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The Origins of Hypnosis

It’s generally acknowledged that hypnosis owes its existence mostly to a 18th century healer named Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815).

Mesmer was interested in Paracelsan astrological principles, and the suggested direct influence of heavenly bodies on the human condition. This was a pretty radical view for its time and Mesmer was known for applying magnets to his patient’s bodies to affect muscle contractions and facilitate healing processes.

James Braid, a surgeon from Manchester was the first person to coin the term “hypnosis” in 1843. This term refers to Hypnos, who was the Greek god of sleep, because most forms of mesmerism at that time produced what was considered to be a “sleep-like condition.”

Braid, recognised the need for more detailed investigations to better understand the full potential of this approach. Interestingly Mesmer had come to believe that it was not the actual physical forces via magnets that had most effect, but his own influence in producing good outcomes for his clients. Others subsequently began to also suspect that the power of the human imagination was a key ingredient in the hypnotic tool kit.

In the early 20th century, the foundation for most hypnotic theory was laid down by the members of the "Nancy school" of hypnosis who promoted a theory of hypnotic suggestion based on ideomotor action.This states that ideas suggested by the hypnotist lead automatically to actions, which are then experienced by the subject.

In comparatively recent times, Milton Erickson (born 1901) was considered to be a true innovator in the field of hypnosis and a major influence on the creators of the field of Neuro Linguistic Programming or NLP. Erickson believed that “the unconscious mind” was always listening, and that, whether or not the patient was in trance, suggestions could be made which would have a useful hypnotic influence, so long as those suggestions found some resonance with the client at “the unconscious level.”

Even now, in the era of the internet and global communication, many people still think of hypnosis in terms of stage hypnosis popularized by Paul McKenna in the 1980s. Hypnotic language is of course already all around us all the time, as it is used extensively in modern forms of sales and marketing, and indeed in many other arenas, wherever an individual is subject to “suggestions” and “influence!”

Nick Kemp www.HypnosisProducts.co.uk