The History of Hypnosis from Indian Yogis to Bruce Willis: The Oldest Healing Practice Recognized by Modern Science

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Surprisingly, hypnosis turned out to be almost the oldest medical practice - one that has not lost its relevance at the present time. Who was that first hypnotist who enjoyed the effect of his intervention in someone else's consciousness? This is unknown. But over the past centuries, there have been enough trance specialists, including doctors, to bring hypnotherapy to a deservedly high level.

Shamans, priests, soothsayers and other hypnotists

Hypnosis is a special state of consciousness. People have been interested in it for a very long time; there is no information about when the first hypnotists appeared, but there is no doubt that this happened at the dawn of human civilization. Surrounded by "powerful" deities and being at the mercy of forces unknown to him, since ancient times, man has sought to feel the same possibilities in himself, to feel unity with spirits and with ancestors. And, it turned out, this is possible if you use the help of a special guide - a priest or shaman and immerse yourself in a special state, as if outside the real world.

In ancient cultures, hypnosis could serve as a tool during the administration of various religious cults, when the will of the gods was “transmitted” through the priests-hypnotists and “miracles” were demonstrated - even then, according to scientists, mass hypnosis was practiced. Indian fakirs arranged hypnotic sessions in order to demonstrate skills impossible for a person - like flying or a sudden complete transformation "into another person." They also used the method of inducing a trance in relation to snakes and other predators with the help of shiny objects that introduced animals to a state close to that of a hypnotized person.

Shamans, with the help of hypnosis, healed some ailments, sorcerers of Africa and Australia, using, among other things, drugs, controlling the will of the tribe, supposedly listening to the gods. In the ancient world, the technique of hypnosis was actively used by the servants of some cults, including the priests of the goddess Hecate. The Delphic oracle - the pythia - also, apparently, was trained in the basics of induction of trance, thanks to which it could arouse in visitors a feeling of awe and submission to the will of the gods. A hypnotic trance was described in his writings by the Persian physician Avicenna in the 11th century, defining its differences from ordinary sleep.

Of course, with the onset of the Middle Ages, hypnosis and its study were prohibited, equated with witchcraft and persecuted. And later, the church was extremely negative about such influences on human consciousness, and the first serious experiments in the study of hypnosis began only in the eighteenth century.

From Franz Mesmer and his magnetism to Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalysis

The German healer Franz Anton Mesmer (born 1734, died 1815) became a pioneer in the study of hypnosis. One of the nine sons of a forester, he was able to climb quite high on the social ladder, marrying favorably and enrolling in the apprenticeship of the court doctor of the Austrian empress, as well as releasing a scientific work on the influence of heavenly bodies on human well-being. Mesmer proclaimed the existence of "animal magnetism" - a form of this influence.

All existing space is allegedly permeated by a certain "fluid", and some bodies are able to strengthen it, while others - to weaken it. So, the treatment of diseases Mesmer reduced to a harmonious redistribution of fluid in the body, and achieved this effect using magnetized iron objects, as well as touching the patient and passes. Mesmerism, or "animal magnetism", became the starting point for the development of various theories and practices of healing, and could also explain the mechanism of telepathy and hypnosis - phenomena that had not been studied until then. Despite the popularity of Mesmer's sessions, during his lifetime, the doctrine of animal magnetism was actively criticized by the scientific community.

The term "hypnosis" itself appeared in 1820 thanks to the follower of Mesmerism, Etienne Felix d'Enin de Cuvillier, who, however, denied the existence of fluid as a physical phenomenon, attaching particular importance to mental processes. His term "hypnosis" was later popularized by the Scottish surgeon and ophthalmologist James Braid (born 1795, died 1860). Braid was skeptical of the mesmerists, but found that the patients present at their sessions behaved in a peculiar way, being clearly unable to raise their eyelids. Having conducted his own experiments, Braid concluded that prolonged gazing at a certain object with focusing attention on it leads to the fact that a person falls asleep deeply. Such a dream Braid called "nervous", and later - "hypnosis." Having studied various hypnotic techniques a lot, Braid also described self-hypnosis - a state that the priests and magicians of ancient civilizations were able to induce. One of Mesmer's followers, the Marquis de Puysegur, became the author of the term "somnambulism" and described it in his works as one of the types of trance - walking in a dream.

During the first half of the 19th century, the discussions of scientists were limited to support of the idea of "fluid" or its criticism. Subsequently, the teachings on hypnosis became more complicated, and in the second half of the century, two main schools were formed in medicine: the Parisian and the Nancian. The neurologist Jean Martin Charcot, a representative of the Paris school, studied the effects of hypnosis on patients with hysteria. To immerse himself in a trance, he used sudden strong stimuli - light, sound, temperature, atmospheric pressure. In his field of vision was the use of hypnosis for patients with neuroses, and therefore he called hypnosis "artificial neurosis", believing that a special state of consciousness is achieved only by physical influences.

As for the second, Nancian school, its representatives, primarily Hippolyte Bernheim, a neuropathologist from Alsace, argued that the entire effect of hypnotic influence is entirely related to the personality of the hypnotist. "There is no hypnosis, there is suggestion" - proclaimed the supporters of the Nancy approach. The main factor of success in introducing a person into a trance, Bernheim considered the presence of the subject's imagination along with the readiness to suggest.

Russian scientists also devoted time to the study of hypnosis. Vladimir Bekhterev argued that hypnosis is possible as a result of suggestion, which differs from persuasion in the absence of logic and evidence. Experiments on animals were also carried out - it turned out that different types of animals can be put into a trance, from crayfish to birds and mammals. In 1896, with the participation of Bekhterev, a hearing was held on the first court case related to hypnosis: the daughter of a peasant Buravova allegedly killed her father under the influence of a trance induced on her by a doctor.

Sigmund Freud, studying the unconscious, at the beginning of his research actively used the achievements of hypnotherapy, referring to the experience of both the Parisian and Nancy schools. Hypnosis helped to restore suppressed memories, however, later Freud recognized the more significant value of psychoanalysis for this. However, he continued to use hypnosis to speed up the therapeutic process.

One of the most popular hypnotherapists of the 20th century was Milton Erickson (born 1901, died 1980). If the predecessors of Erickson influenced the patient with direct instructions, then he entered into a trance indirectly, through metaphors, hidden meanings and double meanings of words. Interestingly, Erikson himself suffered from a violation of color perception from childhood and could not distinguish sounds in pitch or distinguish a musical melody. In addition, after suffering polio, he was confined to a wheelchair. His own health condition forced Erickson to look for ways to heal himself, many of them later became part of Erickson's method of hypnosis. He created his own language of hypnosis - a language of images, poetic, gently affecting the conscious and unconscious, taking into account the wishes of the patient. In his therapeutic activity, Erickson turned to the unconscious of a person, "pulling" events blocked by the mind from his psyche.

Why is hypnosis necessary for a modern person?

Hypnosis is now widely used - in medicine and beyond. It is used mainly in the treatment of various types of addictions, especially cravings for smoking, alcohol, overeating. In addition, hypnosis is used for those suffering from depression, skin diseases - since these are often psychosomatic in nature, and also to control pain. Even during the American Civil War in 1861-1865, the introduction of the wounded into a trance replaced anesthesia during operations.

An important feature of hypnosis is that a person cannot be immersed in a trance against his own will. This is the similarity of hypnotherapy with the placebo effect, which also has an effect only under the condition of the patient's faith. Under hypnosis, people, as a rule, behave in accordance with their character, the hypnotized person will not do anything that is contrary to his life beliefs. Not everyone is susceptible to hypnosis, the property of suggestibility is innate, it varies from person to person, to the point of its complete absence. The Church treats hypnosis with caution, the opinion of some of its leaders boils down to the fact that it is an intervention in the human psyche, and, therefore, is akin to witchcraft. According to another point of view, hypnosis is only one of the medical practices and has the right to exist on an equal basis with others.

Attempts to confirm the theory of reincarnation with the help of hypnosis continue - the trance process of immersion in memories that did not occur in reality is considered a regression into a past life - which, from the point of view of science, is impossible and refuted.

Historians believe that many historical figures possessed the skills of hypnosis, especially those who could captivate thousands of supporters. One of these persons, apparently, was Joan of Arc.