Various studies have found that hypnosis can be an effective tool for pain management. Before ultimately falling asleep, the physician would give them whatever suggestions might help overcome their problem in hopes that the gods would visit the patient during his sleep and fix them. It’s said that patients visiting a Sleep Temple would be put under the influence of incantation, or hypnotic state. The temples were used for a type of suggestion therapy, and people would go to be healed from problems both physical and mental. Imhotep, the world’s first known physician, used healing sanctuaries known as Sleep Temples. But some of the earliest recorded descriptions of hypnosis date back to ancient Egypt in 1500 B.C. (We bet you’re utterly mesmerized by this fact, right?). Interestingly, Mesmer referred to hypnosis as “animal magnetism” or “mesmerism,” and the latter of the two is sometimes still used today. The Austrian physician likely knew about the use of hypnosis by earlier societies, and spent much of his career studying hypnosis and its effects on the human mind. Officially, hypnosis has been around since 18th century.įranz Mesmer is usually credited with bringing hypnosis to the attention of the public sometime around 1770. Common examples include arriving at your destination without memory of driving there, zoning out while reading the page of a book, or becoming so engrossed in the television show you’re binging that you barely realize half a day has passed. The average person experiences hypnosis at least twice a day.īelieve it or not, you likely enter an hypnotic state at least twice a day. Scientists have proven over and over again that patients remain wide awake while under hypnosis, and even retain complete control of their actions. A human stays completely awake during hypnosis.Ĭontrary to popular belief, hypnotism is a natural state of mind. To achieve this, hypnotherapists help patients access their subconscious mind, something many of us do every day without realizing.
Every year, more and more people seek out appointments with hypnotherapists to find a healthy way to control fears and negative behaviors. Hypnosis - known also as hypnotherapy - has its doubters, but it’s been an accepted form of medical treatment since the 1950s. Hypnosis is an accepted form of medical treatment. Below, we’ve listed 15 surprising facts about the science of hypnosis that will not only dispel some of the myths, but also totally blow your mind. Thanks to twisty television plots and popular Vegas magic shows, hypnosis is one of the most fascinating - yet least understood - forms of therapy.