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When people think about hypnosis, an image comes to mind of a man sitting and swinging a pendulum in front of someone and saying to them, 'You are getting very sleepy.' This is an image that has been portrayed in movies and the media for years, yet the history of hypnosis goes back much further than most people realize, and is said to be very helpful and healing in several ways. Those who have undergone hypnosis often recall events from the past that they previously had no memory of whatsoever, and this technique is often used to bring up repressed thoughts and emotions in order to help a person overcome certain fears or other problems. Taking a look at the history of hypnosis is both fascinating and educational as well.

Humble Beginnings: A Brief History Of Hypnosis

The Hindus in India are said to be the originators of the history of hypnosis by using it as a health tool in which they would take those who were ill within their village to a placed called a sleep temple. Likewise, this practice was used in Greece and Egypt as well. The ancient Sanskrit in a book called the Law of Manu spoke of different states of hypnosis; the 'sleep-waking' state, the 'dream-sleep' state, and the 'Ecstasy-sleep' state. Inductions which were hypnotic in nature were used to lull as person into a sleep state in order to heal them of their sickness or disease.

In the late 1700's, a man named Franz Mesmer became the first Western scientist to become involved with hypnosis and started researching an effect called 'animal magnetism' or 'mesmerism,' which is a word still used today. He believed that this power resided inside of humans and animals and used magnetic force as a tool in treating people. In what some consider to be the first placebo-controlled trial study, Benjamin Franklin conducted a trial to test the magnetic theory, and it was determined that mesmerism was only used by the imagination. Within the history of hypnosis, magnetic therapies are still around today as one form of alternative medicine, yet Mesmer himself died obscurely in 1815.

Formal psychological study of hypnotism began to be studied in the 1800's by a neurologist named Jean-Martin Charcot who prescribed this treatment for hysteria.

He also opened the way in the history of hypnosis for its use in multiple personality disorders as well. This approach is still used today in order to help treat those who suffer with hearing voices, as it can help to sort out and relive these problems.