Hypnotherapy is thetreatment of a variety of healthconditions by hypnotism or by inducingprolongedsleep.
Pioneers in thisfield,such as JamesBraidandJamesEsdaile discoveredthathypnosiscould be used to successfully anesthetizepatientsforsurgeries.JamesBraidaccidentally discoveredthatone of hispatientsbegan to enter a hypnotic statewhilestaring at a fixedlight as he waitedforhis eye examination to begin.Sincemesmerismhadfallenout of favour, Braidcoinedthetermhypnotism,which is derivedfromtheGreekwordforsleep.Braidalsousedthetechniques of monotony,rhythm,andimitation to assist in inducing a hypnotic state. As of 2000,thesetechniquesarestill in use.
Around1900,therewereveryfewpreoperativeanesthetic drugsavailable.Patientswerenaturallyapprehensivewhen facingsurgery.Oneout of fourhundredpatientswoulddie,not fromthesurgicalprocedure,butfromtheanesthesia.Dr.HenryMunrowasone of thefirstphysicians to usehypnotherapy to alleviatepatientfearsabouthavingsurgery. He wouldgethis patientsinto a hypnoticstateanddiscusstheirfearswiththem,tellingthemtheywouldfeel a lotbetterfollowingsurgery.Ether wasthemostcommonanesthetic at thattime,andDr.Munro foundthat he wasable to performsurgeryusingonlyabout10% of theusualamount of ether.
Hypnotherapy is used in a number of fieldsincluding psychotherapy,surgery,dentistry,research,andmedicine.Hypnotherapy is commonlyused as an alternativetreatmentfora widerange of healthconditions,includingweightcontrol,pain management,andsmokingcessation. It is alsoused to control pain in a variety of conditionssuch as headache, facial neuralgia, arthritis,burns, musculoskeletaldisorders,childbirth,andmanymore.Hypnotherapy is beingused in place of anesthesia,particularly in patientswhoprove to be allergic to anestheticdrugs,forsurgeriessuch as hysterectomies,cesareansections,certaincardiovascularprocedures,thyroidectomy, andothers.Dentistry is usinghypnotherapywithsuccess on patientswhoareallergic to alltypes of novocainedrugs.Hypnotherapy is alsouseful in helping patientsovercomephobias.
Hypnotherapy is usedfornon medicalpatients as well as those whowish to overcomebadhabits.Hypnotherapyhasbeen shown to helpthosewhosufferfromperformanceanxiety,such as in sports,andspeaking in public. In academic applications, it hasalsobeenshown to helpwithlearning,participating in theclassroom,concentrating,studying,focusing attentionspan,improvingmemory,andhelpingremovemental blocksaboutparticularsubjects.
In moregeneralareas,hypnotherapyhasbeenfound to be beneficialforproblemssuch as motivation,procrastination,decisionmaking,personalachievementanddevelopment,job performance,buried or repressedmemories,relaxation,and stressmanagement.