A Brief History Of Hypnosis

Egyptian hieroglyphics depict priests treating people for illness using hypnotic trance in which the individual was lulled into a state of "sleep" during a form of ritual.

The ancient Greeks went to sleep in the temple of Aesculapius, the Greek god of sleep, while the priest gave them healing suggestions. It seems that most all early cultures have documentation of eliciting hypnotic trance for both spiritual and healing purposes, from early shaman to today's modern tent revivals with laying on hands for healing. The history of hypnosis is fascinating and it has gained more respect since the 1950s when a patient underwent a thyroidectomy while in a hypnotic trance induced by a hypnotherapist with no other pain killer or anesthesia.

Hypnotherapy is now used by doctors to calm their patients, ease pain during medical and dental procedures, aid in the delivery of babies, aid in the conception of babies, improve the outcome during surgery as well as the recovery process. Great strides have been made since the 1950s for the medical world now embraces the idea of hypnotherapy by using hypnotic techniques as well as referring patients to hypnotherapists for assistance with weight loss, stress reduction, and chronic pain, just to name a few.