franziska Oesterlin, who suffered with a convulsive malady (nervous disorder), in 1773 became one of Mesmer’s first ever clients and in treating her, Mesmer formed his profound belief that there was a “Quasi Magnetic Fluid” or “Cosmic Fluid” that was in the very air we inhale. And somehow this fluid after being inhaled absorbs itself into and through the nervous system and travels around the body via the blood. He believed that blockages of “Quasi Magnetic Fluid” in the nervous system could cause disease, illness and psychological problems.
He thought that this was the case with Frau Oesterlin, so he came up with a solution for apparently clearing these blockages and correcting the flow of “Quasi Magnetic Fluids” around the nervous system, and thus curing the disease. He had some strong magnets made for him by Maximilien Hell, a professor of astronomy. He would pass these magnets over the blockages, thus correcting the ebb and flow of these “Cosmic Fluids”. Mesmer and Hell soon got into a quarrel over who discovered the magnets and their phenomenon.
Mesmer then started using his hands as a substitute to start clearing these magnetic blockages and found it had the same effect, so the term “Animal Magnetism” was born and also the procedure known as Mesmerism.
He published his first book on the subject in 1775, called Schreiben Uber die Magnetiker (Memoirs about the Magnet). In February 1778 he moved with his wife to Paris, and founded a clinic with D'Eslon on the Place Vendome.
These unorthodox beliefs and methods of treating illness and disease used by Mesmer were frowned upon by most of his contemporaries, and within medical circles Mesmer was treated as an eccentric outsider, receiving a lot of flak for his beliefs. Nevertheless, clients and patients would still come from far and wide to see this wonderfully flamboyant individual, to experience this phenomenon, and to get treatment or a cure for their ailments.
In 1779 Mesmer published another book, Memoire Sur La Decouverte Du Magnetisme Animal (Memoirs about the Discovery of Animal Magnetism), which contained his ideas, but unfortunately this built him a reputation of an occultist and in 1784 after an investigation by the French government he was pronounced a fraud.
On 15th March 1815, at the age of 81 years, Franz Anton Mesmer died in Switzerland. Mesmer had apparently been told by a gypsy in Paris years earlier that this was the age at which he was going to die, and it has been said that he believed her and was prepared for the end to come.
The next chapter in the history of hypnosis is the story of one of Mesmer’s very own students, whose name was the Marquis de Puysegur (1751-1825).
In 1784, at the age of 33 years, the Marquis de Puysegur discovered how to lead a client in to a deep trance state called “somnambulism”, using relaxation and calming techniques. The term “somnambulism” is still widely used among hypnotherapists today in reference to a deep hypnotic trance state.
The Marquis de Puysegur was able to describe three cardinal features of this deep trance state or somnambulism; these were:
Over two hundred years later these three theories of Puysegur still stand.
In 1775 at Rylaw House in Fifeshire, James Braid, a future Scottish doctor and pioneer in hypnosis, was born.
It was in 1842 that Braid renamed magnetism and mesmerism to hypnosis and deemed it a psychological phenomenon. He got the word “hypno” from the Greek language; its meaning is “to sleep”.
During his research into hypnosis he formed the following ideas, most of which still stand today:
James Braid died suddenly of a heart attack on March 25th 1860, at the age of 85 years. He maintained an interest in hypnotism throughout his life and made major contributions to the therapy that we use today.
James Esdaile completed his first operation without using anaesthetic in Calcutta, India. The client was placed into a trance state in which he remained throughout the procedure. Esdaile assisted in 300 major operations and over a thousand minor ones. Esdaile’s mortality rate was 5 percent. This was good at the time in India, as most other physicians had over a 50 percent death rate while completing the same operations as Esdaile was performing. This form of anaesthetic was soon put into second place due to the arrival of chloroform. It was thought easier to inject someone than to assist them to enter a trance state. Using hypnosis is still widely preferred as an alternative to conventional anaesthetics, especially in the dental profession.
Sigmund Freud, born on 6th May 1856 in Freiberg, Moravia, got involved in hypnosis between 1883-1887 and practised for some time, but struggled with the technique and soon become bored. He abandoned hypnosis, saying that it was ineffective, and concentrated on developing psychoanalysis. Freud died on the 23rd September 1939 of cancer, from which he had been suffering since 1923, after making a big impact on the world of psychology.
During the last hundred years hypnosis has not stopped moving forward and has advanced to what you see today. During World War II it was widely used among psychiatrists and physicians to treat problems such as stress and battle fatigue. There have also been formed many councils, associations and organisations all over the world during the last century in order to assist the modern-day therapist to keep in touch with the latest information and discoveries. And most have a “Code of Ethics” for their members to follow.
The Hypnotism Act of 1952 was introduced to protect the public against dangerous practices in hypnotic shows, and the performer is still required to get a license granted in a Magistrates Court prior to such a show.
In 1970 the British Police tried experimenting with hypnosis for interviewing witnesses to certain crimes. Hypnosis was reported to be particularly effective in helping witnesses and victims recall detailed descriptions of criminals and perpetrators, relate the details of violent attacks and recall the scenarios immediately preceding certain accidents.
To give full credit to Milton H. Erickson’s (1901-1980) life story in hypnosis, it deserves a complete section of its own, however here I will just explain briefly the outstanding achievements he made during his life. Prior to his death in 1980 Erickson certainly played his part in shaping hypnotherapy into what it is today.
Erickson was a psychotherapist who used hypnosis throughout his career to aid his clients’ progression and recovery. He was excellent at intently observing people and rapidly building rapport with them. Metaphors, confusing statements, surprise, imagery, and humour were part of his vast range of therapeutic tools.
His methods of trance induction are nowadays referred to as Ericksonian hypnosis, and without a shadow of a doubt, he added another era to the history of modern hypnotherapy.
And so we arrive at the current day in the history of hypnosis. There are many leading figures and pioneers in the world of hypnotism today. And the story of hypnotism does not end here, quite the opposite in fact. There are new and exciting discoveries being made all the time and also “add-on” therapies that complement hypnotherapy, many of which have their roots in hypnosis. These are continually being developed, and the list is endless of the psychological problems, phobias and fears that can be put in their place by these well-founded therapies. Below are some examples:
And curing phobias such as:
As I said before, the list is endless, but this is enough to give you an idea of the vast possibilities of the therapeutic uses of hypnosis today.
In conclusion, the story of hypnosis starts way back before history was recorded. Down the line it has received contributions from many colourful characters and cultures, but the true fact is that hypnosis is really a fully natural phenomenon. It occurs to people all the time in everyday life and it has been harnessed in many ways over the years, by many individuals who wish to progress the phenomenon and bring it up to date in their time.
This is not by any means a full account of the history of hypnosis, more of a brief overview. There are many more characters who had their part to play, and should not be left out of this account. So below is a selection of a few:
| Self-Hypnosis Training - Self-Hypnosis Courses - Self-Hypnosis Workshops - SELF-CHANGE Hypnosis |
 |
 |
Proud To Be Part Of The RichardMacKenzieEurope Network:
Self Hypnosis | Hypnotherapy | Hypnosis
RichardMacKenzieEurope LTD - Registered Office The Witney Clinic, 2-4 Market Square, Witney, Oxfordshire, OX28 3ST. Registered in England Number 6076986