What Is Hypnosis

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What Is hypnosis?

When people think of hypnosis, there are the usual misconceptions and stereotypes of a mysterious or sinister figure waving a watch back and forth, or the popular stage hypnotists including Paul McKenna and Derren brown. This is generally always accompanied by the image of people "on stage acting like chickens"

So what is hypnosis and how does it work?

Although modern hypnosis as we currently know the term has been studied and argued about since the 1800's, it can actually be traced back as far as 4000 years to ancient Egypt and Egyptian sleep temples (although this figure has been quoted as far back as 6000 years) Sleep temples were similar to hospitals where people would enter with a variety of ailments. The treatment involved chanting, placing patients in trance-like or hypnotic states and analysing their dreams to determine appropriate treatments. There is evidence to suggest forms of hypnosis were used by many other civilisations and cultures throughout history, there are even claims it can be found in the bible. It is also believed to be the methods used by ancient Aboriginals, Native American Indians, Shamans, Witch Doctors and also in certain esoteric practises.

Hypnosis in modern times has its roots with Franz Anton Mesmer, a German physician born in Vienna in 1734, who is widely considered to be the father hypnosis. Mesmer believed in a natural transference of energy which he called magnétisme animal (animal magnetism) He attributed such effects to a supposed 'life energy' or 'fluid' or ethereal medium believed to reside in the bodies of animate beings. He later took his work to France where it became known as Mesmérisme (mesmerism) The English verb mesmerize actually derived from Mesmer and his work.

The modern term hypnosis which is widely used today was later coined by a Scottish physician James Braid. He was an influential and important pioneer of hypnosis and hypnotherapy. Braid used the term hypnotism which was an abbreviation of neuro-hypnotism or nervous sleep. The word Hypno is from the Greek god of sleep. Later in the 1800's the term hypnosis was used to describe these trance like states.

Hypnosis was later studied and rejected by Sigmund Freud and suffered a lull until a man named Milton Erikson studied the practise in the early 1930's. He was a pioneer in the field and considered by many as the greatest hypnotherapist to ever live. He later went on to form the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis.

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Since then hypnosis has been studied extensively by science and remains somewhat of a mystery. We do understand the characteristics of hypnosis and do have a model of how it works, but cannot fully explain how it actually happens, although there is fairly conclusive evidence that physiological and psychological phenomena are experienced. Modern science has developed to the stage where we can measure electrical activity in the brain using Electroencephalography (EEG) This activity varies in frequency and are known as brain waves. Research has shown that the brain produce different rhythms of electrical voltage, depending on the mental state. Studies carried out have shown that, subjects under hypnosis show a boost in the lower frequency waves and a drop in the higher frequency waves. There a four main types of waves: -Beta Waves (15-40 cycles per second) A wakeful focused mind engaging in everyday activities -Alpha Waves (9-14 cycles per second) A slower less aroused relaxed state. I.e. sitting down and resting after completing a task. They are also present at times of creativity and problem solving. A state similar to a light hypnosis or guided meditation. -Theta waves (4-8 cycles per second) Present during dreaming and meditative states. They are on a level with medium to deep hypnosis they are also associated with our sub conscious minds. -Delta Waves (1-4 cycles per second) This is when no other waves are active and are we are in our slowest and deepest state of rest, this would represent a very deep hypnosis. These waves are deep in the sub conscious mind.

Research has also shown when studying the cerebral cortex during hypnosis, there is a reduced level of activity in the left hemisphere of the brain and an increased level of activity in the right hemisphere. This would suggest that hypnosis subdues the logical left part of the brain which controls reasoning whilst increasing activity in the creative imaginative right hemisphere of the brain. This is where the sub conscious mind reigns.

Hypnosis can also be described as a model of verbal and non verbal communication where a person is guided into a very receptive frame of mind by the hypnotist with words, stories and vocal rhythms, then offered suggestions to get their desired