How Did Hypnotherapy Come Into Being?

Even though the origins of hypnotism are not very clear, it is one of the most popular techniques for self improvement and healing.

For many years, hypnotism has been evolving to become a full fledged scientific discipline. It  was in the eighteenth century though when a German healer named Franz Anton Mesmer healed people by laying his hands on the bodies of patients while imparting suggestions. He was in turn inspired by a Jesuit priest who placed his hands on people and sent them into a trance like condition. When the patients snapped out of their trance, they felt free of their ailments.

Mesmer’s methods, since they were largely unorthodox, were challenged by the medical practitioners of the time and he began to get harassed. To escape this harassment he moved to Paris and began to heal people by inducing trance by looking into the eyes of the patients fixedly and then making suggestions in a monotone while gesturing with his hands and sometimes with a wand.

After Mesmer, other people took up hypnosis. Dr. Jean Martin Charcot treated patients with mental problems. He kept a log of all his cases and was able to use hypnosis successfully while simultaneously creating a well documented case for hypnotherapy. He was the first one to be to study hypnosis as a scientific discipline. He divided the trance induced in hypnosis into three stages.

1. Lethargy: This stage is characterized by gradual increase in physical relaxation. The body begins to slip into a condition of trance.

2. Catalepsy: In this stage, the limbs of the body become so rigid that they stay fixed in any position that they are placed in.

3. Somnambulism: This is the state of deepest trance where the person is able to talk and walk.

The discipline gradually began to gain popularity as the news of its healing powers began spreading. In some time, hypnotism began to be used as an anesthetic during surgeries. In the modern world of medicine, today hypnotherapy is widely recognized as a remarkable healing technique which not only heals a person but also promotes well being.