What Is Hypnosis? Describe the Psychological and Physical Aspects of Hypnosis and Discuss the Role of Relaxation in Hypnotherapy.

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Jackie Bisnauthsing What is Hypnosis? Describe the Psychological and Physical Aspects. Discuss the Role of Relaxation in Hypnotherapy. In this essay I am going to discuss the question, “What is Hypnosis” and to do this I will describe some of the history and origins of the phenomenon and the physical and psychological effects hypnosis can have on individuals. I will also discuss the role that relaxation has during the hypnotherapy experience. The word ‘hypnosis’ is a complex one. There is not even an agreed upon definition. This may be due to the fact that hypnosis itself has changed and evolved throughout history. We might think of hypnosis as a very recent development, but its roots stretch deep into the past. The oldest references go back to the Hindu Shamans and other ancient texts all mention healing procedures that have striking similarities to hypnotic induction. In the 18th century Dr Frantz Anton Mesmer, an Austrian physician, became interested in this “ancient healing technique”. He was a charismatic and at times controversial personality. He discovered that in “applying magnets to a diseased body he could cure that disease miraculously”. He also used other objects of glass and metal to perform “passes” over the patient to remove "blockages" in the “magnetic forces” and to induce a trance-like state. Mesmer soon discovered that he could achieve equally successful results by passing his hands over the patient. He named this method "animal magnetism”. Even today the word “mesmerise” is still used to describe the way in which someone’s attention can be held to the exclusion of anything else. One of Mesmer’s “disciples”, the Marquis de Puysegur (1751-1825) discovered that the spoken word and direct commands induced trance as easily and noticeably faster than "mesmeric passes" and that a person could be operated upon without pain and anaesthesia when
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