Hypnotism :: essays papers

Hypnotism The Encarta Encyclopedia defines hypnosis as,adapted state ofconsciousness and heightened responsiveness to suggestion it may be bring forthby normal persons by a intermixture of methods and has been used now and againin medical and psychiatric treatment. Most frequently brought about through and throughactions of an operator, or hypnotist, who engages the attentionof a subject and assigns certain tasks to him or her while uttering monotonous,repetitive verbal commands such tasks may include tendon relaxation, eyefixation, and arm leviation. Hypnosis also may be self-induced, by expertrelaxation, concentration on ones own breathing, or by a variety of monotonouspractices and rituals that are found in many mystical, philosophical, andreligious systems. other mostly reliable source Websters NewUniversal Unabridged lexicon defines it as,a sleep like conditionpsychically induced, usually by another person, in which the subject losesconsciousness but responds, with certa in limitations, to the suggestionsof the hypnotist. As I stated earlier, these two sources are veryreputed and the general creation believes that they are correct. Yet,however often they may be correct, in this topic they are not, or at leastnot completely. Not consort to the scientific community at least. Mysources for this statement are The World give-and-take Encyclopedia, The Wizardfrom Vienna Franz Anton Mesmer, Applied Hypnosis An Overview, Ameri give the axeMedical Journal, and Hypnosis Is It For You? Although they state it indifferent ways they all basically agree that nobody can give a very undefileddefinition or translation of hypnosis, or hypnosis. Although just about may getthe definition partly correct, the chances of doing so completely are very,very low. So although I will probably not be able to give a totally accurateaccount of hypnosis and its workings, I will try. Although evidence suggeststhat hypnosis has been practiced in some form or another for severa l thousandyears, such as in coal walking, the earliest recorded history of hypnosisbegins in 1734. It begins with a man breakd Franz Anton Mesmer. Althoughhe was eventually disavowed by the scientific community because of hismaverick methods that made him seem more of a mysticist that a scientist,he is generally known as the father of hypnotism. Mesmer called his methodsMesmerism, thus the word mesmerize, but the name didnt stick, it laterchanged to hypnosis, its name being derived from Hypnos, the Greek godof sleep. He believed that hypnosis was reached by using a persons animalmagnetism. He used hypnotism to cure illness. In 1795an English physician named James Braid, who was originally contend to Mesmersmethods became interested. He believed that cures were not due to animal