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

Submitted By bogaci
Words: 1850
Pages: 8
Open Document
Word count: 1,841

“What is Hypnosis?” Describe the psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in Hypnotherapy.

Hypnosis is a state in which a subject’s mind is more capable of recalling their memory. It is a state of positively altered attention and in this state it can be seem like the subject is asleep however the subject is very much awake and has full control over themselves. Hypnotherapy is a technique that is used to help people make positive changes in their lives. The changes include losing weight, non-smoking, stress reduction, treating phobias, pain control, sleeping disorders, anxiety and so on. As well as helping people’s emotional and physical disorders, it also improves the living conditions of people with cancer or any other long term medical illness.

Hypnosis comes from the Greek word ‘Hypnos’ which means sleep. Looking at its basic history can help us understand what hypnosis is.

Franz Anton Mesmer was a German physician born in 1734 who made a theory that there was a natural energetic transference that occurred between animated and inanimate objects that he called animal magnetism.

In 1774, Franz Mesmer made her patient swallow something that contained iron and then attached magnets to various parts of her body. Her feedback was that she felt streams of fluid running through her body. For several hours, she was cured from her symptoms. Mesmer did not believe that the magnets had cured his patient on their own. He believed her situation had benefited from animal magnetism also. He stopped using magnets as part of his treatment.

In 1775, Mesmer performed cures following in a priest and healer’s footsteps. This priest was named Johann Joseph Gassner (1727-1779). In the same year, he was invited to give his opinion at the Munich Academy of Sciences on the work carried out by this Joseph Gassner. Mesmer declared that while the priest was sincere in his beliefs, his cures happened because of animal magnetism as the priest possessed a high degree of animal magnetism. This confrontation between Mesmer’s secular views and the priest’s religious beliefs ended the priest’s career.

In 1779, Franz Mesmer suggested the theory of animal magnetism. Dr Mesmer believed that hypnosis travelled from the hypnotist to the subject by means of magnetism. By managing this magnetic flow, he insisted that subjects could be cured from their sicknesses. Despite being very successful, the French commission rejected his theories. His popularity and reputation worsened and he died in 1815. Following on from his death, his students developed his work and techniques. They named his work, Mesmerism.

In 1841, Scottish surgeon James Braid who had been living and working in England, initially rejected mesmerism however his curiosity lead to his examination of the physical condition of mesmerized subjects and concluded that they were a different physical state. He participated in a few mesmerism sessions and he observed that trance helped many patients even though he did not believe in the magnetism. He called the trance, Hypnosis and ignored the magnetism side of it. However the British Science Association rejected his report Practical Essay on the Curative Agency of Neuro-Hypnotism in 1842. He was the first to use the word Hypnosis in English whilst the word was already being used in French (hypnotique, hypnotiste) in the 1820s. However Braid was the first person to use "hypnotism" in its modern sense, referring to a psychological theory rather than the theories of magnetisms.

Auguste Ambroise Leibeault (1823-1904) and Hippolyte Bernheim (1837-1919) were the first people to regard hypnosis to be a normal phenomenon. They developed induction techniques for hypnosis. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) became interested in hypnosis and visited their clinic to learn about these techniques. He observed unconsciousness as patients entered a hypnotic state. Freud recognized the unconscious
Show More

Related Documents: “What Is Hypnosis?” Describe the Psychological and Physical Aspects of Hypnosis and Discuss the Role of Relaxation in Hypnotherapy. Essay

Hypnosis Essay

2040 excluding reference list and bibliography Module 1 Essay “What is Hypnosis?” Describe the psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in hypnotherapy. Main Essay Introduction; In this essay I intend to provide a brief history and background to hypnosis, cover both the psychological and physical aspect of hypnosis and conclude with the role of relaxation in hypnotherapy. Hypnosis has frequently been linked with the strange and mysterious, it could…

Words 2123 - Pages 9

A Personalised Induction Will Always Be More Effective Essay

meaning of hypnosis and its physical and psychological aspects as well as give a brief introduction to the role of relaxation in hypnotherapy. There is no right or wrong definition when it comes to describing or defining the word hypnosis. Some call it a state of mind by which a person is guided into a trance like state, other theories include going into our subconscious mind in order to modify a behaviour, thoughts, or patterns which bring about negative additions into our daily lives. Hypnosis can happen…

Words 2140 - Pages 9

Essay on Effectiveness and Popularity of Hypnosis

“What is hypnosis?” Describe the psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in hypnotherapy. This essay will chronologically examine several theories about the nature of hypnosis, in relation to scientific studies dedicated by medical specialists to gain a better understanding of what hypnosis is, in order to identify precisely what constitutes a state of hypnosis by describing both the psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis. I shall also explore…

Words 1235 - Pages 5

what is hypnosis Essay examples

“What is hypnosis?” Describe the psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in hypnotherapy. Introduction If you were to ask people what hypnosis is, everyone will have different ideas, some may even say that it doesn’t exist. This assignment will answer that question of what hypnosis is and how it’s developed over many years. I will describe the physical and psychological sides of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in hypnotherapy. History of…

Words 1932 - Pages 8

Hypnosis Essay

Karen Ferguson “ What is Hypnosis?” Describe the psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in Hypnotherapy. Words: 1937 In this essay I am going to explain what hypnosis is and both the psychological and physical aspects of it. In order to do this, it will be necessary to look at the origins of hypnosis and hopefully dispel some of the myths attached to it. I will then move on to explain the significant role of relaxation in hypnosis. Stage hypnotists…

Words 1916 - Pages 8

Essay on what is Hypnosis?

What is Hypnosis? 2000 words Describe the psychological and psychical aspects of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in Hypnotherapy. The word hypnosis derives from the word ‘Hypno’ a Greek word which means sleep. Hypnosis is a state of mind that every human being at some point in their life is said to encounter, perhaps in their everyday life which they are not aware of; it is a trance…

Words 1861 - Pages 8

Essay on Hypnosis: Research, Principles, and Use in Modern Society

“What Is Hypnosis?” Hypnosis is a complex and diverse state of mind that can vary from person to person. However, a general definition is that Hypnosis is an induced state of awareness in which a participant experiences an altered sense of consciousness. This altered state has shown individuals to be more susceptible to suggestion or direction in relation to their own behaviour. This essay will now elaborate on the subject of hypnosis and it will outline hypnosis into its different elements and…

Words 2233 - Pages 9

Essay on Stage Hypnosis Shows

Parkhurst (401) “What is Hypnosis??” In this essay i will discuss my thoughts on what i understand hypnosis to be, I will be looking at both the physical and psychological aspects of hypnosis while also looking at the role that relaxation plays in hypnotherapy. Hypnosis can be used as a tool to help people improve their human state, such as a bad habit or behaviour, it can be anything from smoking, or weight loss right through to helping with anxieties, grief and loss. Hypnosis to me has a sense…

Words 916 - Pages 4

What Is Hypnosis? Essay

‘What is Hypnosis?’ Describe the psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in Hypnotherapy Zoe Yates - June 2013 The History of Hypnosis Bringing modern, practical use of hypnosis to life Hypnosis is not a modern phenomenon. As part of this paper I will discuss how events and work undertaken by numerous individuals contributed to understanding of what Hypnosis is today and its benefits. Looking at the subject of ‘What is Hypnosis’ through its history…

Words 2468 - Pages 10

Hypnosis Essay

"What is hypnosis?" Describe the psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in hypnotherapy. The earliest evidence of the use of hypnosis was seen being used by "shamans" who we're also known as "whitch doctors" or "healers". In order for shamans to deliver the healing process they would ensure that they were strongly focused and have heightened concentration. They would then take themselves on a downward journey into a "lower world" where they would then…

Words 2266 - Pages 10