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Dimitrov, G. (2006) mentioned that at some point in the Middle Ages, the most widely accepted magnetic-fluid theory was developed. According to this, all earthly events, as well as the physical status of people, mainly depend on the interaction between the nearest planets. In his studies, the Swiss doctor Philippus Paracelsus (1493-1541), teaches that the world is filled with a particular form of magnetism. Human and other living creatures’ bodies in the Universe are interconnected in a giant magnetic field, together with the neighbouring planets. Some centuries later, the Austrian Catholic priest Johann Gassner (1727 - 1779) was glorified in that he successfully helped patients suffering from different diseases - paralyses, seizures, and so forth through hypnosis. He performed it as a ritual in the local square, where crowds of sick and healthy people gathered to watch, with their own eyes what was taking place. Now we know that the human power of suggestibility in the spectators was probably the decisive factor in Father Gassner’s treatment. In the 18th century, the Viennese physician Franz Mesmer (1734-1815) stepped out onto the international stage. He also healed sick people, but his method was a little different. Dressed in ghostly white robes and muttering some special spells, he started to do slow, rhythmic movements with his hands along the body of the patient. He also was not fully aware of why the process was helpful, but in 1766 he published his doctoral dissertation on how the planets affect health: “De planetarum influxu in corpus humanum” (On the Influence of the Planets on the Human Body). Thus, the magnetic-fluid theory was used once again as an explanation. His work was presented at the University of Vienna in 1766. It was based also on the same magnetic space power as described by Paracelsus earlier. However, this time Dr. Mesmer suggested that the method could be directed to diseased parts of the patient by using ordinary magnets. This effect was called "Animal Magnetism". Actually, the name of this human condition was coined by the English surgeon James Braid (1795-1860). In the beginning, Dr. Braid was rather sceptical, but in 1843, after attending a demonstration by the Swiss scholar Charles La Fontaine (1803-1892) in Manchester, he changed his opinion. Impressed by what he saw, and after extensive scientific research, Braid concluded: "Yes. There are real particular results. But they are not due to any magnetic fluid. The reason for them is caused via suggestion of one person to another. And it is the only factor which makes that work." The term "hypnosis" was coined precisely at that time from the Greek word “hypnos” (sleep) because hypnotised people always behaved as in their normal, nocturnal sleep. Later, James Braid found some significant differences and tried to change the term, but he failed, since it had already become too popular among the general public. His numerous investigations into hypnotism were published in his 1843 book entitled “The rationale of nervous sleep considered in relation to animal magnetism”. At the same time, the British surgeon James Esdaile (1808 - 1859) marked the beginning of the use of hypnosis as a means of analgesia. During his ten-year stay in Calcutta, India over one thousand minor and major surgical operations were carried out and several amputations of limbs were among them. As a result, a great many further discoveries were made regarding the use of hypnosis in medicine.
Donald Robertson (2000 – 2005) reports that, on April 23rd, 1955 after a heated discussion, the British Medical Association (1955) officially approved the use of hypnosis in order to consider “the uses of hypnotism, its relation to medical practice in the present day, the advisability of giving encouragement to research into its nature and application, and the lines along which such research might be organised.” Three years later, the Council on Mental Health of the American Medical Association also included it in the curricula of medical schools for further training. Then, in 1958, the American Association of Hypnosis was established along with its first President, Milton Erickson.
The scientific definition and description of psychological hypnosis, published by Division 30 of the American Psychological Association (APA), states the following: "Hypnosis typically involves an introduction to the procedure during which the subject is told that suggestions for imaginative experiences will be presented. The hypnotic induction is an extended initial suggestion for using one’s imagination, and may contain further elaborations of the introduction." More information about it is available online at http://psychologicalhypnosis.com [last accessed on the 29th of April 2014]. |