Hypnosis
Hypnosis has been practised for thousands of years. Witch doctors, shamans, and the like, have traditionally relied on "trance states" to help cure sickness and injury, alleviate the pain of childbirth, engender courage in their hunters and warriors, or persuade someone that an evil spell has been lifted. There is evidence in ancient Sanskrit writings of the use of healing trances and healing temples in India. Ancient Egyptian papyrus scrolls tell of the use of sleeping temples and the use of trance induction for healing. The oldest proof of the use of such and resource exclusively for healing can be found in the famous Ebers papyrus in the British Museum. This reveals that, in the time of the Pharaohs, a method involving the use of trances and verbal suggestions were amongst those used to alleviate or cure pain. Ancient Greek and Roman historians also often allude to these cures.
Hypnosis comes from the Greek word "Hypno" which means sleep. It was coined by James Braid, a Scotsman, who wrote the first book on hypnosis in 1843 entitled Neurypnology.
Hypnotherapy has come a long way since then. In 1955 the British Medical Association (BMA) accepted it as a valid form of therapeutic treatment. In 1958 medical applications of hypnosis were also officially recognised by the American Medical Association (AMA).
The basis for practising the art of hypnosis is the "trance". Trance is the state in which hypnosis takes place. It is also a state we frequently enter in the normal course of a day. For example when you are watching TV or reading a book you forget all about your surroundings. You have then become "entranced".
Trance is a normal, wonderful, relaxed and very useful state. People go into it all the time. However, with a Hypnotherapist you are being guided into the trance with a distinct beneficial purpose. This is called the induction, which produces, or causes, a hypnotic state. You may think of the induction as an ocean liner that is going to carry you from mainland to an island. The mainland is your conscious mind, the island your subconscious. It is on that island that you will experience peacefulness and relaxation. There you will be given the "code" you need to break your current behaviour pattern and replace it with one that is more desirable.
The British Medical Association (BMA) defines hypnosis as "a trance-like state of altered awareness characterised by extreme suggestibility. Some therapists induce a hypnotic state as a means of helping patients remember and come to terms with disturbing events".