The History of Hypnosis

Hypnotism in Ancient History

Pioneers of Modern Hypnotism; 1700 - 1950

Austrian physician, Franz Mesmer (1734-1815), was the modern father of hypnotism. From his name, we get words like "mesmerize" and "mesmerism." Mesmer believed that diseases are the result of blockages in the flow of magnetic forces in the body. The "mesmeric pass" is history's most long winded way of putting someone into a trance. Mesmer's physical appearance resulted in the popular image of a hypnotist as being a man with magnetic eyes, goatee and cape.
The next real pioneer of hypnosis, James Braid (1795-1860), developed his interest quite by accident. Primarily a Scottish eye doctor, he'd read the works of Mesmer. One day he was late for an appointment and found his patient in the waiting room staring into an old lamp with his eyes glazed. Fascinated, Braid gave the patient some commands, and the patient complied.

Braid discovered that getting the subject to fixate on an object was the most important part of achieving the trance like concentration. Braid later wrote a book in which he suggested that the phenomenon be called hypnotism.
Meanwhile, James Esdaile (1808-1859), a British surgeon in India discovered the power of hypnotism for pain relief. He successfully performed hundreds of surgeries using an "Alpha State" trance (hypnotism) as his only anaesthetic. He returned to England and tried to convince the medical establishment of his findings, but they laughed at him and declared that pain builds character.
Frenchman, Emile Coue (1857-1926) moved away from conventional approaches and pioneered the use of "auto-suggestion." Coue believed that he did not heal people, but merely facilitated their self healing. He understood the importance of the subject's participation and belief in hypnosis. Coue is the forerunner of every modern day practioner who upholds his belief that 'There is no such thing as hypnosis, only self-hypnosis.'

Coue also anticipated the placebo effect - treatment of no value, with the power lying in suggestion. Patients are told that they are taking a drug that will cure them. Recent research into placebos is startling. Many statistics indicate that placebos can work better than our most popular drugs. It seems that while drugs are not always necessary for recovery, belief in recovery is!

Coue is most famous for the phrase 'Day by day, in every way, I am getting better and better'. His technique was one of affirmation and it has been championed in countless modern books.
Milton H Erickson, MD (1901-1980) was a remarkable man and a highly effective psychotherapist. As a teenager he was stricken with polio and paralysed, but remobilised himself. During the time he was paralysed, he had a unique opportunity to observe people. He noted that what people said and what they did were often not the same - and often contrary to each other.

Thus began his fascination with human psychology, and his desire to find innovative and creative ways to help people. After his recovery, he healed people using a combination of metaphor, surprise, confusion and humour - along with hypnosis.

And today?
On the tail of reports from Harvard, Stanford and many credible organizations,
hypnotism is making headlines!