Hypnosis

Have you ever wondered who the first person was to be hypnotized, when hypnosis was discovered, and the amazing effects it can have on people? Hypnosis has no known time of discovery. It is so ancient that no one can pinpoint the exact time of its birth. What is hypnosis? According to “The American Heritage Dictionary,” it is defined as “an induced sleeplike condition in which an individual is extremely responsive to suggestions made by the hypnotist.”

The name “hypnosis” was derived from the Greek God’s name “Hypos,” who was believed, by the Greeks, to be the God of sleep. People chose the God of sleep, because they used to think of hypnosis as a different, mysterious sleep. Surprisingly however, hypnosis is closer to consciousness than it is to sleep. Although people believed in hypnosis as a special, magical power to achieve success in manipulating people’s   behaviors and opinions as they pleased, the current perception of hypnosis has caused a giant change in people’s views of hypnosis. Today’s doctors define hypnosis as a usual scientific term of a state of mind that is not thoroughly comprehended by today’s scientific knowledge.   Hopefully, we will be able to fill in the missing spaces of our knowledge with the new discoveries that will be taken in the future.

Egyptians, living in 1500 BC, are the oldest known people using hypnosis.   Even though it is well assumed to have started way before 1500 BC, we cannot go any further, since there is no evidence suggesting that it started in an earlier period of time. Following the Egyptians, the Greeks later adopted this method.

The perspective towards hypnosis remained well rooted until the 19th century, when the idea of using hypnosis, not as a magical tool, but as a scientific tool in aiding the healing of certain illnesses, was triggered. One of the key figures in this motivation was an Austrian named Frank Anton Mezmer, who won fame and popularity by using hypnosis in treating illnesses....