A Bit Of History (FA Mesmer, Braid)In modern times, before the Austrian Physician, Mesmer, in the second half of the 18th Century, there was no "scientific" explanation for how individuals might fall sick or heal from psychological or psychosomatic conditions. As is readily observed in exorcisms, the common explanation was religious, that of being possessed by an evil spirit. Mesmer believed that there are unseen forces in the universe that apply to all. The concept of Animal Magnetism was developed by him; from it we derived the idea of "being mesmerized", etc..Mesmer indicated that a person became sick because their Animal Magnetism was out of balance, but someone with strong magnetism could pass his hands around the person to induce a crisis that would bring about a new, and healthier, balance.
Different treatments were developed by Mesmer to treat people who were sick. At first he used a magnet over the afflicted area, and this seemed to have positive outcomes. It was apparently more beneficial for a patient to be treated by Mesmer than other Physicians in the Age of Enlightenment because his methods were not injurious. Other Physicians, in that time period, would use treatments like Bloodletting (applying leaches to the afflicted area), and different purgatives. Another way Mesmer treated his patients was by "magnetized" water. He would "magnetize" tubs of water with the power of his hands and rods immersed in the water were then applied to bodily parts that hurt or did not function properly. His therapy was enhanced by music. A number of the individuals treated felt better, sometimes falling to the floor and screaming. An amazing case was that of a very famous blind pianist. When she was receiving treatments from Mesmer she began to recover her vision. However, because her success was dependent on her disability her father removed her from therapy and labeled Mesmer a Quack. Apparently there are psychological aspects like stress, or conflict that can allow people to experience blindness, despite having an intact visual system.
Because Physicians began losing clientele to Mesmer, two commissions (ordered by the King) did some relatively sophisticated experiments to disprove Mesmers' claims of Animal Magnetism. The commissions were out to determine two things: if in fact the practices work, and if the theory Mesmer developed was correct. They determined that the practices did work, many people were indeed helped by them. To test his theory they asked a "mesmerist" to magnetize a tree in a forest, and brought a person who was identified as having the ability to identify Animal Magnetism. Theoretically, that person should have been able to distinguish the tree that had been magnetized from the other trees in the forest. He did not guess correctly. From this and other experiments, the commission determined that Mesmers' theory was incorrect. The healings did occur, but not because of the reasons Mesmer indicated. The commission suggested that Mesmeric passes were dangerous because of the imagination and emotional context involved. They indicated that they may also cause a sexual charge.
What Is It?Hypnosis has a defintion with 2 components.
1. A procedure in which the individual is asked to disregard extraneous concern and focus on what the hypnotist is going to tell him/her.
2. Then, the hypnotist gives suggestions to experience unusual perceptions in all of the psychological processes (emotions, thoughts, sensations, etc.).
Note: Relaxation was not used in this definition because the hypnotist can also utilize an arousal induction. What is key is the process of focusing your attention on what the individual him/herself or the hypnotist suggests to alter experiences. Hypnotism is not different from some events in real life (ex: going to the theatre). When you go see a movie, they turn off the lights and ask you to be quiet, all of the seats are geared to a giant screen, and the speakers are placed in very particular places. With all of these manipulations they direct your attention to images and sounds that may alter your feelings so that you experience terror or compassion, for example.
What Are Its Effects
(Experiential, Physiological)?Experiential- experiences are affected by Hypnosis. Physiology is also affected by it. For instance, if you suggest to someone in a session, imagine that your right hand is in warm water and your left hand is in cold water, they will experience the changes, but a researcher can also detect a significant change in the temperature of the two hands. Another example is a recent study showing that the brain of highly hypnotizable people respond to black and white stimuli respond as if they were in color when given suggestion in that regard.
A number of people
have stated that hypnosis works because of suggestion. Some contributing factors include:
social circumstance, emotional exchange, suggestion, expectation, and alterations in
consciousness, such as a different sense of time, and of body image.
When asked to
remember something, a person may provide more information, but not all of it will be
necessarily accurate, and in fact may be imagined rather than remembered information.
Mostly, he vast majority
of the hypnotic response depends on the ability of the person being hypnotize, not on the
hypnotist. Most people are hypnotizable.
The person is NOT
under the Hypnotists' control. A person who is being hypnotized will not do something that
they ask if it is something you would not normally do. A very amusing anecdote was that of
a Hypnotist who suggested a woman in the class take her shirt off in front of the class
(in previous cases, the hypnotized person had refused to do so, by ignoring the suggestion
or coming out of hypnosis). In this case, however, the student started unbuttoning her blouse
and he stopped her immediately of course and later asked her why she was about to take
off her blouse. It turns out that the student was a stripper in the evenings.
You can determine the
degree of hypnotizability by giving a person several suggestions and noting how many they
follow. That is the range represents a graph similar to a bell curve where most people would
fall in the middle, at about an 8, the very few who would not be very hypnotizable (if at all)
would lie at about a 0-3, and the people who are very hypnotizable (aka: hypnotic virtuosos)
would lie at 11-12. Hypnotic Virtuosos can alter their experience and physiology. Even the
best hypnotist can typically not alter someone who resists being hypnotized, and even the
most mediocre hypnotist can alter someone state who is very imaginative.
Medical Applications-
In medicine, affecting experiences is very important. For instance, pain can be reduced via
Hypnosis in both adults and children. In a recent study, children given suggestions showed
a significant decrease in pain. Their rating of pain significantly decreased, the Physicians'
rating of the girls' level of behavior significantly decreased, and the procedure was
significantly faster.
In psychological
Conditions, for instance helping people who are traumatized. Rape victims have found
hypnosis helpful. The patient brings the memory back with hypnosis, but with the power
to control the situation in the process. The experience would be similar to having the options
that one has with a television, the ability to control the clarity of the different experiences with
the knobs.
What Does The
Response Depend On?What Is It Good
For (Medical & Psychological Conditions, Enhance Human Potentials)?
